As the UAE prepares to celebrate its 54th National Day, it’s time to recognise not only the country’s heritage, but also the homegrown entrepreneurs finding new ways to carry it forward. For young Emirati entrepreneur Rashid Gargash, that means looking at familiar ingredients through a contemporary lens and exploring how they can become part of the way people eat today.
Rashid’s journey began with research into food security and sustainable nutrition in the Middle East. His work examined the region’s agricultural realities, including desalination, groundwater challenges and available food resources. Along the way, dates and camel milk stood out as ingredients with deep connections to the UAE’s food heritage and potential for new applications.
Working alongside food scientists and researchers, Rashid explored how these ingredients could be developed into a nutritious, convenient product suited to contemporary lifestyles. The process eventually led to Rashtions, a UAE-made snack brand that combines dates, camel milk and ghee across a range of protein-rich snacks.
The range includes Date Original, Date Truffle, Cocoa Truffle and Brazilian Coffee Truffle, with products providing up to 20 grams of protein per 80-gram serving. They are made without added sugar, preservatives or artificial sweeteners.
“Rashtions began with a broader question about food security and how we could better understand and utilise the resources available in our region,” said Rashid Gargash, Founder of Rashtions. “Dates and camel milk have long been part of the UAE’s food story, and I wanted to explore how familiar ingredients could be approached through research and innovation to create something relevant to the way people eat today.”
For Rashid, the journey has also reinforced a wider lesson about entrepreneurship: innovation does not always mean starting from scratch. It can begin by looking more closely at what already exists, questioning how it is used and finding new ways to make it relevant. In the food sector, that means considering not only nutritional value, but also taste, convenience and whether a product fits into people’s everyday lives.
As the 54th UAE National Day approaches, Rashid believes supporting homegrown businesses is one way consumers can contribute to the next chapter of the UAE’s entrepreneurial story. Choosing UAE-founded brands and products made in the country can help bring greater visibility to the people developing local ideas into businesses, while demonstrating that heritage and modern innovation can work together.
Rashtions is available through ADNOC and Emarat service stations, Deliveroo and Noon, as well as directly through the brand’s website, with delivery available across the UAE.
For more information, visit: https://rashtions.ae/
