Scoop Wholefoods offers a sustainable, zero-waste retail experience. The company selects products based on their environmental and sustainability credentials. Customers can fill their own containers from a wide range of food, household and beauty products. Packaging is minimal and either reusable, recyclable or biodegradable.
The first Scoop store opened in Sydney in 2013. Since then, the model has spread from Australia to the UK, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Scoop's Dubai store is the 17th in the franchise.
Winning combination of quality and sustainable products
Scoop attracts customers looking for quality products, chemical-free alternatives, sustainable supply, or all the above, says Scoop founder Jeremy Kirk.
All these benefits in one location proved a compelling combination for new Dubai franchise owners Viktoria Pilinko and Iryna Nestsiarovich. The colleagues first found Scoop when they were working in Singapore.
'I felt a bit like a kid in a candy store going to Scoop to fill up my jars and storage tubs,' says Pilinko.
When both relocated to Dubai, they searched for an alternative. When they found nothing like it, they decided to open their own Scoop store.
In-store experience connects customers to quality supply chain
Walk inside the Dubai Scoop store and you'll find aisles of products such as nuts and dried food, breakfast cereals, honey, jams, beans, lentils and pulses, pasta, chocolate, superfoods and protein powders, and more. There are also beauty and personal products such as skincare and haircare, and eco-friendly cleaning and household products.
Scoop's longstanding connections with growers and local manufacturers in Australia help ensure quality and sustainability. 'Many of our suppliers have grown with us,' comments Kirk. 'We first met them at local markets and have taken them with us internationally.'
'Customers can trust the products' authenticity and feel empowered to understand what they're consuming,' explains Nestsiarovich. 'Our team in Dubai has had incredible training from Australia and we feel very confident guiding consumers on our products.'
'Scoop's team in Australia have built an amazing supply chain over the years,' says Pilinko. 'Here in Dubai, we feel like we know those suppliers now too.'
Scoop franchise owners Viktoria Pilinko and Iryna Nestsiarovich in their Dubai store.
Looking forward to CEPA benefits
Scoop is looking forward to additional opportunities under the Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which entered into force on 1 October 2025.
CEPA eliminated tariffs on key agricultural exports, including many of the items that Scoop sells, such as dried pulses, honey and cosmetics.
As a small-volume retailer, Scoop must contend with high shipping and compliance costs. Currently each product must be recertified to different standards for each country they're sold in. That can be time-consuming and expensive.
'We're optimistic CEPA will help by enabling greater mutual recognition of standards,' says Kirk. 'That should make it easier to expand the range and introduce smaller product lines for customers in the UAE.'
Transport options for products needing a temperature-controlled environment are also expensive. Options are to pay for air freight, or for an entire 20-foot-chilled container. Kirk is hopeful increased trade from Australia to Dubai under CEPA will mean more opportunities to share containers and reduce shipping costs.
Putting the focus on sustainability
In Dubai, some customers are strongly engaged with Scoop's sustainability mission.
'They are very proud to bring in their own jars,' says Nestsiarovich. 'We hope more people will become aware of the problems caused by single-use plastics and packaging.'
The Scoop team is hopeful CEPA's focus on sustainability and the Dubai Government's ambitious net zero targets will help drive a further shift in public and corporate thinking.
Connecting with Austrade
'One of the challenges setting up our business in Dubai was that there is a lot of information, but it's hard to find a source of truth,' comments Nestsiarovich.
'We hadn't found Austrade at that point,' adds Pilinko. 'It's been really great to connect with people who understand Australian produce and the concept of what we're doing here.'
Austrade's support is helping to get the word out, including through opportunities like the Gulfood trade show, while their endorsement helps with visibility, she adds.
Growing sustainably for the future
With one store now up and running, Pilinko and Nestsiarovich are looking for their next store location in the UAE. They are also exploring opportunities to work directly with companies to introduce healthy food offerings for staff, and wholesale customers sourcing quality ingredients for manufacturing or catering.
Kirk says there is also increasing international interest in Scoop's operating model. 'We're growing but we're in no hurry,' he adds, 'and we've got to get it right. We need to be selective and find the right partners - just as we've done in Singapore and now Dubai.'
