Diana Farah

SHARJAH: Châteraisé Premium YATSUDOKI opened its second branch in the UAE on Tuesday, inviting SEKIGUCHI Noboru, Consul-General of Japan in Dubai to commemorate the official opening ceremony.

Managing Director of the UAE shopping malls at Majid Al Futtaim Fuad Sharaf, Managing Director of JETRO Dubai and MENA Nobuyuki Nakajima, Vice Chairman and Group CEO of INDEX Holding Anas Al Madani were also in attendance.

As the UAE and Japan celebrate their 50^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, YATSUDOKI has become a symbol of cultural integration within the UAE which represents the art of fine Japanese sweets. The second branch opened its doors in the emirate of Sharjah, expanding outside of Dubai in order to meet the increased demand of consumers, which further demonstrates the further collaboration between the two nations.

At the ceremony, Sekiguchi said the opening comes at a “special time, and it goes to show the great connection we have between our two nations.”

Sekiguchi praised YATSUDOKI’s methods of using the finest ingredients from Japan and local UAE farmers.

“We are making the utmost efforts to promote Japanese sweets, and since they are lighter than western sweets, the choice of ingredients are very important. We are delighted to see YATSUDOKI continue this tradition by using Japanese techniques and choosing the best ingredients, as many expats have now come to love our sweets,” he added.

Châteraisé’s Overseas Business Development Manager Shibata Kei told Arab News Japan bringing the brand to the UAE has come with certain restrictions in regard to imports, however, the Middle Eastern market has had nothing but positive feedback.

“Currently, we have imported 98 or 99 out of about 400 of Châteraisé’s products,” he explained.

Kei said that the staff at the UAE branches were “very respectful, hospitable and generous.”

INDEX Holding’s CEO Al Madani explained that as the exclusive partners of Châteraisé in the Middle East “it was seen necessary to develop the brand across the UAE into Sharjah to make YATSUDOKI more accessible for them. We are now expecting further expansion.”

With an extensive history dating back to 1955 in Yamanashi, Japan, Châteraisé, a Japanese Style French Patisserie, now has more than 1000 stores in Japan alone. International branches initially started opening in 2012 beginning in the Netherlands, then eventually on to Singapore and Taiwan. Châteraisé Premium YATSUDOKI opened their first branch in 2009 in Tokyo and then opened their first international branch in 2020 within the UAE.

YATSUDOKI provides specialty sweets made from the freshest internationally combined ingredients from Japan, local contracted farmers, and cultured cheese and butter from Europe to give the finest blend of elements to taste in every bite. YATSUDOKI produces a wide range of Japanese western cakes such as fresh cream cakes, swiss-rolls, baked confectioneries, Japanese pastries, Japanese specialty hot and cold drinks, and many more variety products to satisfy the appetite.