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Discover how Puck’s Ramadan food initiative, Recipe for Change, turned meals into meaningful
impact. In this interview, Puck’s Senior Brand Manager shared how the Puck Ramadan
campaign celebrated authentic Lebanese dishes while donating 50% of UAE sales to support
Lebanese families, in partnership with Dubai Cares.
Watch the interview to learn more about the story behind this powerful community campaign
and how food fostered change during the holy month.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more engaging conversations.
#ramadan, #puck, #dubai cares

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Transcript
00:00Ms. Ghida Amhaz, the senior brand manager and campaign lead at POOP.
00:05Empowering women by giving up our shelf spaces in supermarkets
00:09for them to display their own handmade crafted mouleh.
00:13Basically, we got six wonderful moulehs
00:16to not only share their recipes with us
00:19that were handed down, you know, from one generation to the other.
00:22All of these names, they're associated with great F&B restaurants.
00:28For example, spinach fatayir with cream cheese inside,
00:31golden, crispy on the outside, so creamy on the inside.
00:34And POOP has been doing some work behind, you know, our purpose
00:39and our whole purpose is to support motherhood.
00:42Where does POOP envision themselves in the future?
00:45To serve our community with the best products that we have,
00:48with the highest quality, but as well launch initiatives
00:52such as Recipe for Change and Selfless Shelves to create that impact.
00:58Welcome to G&Talks today.
01:19Today, we're extremely excited about our guests
01:22because we're going to be talking about a very positive initiative
01:26that took place this Ramadan.
01:28When we're talking about an initiative, we're not talking about any brand.
01:31We're talking about POOP specifically.
01:34With the Recipe for Change program,
01:36POOP is bringing together six authentic home-cooked dishes
01:40from talented Lebanese moms to top Lebanese restaurants in the UAE and KSA.
01:46Notably, 50% of these sales from each order was donated to support the Lebanese families
01:53that were affected by the negative challenges that they have faced.
01:57Welcome me today with my amazing guest, Ms. Ghida Amhaz,
02:01the Senior Brand Manager and Campaign Lead at POOP.
02:05How are you today, Ghida?
02:06Very good. How are you?
02:07Great. We are so excited to have you with us on the show.
02:11And to learn more about this very special initiative that POOP has done,
02:18and specifically with the launch of Recipe for Change.
02:21So can you share more details about it?
02:23Of course.
02:24Recipe for Change was launched actually as a continuation
02:28of an initiative we've done last year called Selfless Shelves.
02:32And that initiative was all around empowering women
02:35by giving up our shelf spaces in supermarkets
02:38for them to display their own handmade crafted moone that they filled in our glass jars.
02:45And eventually bringing in a new streamline of income for them to support their families.
02:51And as well in response to, as you said, the hardships that Lebanon went through last year,
02:56especially at the end.
02:57Of course.
02:58We thought Ramadan was the perfect time.
03:00You know, the month of giving, the generosity of that month.
03:05We thought both combined, it was a no-brainer for Recipe for Change to come to life.
03:10That's actually amazing.
03:11And honestly, I've heard a lot of positive feedback also from the Lebanese community,
03:17and even from the community that are in Dubai, in Saudi.
03:21It's a wonderful thing to also give, especially during Ramadan.
03:26In what ways do you believe that the Recipe for Change
03:29celebrated the Lebanese cultural heritage,
03:32while also promoting women's empowerment?
03:35I mean, what we did in Recipe for Change is basically, we got six wonderful women.
03:56Okay.
03:57To not only share their recipes with us that were handed down, you know, from one generation to the other,
04:02but as well their stories and the memories that come behind these recipes.
04:06And actually, some of these women never traveled or left Lebanon.
04:09Oh, wow.
04:10But her recipe did.
04:12And seeing that was really a moment of pride for them.
04:16And we brought these recipes, as you mentioned, to big restaurants here in UAE and KSA,
04:21such as Awani in KSA.
04:23Wow, okay.
04:24We had Manarid Beirut, Kaak al Manara, Habib Beirut, Abdul Wahab, Karam Beirut.
04:31We had really big Safadi.
04:33Amazing.
04:34Yes.
04:35And all of these names, they're associated with great F&B restaurants.
04:40Indeed.
04:41And I think the rationale behind, you know, opening their kitchens to us,
04:47taking this initiative to a whole new level was amazing.
04:50And people got to try, you know, the dishes, but also know the stories behind the hands that prepared them.
04:56Who are the women?
04:57Where did they come from?
04:59And, you know, in our culture, food is not just, you know, just a dish or a meal that you have.
05:07I mean, it's a mom's language.
05:09I mean, remember when we were young, you go to your mom and you tell her,
05:12my stomach hurts, she goes, I make you a soup.
05:15Of course.
05:16And even, for example, like you made your parents sad or something.
05:20They would come or give you like a meal.
05:23Exactly.
05:24As a part of love.
05:25Exactly.
05:26They're finally doing that.
05:28That's the truth.
05:29Exactly.
05:30So shout out to these amazing Lebanese women.
05:33Yes, absolutely.
05:34And we, of course, everyone is curious to know, what were the delicious meals that they had prepared?
05:41I mean, we had six authentic Lebanese dishes, ranging from appetizers, main course, and desserts.
05:47Okay.
05:48We had, for example, spinach with cream cheese inside, golden, crispy on the outside, so creamy on the inside.
05:56We had which was amazing.
05:59We had which I'm sure.
06:02Everyone's favorite.
06:03Exactly.
06:04And, you know, we had a dish called and as a born and raised Lebanese, I've never heard of.
06:12Honestly, even as a Lebanese, I've never heard about.
06:15Exactly.
06:16So I want to share with our viewers, what exactly is it?
06:19Like, what does it contain?
06:20So Zinkul was Ibtihaj's dish.
06:23Ibtihaj is one of our six women.
06:25And it's basically, it's not a stew.
06:28It's kind of a ratatouille made of birghul, hummus.
06:33It's so garlicky and tangy and warm and heart-filling.
06:37It's delicious.
06:38And by the way, it was our top-selling dish.
06:40Really?
06:41Yes.
06:42Ghida, you are making us hungry now.
06:45Let's talk a little bit about the challenges that the Lebanese have faced.
06:52Is there any special moment that you would like to highlight during this campaign that was done?
07:00I mean, Lebanon has been through so much.
07:02I agree.
07:03And not only Lebanon.
07:05Unfortunately, a lot of countries in our region has faced instability for the longest time with economic collapses, the loss of security and stability.
07:14What this celebrated and why Recipe for Change is so important is that it was a tribute to the unsung heroes that stayed in the country, that kept on cooking for her family, her community.
07:29Even, you know, even when she was displaced, they kept that smile on their faces.
07:34And the spark, I think, for me, when developing this initiative was seeing that resilience in their eyes.
07:41And it's, I cannot tell you, I cannot tell you, it was, there's so much hope and there's so much love in there.
07:48Wow.
07:49It was just really, really heartwarming.
07:52And I think a proud moment for me was seeing the orders keep coming in, seeing people engage so much with the program, even non-Lebanese.
08:03I mean, and the love for Lebanese cuisine that transcended any nationality was really just wonderful to see.
08:10Amazing.
08:11And, you know, the beautiful thing about Lebanese, not because I'm a Lebanese and because you're a Lebanese, but we are very strong people.
08:19And no matter what we go through, we always manage to stand up on our feet and put a smile on our faces and others.
08:26And I feel this is what also makes us a very special community.
08:31Very true.
08:32I mean, I remember one of the ladies, her name was Firial, and she gave, she shared with us her recipe of kibbit batata with cheese inside.
08:40And she was talking about how cooking with her bare hands is, you know, gives a better taste and so on.
08:47And the way she described cooking, she was a hopeless romantic.
08:51Wow.
08:52And it just, it gives you goosebumps to see that even really in the toughest times, they never lost that shimmering spark.
09:00And I believe this is also a part of a woman's empowerment.
09:04Absolutely.
09:05Absolutely.
09:06Yeah.
09:07That these women were the ones that created this amazing impact.
09:11Of course, Pook also gave them this opportunity to also share, showcase the love, the talent and the dishes as well.
09:19Definitely.
09:20So tell us more about your approach on women's empowerment from the brand's perspective, from Pook's perspective.
09:27I mean, Pook has been doing some work behind, you know, our purpose.
09:32And our whole purpose is to support motherhood and moms in their unique journey.
09:38Not only in her unique journey, but as well in the society that she lives in.
09:42And this has been something that we're pushing after and really trying to bring to life and walk the talk, as they say.
09:51And this is just another manifestation of that purpose that we promise to lead.
09:56And in terms of overall motherhood, I think, as you said it exactly, you know, no mother is the same, but the love of a mom is universal.
10:07And this is what is behind Pook's true high purpose.
10:12A question I'm sure everyone's going to be asking while watching us right now is, is there any future similar initiatives, let's say, next Ramadan or in another potential, let's say, celebration occasion?
10:30I mean, look, the launch of Recipe for Change in Ramadan and the timing of Ramadan proved to us that the essence of such a program works.
10:39But, you know, the core of it is timeless.
10:42OK.
10:43Of course, we have big ambitions.
10:45I mean, in our region, the culinary heritage is so rich.
10:49We have cuisines such as Jordanian cuisine, Palestinian cuisine, Syrian cuisine, even Emirati and Saudi cuisine, you know, that we can't wait to, you know, showcase as well.
11:01So this was a pilot test, if I may say.
11:04OK.
11:05And we're looking at how can this become a long term program that truly engages with our consumers, but as well create a long lasting impact.
11:14How did this impact the UAE, Saudi Arabia?
11:20How do you believe that it positively impacted?
11:23Did you, did you, what were some of the feedback that you received from the consumers, from, from the people?
11:29The feedback was overwhelming, honestly, and the results over exceeded our expectations.
11:35That was really a testament of how much purposeful, you know, communication and initiatives connect with the audience.
11:43Amazing.
11:44The feedback from, I mean, restaurants were so candid on jumping on this program.
11:50They even opened their kitchens to us.
11:53Their chefs were trained by real moms, when usually it's the other way around.
11:57True, true.
11:58And even Dubai Cares were so wonderful as partners to really help us make a true impact.
12:06Let's talk about more about Dubai Cares and how did they help to also spread this project into being more enhanced.
12:18Let's also highlight this topic.
12:20I mean, look, Dubai Cares is such a reputable, incredible company that has been operating in UAE for the longest time.
12:27And the beauty of the NGO is that they dedicated their work to really support families and communities that are in dire need of support.
12:36So our partnership with them not only brought, you know, credibility and transparency to the donations,
12:44but as well we made sure that whatever we collected was going directly to really the affected families that needed support as much as possible.
12:54And speaking of this, because in the introduction we spoke about 50% of these sales were given to these families.
13:01Yes, through Dubai Cares.
13:03Through Dubai Cares.
13:04Through Dubai Cares.
13:05So this is how the partnership, I would say, or the merge had happened between PUC and Dubai Cares.
13:14Definitely.
13:15They're the experts on that and we trust them with allocating all of these funds where necessary.
13:22So how does PUC envision the future having known that all of the success of, you know, the brand itself has been long in the market,
13:31the initiatives that you guys are doing, the positive feedback that you always receive.
13:36Where does PUC envision themselves in the future?
13:41The future is bright.
13:42I can tell you there's a lot of things that are in the works right now.
13:46Our focus has always been, you know, to serve our community with the best products that we have, with the highest quality.
13:54But as well, launch initiatives such as Recipe for Change and Selfless Shelf to create that impact.
14:01Because we kind of asked ourselves beyond what we can sell, what can we solve?
14:07Amazing.
14:08And this is hopefully, you know, stay tuned for what's coming.
14:11Very nice.
14:12Is there one last message that you would want to share to our audience that's watching us right now?
14:19I think I would just like to thank everyone that really contributed and took part of that change, made the lasting impact.
14:28I think I want to thank all the restaurants that partnered with us.
14:31Of course, Dubai Cares, Anthony Rahayel for being an essential partner in this as he helped us, you know.
14:38Okay.
14:39Identify the women that were the most impacted from the war, that come from different backgrounds, religion, areas.
14:47So we ensure diversity as well.
14:49Stay tuned for what's coming more.
14:51Of course.
14:52Thank you so much for being with us on the show.
14:57I'm sure that this episode will strike a lot of interest and compassion for the audience that is watching us today.
15:05Thank you once again.
15:08Thank you so much.
15:09And for our audience, stay tuned to an upcoming episode of Hashtag G&Talks.