Shoppers reaching for flavoured milk, yoghurt and laban on UAE shelves will soon find those products carrying less added sugar, after Al Ain Farms Group confirmed it will trim sweeteners across its lineup by between 10 and 20 per cent.
The pledge covers the company’s flagship Al Ain Farms label as well as Marmum Dairy, and was worked out alongside the Healthy Living programme and the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council. AAFG, which ranks among the country’s biggest food and beverage producers, framed the move as a portfolio-wide overhaul rather than a single-product tweak.
Hassan Safi, the group’s chief executive, tied the decision to keeping recipes that customers already favour while lowering their sugar content. “This step represents a groupwide commitment to continuously improve the nutritional profile of our dairy products that our consumers know and love. We’re focused on combining new product innovation with progressive reformulation across our existing portfolio to make healthier choices more accessible, without compromising on taste and quality on top of the juice range which we pioneered in no sugar added to beverages we consume daily. This marks a significant milestone in our journey to set a new benchmark for responsible, science-led food innovation in the UAE, and we are proud to collaborate with government partners to advance these goals,” he said.
The reformulation sits within Abu Dhabi’s Healthy Living Strategy, a wider drive to reshape what people eat by making better options the default. Officials count it as one of 28 active initiatives meant to lift the nutritional standard of commonly purchased items without sacrificing flavour or eroding consumer confidence.
For the regulator, the appeal lies in pairing better nutrition with consistency on the plate. Eng Abdulla Hassan Al Muaini, Executive Director of QCC’s Central Testing Laboratory, said: “We welcome AAFG’s commitment to reformulation and continuous improvement. This aligns with our shared goal of ensuring that consumers can make informed choices without compromising on quality or taste.”
A rollout timeline is already in place. The group introduced a dedicated healthy product range in April 2026, and the reworked versions of staples such as flavoured milk, yoghurt and laban — drawn from both Al Ain Farms and Marmum Dairy — are due to reach stores ahead of the September 2026 back-to-school period.
Dr Ahmed AlKhazraji, who heads the Healthy Living programme, cast the manufacturer’s participation as a template for the rest of the sector. “We want to ensure that healthy, nutritious food is within everyone’s reach – because eating well should be easy for all. Improving everyday food is one of the most effective ways to support healthier living at scale. Through this reformulation commitment, Al Ain Farms Group is demonstrating real leadership – showing how – local food manufacturers can play a meaningful role in strengthening healthy food infrastructure while preserving choice and quality,” he said.
He added: “This is the kind of system-level action that advances our mission of building a healthier Abu Dhabi. By setting a practical and achievable benchmark, Al Ain Farms Group is helping pave the way for others across the food sector to follow, so that healthier options become widely available and the healthy choice becomes the easy choice for everyone.”
Health authorities have flagged children and young people as the group most exposed to the long-term damage of high sugar intake, and the programme intends to keep recruiting food and beverage firms to redesign the choices available to them.
