Mirzam has recently become the Mecca for chocolate fans in the Emirate of Dubai. In seven years, an enthusiastic young woman created a sweet brand from nothing.
The search for the sweet secret leads to Dubai's old industrial district of Al Quoz. Only: That's huge. There is no exact address. Instead, Kathy emailed Johnston a snapshot from Google Maps, GPS data included. Luckily the taxi driver can do something with it.
Still, finding Johnston's magic studio is a hassle. There are no glittering futuristic mega-constructions in this area like in downtown Dubai. You have to look closely to decipher the inscription “Birch Bakery” on a light blue metal gate between the dilapidated factory buildings and car mechanics. Who the heck would drive that far out into the middle of nowhere to buy a loaf of bread?
It smells heavenly of apple pie
The doubts disappear when we enter the tiny sales room: it smells like heaven. Like hot croissants, cinnamon and fresh apple pie. And, to get back to the question: it's packed. Customers shop like there is no tomorrow.
At the back of the actual organic bakery, Kathy Johnston balances a tray of focaccia. “One of our best sellers,” says the boss with a winning smile. She adds by way of explanation: “Flatbread with feta, chili, sesame and Emirati honey.”
Birch Bakery is something of a hidden gem in Dubai, an oasis in the industrial desert that owes its success entirely to word of mouth. Kathy Johnston now employs 15 people there. And at peak times like Saturday mornings, you can also meet her at the sales counter.
Always obsessed with chocolate
The small but fine bakery is actually just a kind of hobby for the young entrepreneur. Her main job sounds even more delicious: The 39-year-old runs the Mirzam chocolate factory as “Chief Chocolate Officer”. She explains that she has fulfilled a childhood dream.
“Other girls dream of becoming ballerinas. All I ever wanted was my own chocolate factory,” says Kathy Johnston. The New Zealand native could barely walk because she was already “obsessed with chocolate.”
The beginning of Kathy's steep career
Her mother initially believed that she could effectively hide the family's sweets supply from her little daughter: right on top of the kitchen cupboard. Until the day she saw little Kathy making a kind of ladder out of kitchen chairs…
And that was just the beginning of a literally steep career. At the age of three, Kathy emigrated to Dubai with her parents. Her father, a boat specialist, had found a job with the royal family – as a person responsible for the maintenance of the royal yachts. Kathy went to an Arabic school and also completed her studies in the emirate. The dream of the chocolate factory, as Roald Dahl described so enchantingly in one of his children's books, remained.
Building a chocolate startup
However, the reality after university was less sweet. A job as an event manager took the young graduate to Australia. She wasn't happy there. Kathy: “I was totally shocked at how women are treated there in professional life. You constantly have to listen to stupid, sometimes sexist comments. In Dubai, no one cares at work whether you are a man or a woman, what clothes you are wearing, whether you have make-up on or not.”
She returned to the emirate and toyed with the idea of going to Switzerland, the dream country of all chocolate addicts. But then she happened to meet a brother and sister from Dubai who wanted to invest in the production of chocolate.
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Like many goods in the desert state's stores at the time, almost all chocolate was imported. According to the founders' wishes, the start-up was supposed to develop local alternatives: high-quality chocolate from the bean to the bar. With the ingredients of the historic spice route that once led from the west coast of Japan via Dubai and the Middle East to Europe.
After seven years there are already 75 employees
Kathy Johnston was immediately enthusiastic about the idea, she says looking back. At the beginning of 2016 she took over the management from Mirzam. Exactly one employee was at her side. Today there are 75. The rapid rise of the chocolate factory was not least due to Kathy's enthusiasm. From the procurement of raw materials from the range of carefully selected manufacturers worldwide to production, packaging and sales, nothing would have been possible without them.
And if the machines ever go on strike, she will still lend a hand today. “Technology has fascinated me all my life. I've always had to find out how everything is connected.” Apparently it's in the genes. Kathy says that Grandfather was already a real doer, an engineer, inventor and adventurer. In 1958 he took part as a mechanic on Sir Edmund Hillary's famous South Pole expedition. “Grandpa encouraged me too,” says Kathy. “He said that I would definitely have a chocolate factory one day if I wanted it enough.” His prophecy has come true.
Kathy has never lacked will. She finds her work pure pleasure. She usually gets up at 4:30 a.m. and goes to the beach to swim. She then takes care of Mirzam. And in between also about the bakery.
Glass factory to watch
The Mirzam Chocolate Factory is located in a kind of loft in the artsy Alserkal Avenue district. Anyone standing in the shop can look through floor-to-ceiling windows at a magnificent mosque in the background. Opposite, the production rooms are visible behind large glass panes. This means that every visitor can follow the chocolate making process in the glass factory: from roasting the cocoa beans to packaging the finished treats.
A modern café complements the sales area, where chocolate bars and pralines with traditional ingredients such as cardamom, saffron, almonds and pistachios are stacked in elegant designs. Many of the motifs come from Emirati artists. In just seven years, Mirzam has become a mecca for all Dubai chocolate fans.
Future plans? Kathy: “Continue to work on recipes for the perfect chocolate.” She also wants to open a second shop. A café where you can enjoy Birch Bakery products is also already being planned. There seem to be no limits. “There is a huge amount of support for business women in Dubai. No door stays closed just because I’m a woman.”
Participation in the trip was supported by Dubai Tourism. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at go2.as/independence.
