From 25th to 30th May, List Bar presents a special International Burger Week experience, featuring a curated selection of expertly crafted burgers made with premium ingredients, all served in a lively and relaxed setting perfect for social gatherings or unwinding after a long day.

Each burger order is paired with a complimentary pint, adding extra value to this exclusive offering and making it an ideal choice for those looking to enjoy great food in a vibrant atmosphere.

Offer Details
Date: 25th to 30th May | Offer: Buy any burger and enjoy a complimentary pint | Location: List Bar, Al Jaddaf Rotana Suite Hotel

Words by Firas Nasir, CEO of Organic Foods & Café and Co-CIO of the Gulf Japan Food Fund

The most consequential changes in business rarely announce themselves. They accumulate quietly in procurement decisions, in vendor reviews, and in sourcing conversations held far from the shop floor. What is happening inside UAE retail supply chains at the moment is exactly that kind of change. In the past, retailers across all formats built their vendor lists around established global suppliers who could deliver volume, compliance maturity, and operational consistency at scale. Local producers, by contrast, sometimes struggled to meet the benchmarks that major buyers required: reliable cold chain infrastructure, internationally recognised food safety certification, and the capacity to scale supply without compromising on delivery windows.

That gap has narrowed considerably, and the timing matters. Investment in UAE logistics infrastructure, including temperature-controlled warehousing, last-mile refrigerated delivery, and the development of alternative trade corridors, such as the Oman-UAE Green Corridor and the east coast ports of Khorfakkan and Fujairah, has given domestic suppliers a credible and sustainable path to retail shelves that simply did not exist half a decade ago.

The impact is most visible at retailers who made early commitments to domestic sourcing. For instance, Organic Foods and Cafe, which works with over 400 vendor partners across local and global supply chains, has tracked the evolution closely. Over the past four years, the composition of its vendor list has shifted meaningfully, with a clear move toward sourcing from closer geographies. This has improved product availability, reduced transit times, and meaningfully lowered the carbon footprint across key categories. The transitions have been most pronounced in beverages, fresh produce, and dairy, categories where domestic producers have invested seriously in quality and consistency. The products now earning space on shelves reflect genuine operational maturity, not simply a preference for local origin. Organic eggs from Risha Farms in Fujairah and fresh organic milk from Organiliciouz in Sharjah, both now stocked consistently, represent a generation of domestic suppliers that would not have met major retailer requirements a few years ago. Alongside them, homegrown brands, including ME Kombucha, Pure Harvest, Humantra, Nothing Silly, and Shake Your Plants, are finding sustained footing in channels that once defaulted to international names as a matter of course.

The broader retail sector is also responding. The Make it in the Emirates initiative, a government-led effort to boost domestic manufacturing and industrial investment initiative, has added meaningful policy weight to what was already becoming commercial common sense, with approved vendor lists across the industry being reviewed through a lens of supply chain resilience rather than simple cost optimisation. That recalibration has been sharpened further by recent events. Retailers who have already embedded local sourcing into their models have proved markedly better positioned to absorb the shock. Alternative freight channels were activated where necessary, but the businesses least exposed were those that had built domestic supplier relationships before disruption made it urgent.

Of course, challenges still remain. The shortage of organically certified local producers is a persistent gap, and the expectation from retailers has not softened, with domestic suppliers held to the same delivery, safety, and scalability standards as their international counterparts. But the pipeline of producers meeting that bar is growing, and the commercial argument has become difficult to dismiss. Faster turnaround, extended shelf life on domestic fresh goods, and meaningful resilience against freight volatility now outweigh the scale advantages that international suppliers once held unchallenged.

The restructuring of UAE retail around homegrown brands was already underway but the current geopolitical situation has expedited it to a new level. It is now being driven by hard commercial experience, enabled by maturing infrastructure, and supported by national policy. And the businesses that recognise it for what it is – a fundamental supply chain shift, not a sourcing trend – will be the ones who shape what UAE retail looks like in the decade ahead.

At At.mosphere, guests are welcomed to one of the city’s most coveted tables. High within the Burj Khalifa, dining takes on a rare stillness, with Dubai unfolding far below and the horizon dissolving into sky, creating a sense of scale that feels almost otherworldly.

At AED 155, the day moves through four distinct moments from morning to evening. No matter the hour, there’s a moment that fits.

Sunrise in the Sky – Breakfast
A slow start above the city with two organic eggs your style or fluffy pancakes with raspberry jam and vanilla Chantilly, alongside coffee as Dubai wakes beneath you.
Time: 8:00 am to 11:30 am

Business Lunch
A midday selection featuring roasted sea bream with black Venere rice or slow-cooked beef cheek with potato purée, finishing on something light.
Time: 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Afternoon Tea
Delicate sandwiches, warm English scones with jam and artisanal cream, and classic pastries served as the light shifts across the skyline.
Time: 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Golden Hour – Cocktails and Bites
Golden hour takes over with signature cocktails, curated bites, and a skyline that naturally draws you in.
Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm