UAE-based food and beverage brand Essentially Juices Manufacturing LLC has partnered with Emirates-owned vertical farm Emirates Bustanica to create a bespoke range of fresh juices for Emirates passengers, bringing together locally grown produce, product development expertise and a shared focus on making greater use of every harvest.
What began as a conversation around ingredients has evolved into an ongoing product collaboration, with Essentially and Emirates Bustanica exploring how fresh produce grown in the UAE can be used in new formats and flavour combinations.
The partnership began in 2023, when the two businesses started exploring how more of Emirates Bustanica’s harvest could be incorporated into new food and beverage applications. This included edible stems alongside the farm’s fresh produce, giving Essentially new ingredients to work with as it developed juice concepts specifically for Emirates.
The collaboration has since grown into a rotating collection, with new juice flavours introduced every two months. The range has been served onboard Emirates flights since September 2025, across First Class, Business Class and Premium Economy, with production and supply managed through Emirates Flight Catering.
Approximately 5,000 bottles of juices are now produced each day for Emirates Flight Catering, in formats ranging from 500ml to one litre.
Among the flavours developed through the collaboration are Mint Lemonade, Lemon Pineapple, Berry Boost and Pineapple Power, with the collection continuing to evolve through ongoing product development between Essentially and Emirates Bustanica.
From farm produce to flight-ready juice
At the heart of the partnership is a shared approach to looking at ingredients beyond their most obvious application.
Emirates Bustanica grows fresh produce locally at scale through controlled-environment agriculture, while Essentially brings its expertise in flavour development, formulation and juice production to explore what those ingredients can become.
This includes incorporating edible stems into selected juice creations, supporting a more resource-conscious approach to product development and making greater use of the produce grown through the farm.
For Essentially, the partnership represents an opportunity to demonstrate how locally grown ingredients can be developed into products for large-scale aviation, hospitality and retail environments.
“What started as an idea to work with Bustanica’s produce quickly became something much bigger. We realised that by bringing together what each of us does best, we could create products specifically for Emirates that feel fresh, considered and genuinely different, while making better use of ingredients grown here in the UAE.” said Raja Abuljebain, CEO of Essentially. “For us, zero waste begins with looking at an ingredient differently. Instead of asking what we normally do with it, we ask what else it could become. Working closely with Emirates Bustanica allows us to keep exploring that question, while creating products people genuinely want to consume. Seeing something we developed here in Dubai being served to Emirates passengers around the world is incredibly special. And now, seeing that same collection move into retail feels like the natural next chapter.”
For Bustanica, the collaboration demonstrates how locally grown produce can move beyond traditional farm-to-table applications and into new product formats and consumer experiences.
“The partnership with Essentially demonstrates how collaboration and
innovation across the food ecosystem can create new possibilities for
locally grown produce,” said Danish Hurzuk, Head of Sales and Business Development at Emirates Bustanica. “Together, we are exploring ways to make greater use of each harvest while developing products that meet the expectations of our customers..”
Bringing the Emirates experience to retail
The next stage of the partnership is taking the Emirates-served collection beyond aviation and into retail. Juices from the collection are now being introduced through Spinneys and Waitrose, giving consumers in the UAE the opportunity to experience products originally developed for Emirates passengers outside the aircraft.
The retail expansion also marks a broader opportunity for Essentially to demonstrate its capabilities across product development, manufacturing, aviation, hospitality and retail, developing bespoke products at scale while maintaining the flavour and creativity behind each concept.
As the partnership continues, Essentially and Emirates Bustanica plan to develop new juice combinations and explore further applications for locally grown produce across aviation, hospitality and retail.