Muscat – Leading business barons and the top management of 45 best brands in Oman came together for a glittering evening at the Majan Ballroom of Al Bustan Palace hotel as the fifth edition of Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Awards got underway with great fanfare on Tuesday. It was, indeed, a celebration of trust between brand owners and consumers!

Famous business author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said, ‘If people like you, they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.’ It is a well known fact that brand trust is the most important and valuable asset of any company. The main growth driver for any business is the ability to establish trust with their customers and clients.

The winners of the fifth edition of Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Awards, who were felicitated at the event with their prestigious trophies, all seemed to hold one common virtue of trust with their consumers and clients which they have established with great care over the years. It was the sole element that also enabled many of the winners retain their winning streak for a few consecutive years.

The ceremony was held under the auspices of H E Dr Mohammed al Rumhy, Minister of Energy and Minerals. The event was also attended by high level dignitaries, chairmen, managing directors, CEOs and senior officials from 45 winning companies, besides other guests.

Senior representatives of the 45 winners received their Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Awards from H E Rumhy and Saleh Zakwani, executive chairman of Apex Media. H E Rumhy congratulated the winners as he handed over the trophies to senior company officials of the winning companies.

In his welcome speech, Saleh Zakwani said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all this evening to acknowledge and award the brands that have earned the trust and goodwill of people in Oman. Special thanks to consumers who responded to our survey in choosing the brands that are doing it right and leading the way for others to follow.”

Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Awards are based on the results of a month-long extensive survey which was open to general public for voting. In each passing year, Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Awards has grown in terms of both attracting votes and number of categories. This year the survey attracted more than 700,000 votes across 45 categories, making the fifth edition special.

The annual brand awards is a validation of the public trust in a brand and every year this prestigious award is presented to the most trusted brands in the sultanate by Apex Media based on what the general public perceives as the brands they trust the most.

The awards were set up by Apex Media in 2016 to recognise those brands that have succeeded in establishing themselves as ‘No 1’ in their customers’ minds.

Winner reactions

The winners of Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Awards spoke to Muscat Daily about the tremendous efforts that they have put in to become leaders in their respective industries. Many winners said that the awards are a timely recognition of their commitment and efforts to deliver top quality products and services to their customers.

Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir, said, “I’m extremely proud to receive this award today. Being the most trusted brand means a lot – it means we have done our job well and its our responsibility to continue being the best brand with the same momentum for years to come. We have a lot of surprises for our customers this year – we are receiving a new aircraft soon and we will be opening new routes, especially a very popular summer route.”

Sami Arfah Bait Rashid, assistant general manager, Meethaq Islamic Banking Group, said, “Being the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman, we at Meethaq are delighted to receive such a prestigious award which affirms Meethaq’s unrivalled position in the market. Given its strong focus on customer-centric vision, Meethaq has been delivering a unique customer experience, innovative products as well as world-class Islamic banking services to our customers in Oman. I would like to extend our appreciations to our valued customers for the trust and confidence that they have placed in us.”

Abdul Latif and P A Mohammed, joint directors of Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, said, “It’s a very happy moment for us to receive this award for the fifth time. It is a matter of trust, and in our 20th year ahead, we have the same tagline of ’20 years of trust’. Winning is easy but sustaining trust with our customers is a challenge. We now have more responsibility to maintain this trust with all our patrons.”

Jayaprakash Menon, CEO of MHD-ITICS, said, “We at MHD-ITICS are very happy to win two awards. We won in the category of office equipment for Konica Minolta and in the category of household electronics for AKAI. This award reinforces the fact that we have excellent distribution network and very strong brands that bring value to the customers. Our products are backed with excellent service which keeps our customers happy for many years after buying the product.”

Menon further said, “The quality of our products, our ability to reach customers, and the quality of service to back up these products are the three main pillars on which both these brands have won consumers’ trust. This award is an acknowledgement of the fact that we bring quality, reliability and durability to the Omani market.”

Abdallah al Ghafri, brand manager of Lamborghini Muscat, was optimistic about the growth of Lamborghini in Oman, the winner of the Automotive (Super luxury) award. He said, “It is a massive honour for us to win Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Award. This award reflects how people in Oman see our brand. This is a massive honour which encourages us to do more. I believe to maintain this trust and to elevate the trust of customers we have more responsibility. Oman is a very promising market for Lamborghini and we are very optimistic about future growth of this brand in the Omani market.”

Galfar Engineering and Contracting Company, the name synonymous with infrastructure development, bagged the Omani Brand (Business to Business) award. Dr Hamoud al Tobi, CEO of Galfar Engineering and Contracting Company, said, “As one of the largest engineering and contracting company in Oman, we are proud to receive Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Award. This award cements Galfar’s image in the local and regional markets. It demonstrates the transformation that Galfar is going through to continue its partnership in Oman’s development in various country projects.”

The winner of the best Poultry Product award, A’Saffa Foods has been the market leader and continues to win the trust of its customers. Mohammed Suhail al Shanfari, CEO of A’Saffa Foods Company, said, “For the past 21 years A’Saffa Foods worked very hard to achieve high quality products for the customers. This award is a proof that we have been doing well to succeed in winning consumer trust. We will continue providing high quality products. A’Saffa Foods always maintains high quality procedures and high quality inspections for all its products.”

Second time winner in the Travel & Tourism Agencies category, Travel Point has been leading the sector with its customer-centric initiatives. Sunil D’souza, CEO of Travel Point Group, said, “This is the second time Travel Point has won Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Award. This is a testament and a proof that our customer-centric initiatives have done well. We would like to give big thanks to the people who voted and trusted Travel Point as their favourite brand. We wish to continue this tradition of driving customer excellence as a market leader in Oman.”

Anurag Kumar, commercial head – retail at Enhance Group and head of operations for Noor Shopping, said, “It is always great to win an award which recognises our hard work, that, too, under the circumstances during the pandemic years. We are excited to win the trust of the people. The front-line staff and associates of Noor Shopping have show tremendous resilience during challenging times in the past two years. We are serving the daily needs of people and it is very important for us to ensure the quality and availability of products all time.”

EMC won the award in Cosmetics and Dermatology category for the fourth time this year. Manju Ajayshankar, operations manager and Dr Deep at EMC, said, “We are very happy to receive this award for the fourth time in a row and we take this opportunity to thank all those who voted for us. We also renew our commitment today to always give priority to our customers and provide a service that is beyond their expectations. We also dedicate this award to our doctors, our laser technicians, nurses and all staff members.”

Mall of Muscat, which has set a benchmark in the retail and leisure sector in the three years of its operation, won the award in the Malls category. Hussain Jamal, head of operations at Mall of Muscat, said, “Today is a very proud moment for us to know that our customers in Oman have trusted us as the best brand. We are a new mall in Muscat and it is only going to be three years in April. It proves that we have done our part well to earn their trust. We have many surprises in store this year for our anniversary promotion, though we already have the only ‘aquarium in a mall’ in Oman, a beautiful cinema, a huge family entertainment centre and the largest food court, besides some very unique brands.”

Another new brand in the market, Mazoon Dairy, which has quickly established itself as a brand to reckon with, won the award in the Dairy Product category. Dr Arjun Subramanian, CEO of Mazoon Diary Company, said, “We thank Oman for recognising Mazoon Dairy for all its efforts. It truly inspires us and expectations are now set higher for Mazoon to achieve more. At Mazoon, everybody is energised to keep up the quality of the products to make Oman proud and not only to deliver our best services to Oman but beyond. The secret about us winning the award is teamwork, efforts that have gone in in projecting the brand and the products as well.”

Vairali Mehta, chief operating officer at Muscat Pharmacy, said, “It is such a big honour for Muscat Pharmacy to receive the award. It means that we are serving our customers the right way. We try to serve our customers in a way that the demands are full filled keeping in mind protecting the healthcare and well-being of Oman in general. We do everything for our customers and we always make sure they trust us and this award proves that.”

Asaad Said al Sulaimi, property manager at Al Nama Real Estate, said, “The award will definitely encourage us to giving more and more in the near future. The award means a lot for us and it gives us a push in future that we are coming up with new ideas in the market. We will definitely make sure to give our best to our clients. We hope to keep the trust among our clients by implanting the message within us that customers always come first and they are always our priority.”