Moroccan-Dutch entrepreneur brings halal food to Albert Heijn’s shelves
The daughter of Moroccan immigrant workers, Sam Sioua turned a childhood memory into a business success in the Netherlands. Her halal food company has seen its revenue multiply sevenfold in two years. That growth is now opening the doors of the country’s biggest supermarkets.
As a child, Sam Sioua watched her friends eat dishes she could not touch because they were not halal. At home, her mother, who worked more than forty hours a week, often had to prepare suitable versions herself. The choice in Dutch supermarkets was very limited at the time. To fill the refrigerator, families had to visit several stores or spend time in the kitchen. The daughter of Moroccan immigrants never forgot the experience.
Eighteen years later, that family experience has become the driving force behind her business. At the helm of Hal’All Foodfriends with her business partner Marc Veltman, the entrepreneur of Moroccan origin is seeing spectacular growth: between 2023 and 2025, their company’s revenue increased more than sevenfold, reports Dutch outlet De Ondernemer.
The road has not been easy. In the early days, halal products occupied a few discreet sections in large supermarkets, often limited to croquettes and other frozen products. Convincing retailers to expand their ranges was an uphill battle. Sam was also working in a sector largely dominated by men, where she says she often had to work three times as hard to be taken seriously.
She now supplies 35% of a Dutch giant’s fresh halal range
The breakthrough came with Albert Heijn, the Netherlands’ largest supermarket chain. The retailer agreed to sell her products, giving her a platform large enough to convince other retailers. Today, about 35% of Albert Heijn’s fresh halal range comes through her company, she says.
With its own brands and those it supports, Hal’All Foodfriends is developing products that go beyond traditional meats and frozen preparations. Resealable packs of cold cuts, spreads, recipes inspired by different cuisines… Sam wants to offer Muslim families the same choices and innovations as other consumers.
And the figures give her a strong case. According to research firm Circana, sales of halal products measured in Dutch supermarkets rose from 23.2 million euros in 2021 to 53.4 million in 2024. It is a fast-growing market, but still represents only a small fraction of supermarket shelves, the entrepreneur says.
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Sam Sioua is now turning her attention to another section: baby food. Her company has acquired Little Maryam, a brand of organic halal baby food jars, with the aim of appealing to non-Muslim parents as well. For this businesswoman, born into a Moroccan family, true success is not measured by sales alone: she wants halal products to be an option for any consumer, without the label putting them off.
