If you use grocery delivery apps, chances are you have spotted new ‘goat’-themed options added to the menu. For Islamic festival Eid Al Adha this year, residents can pre-order their sacrificial animals on Careem and Noon minutes and have the meat delivered to their doorsteps.
Ranging from Dh400 to Dh2,150, both Careem and Noon minutes offer a number of options of sheep and goats of varying sizes.
Eid Al Adha sees Muslims sacrifice an animal to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah’s command. This is known as Udhiya or Qurbani. The meat from the sacrificed animal is typically distributed among family, friends, and those in need.
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This is the first time that the service has been made available on grocery delivery apps in the country.
Noon minutes has seen nearly one million residents engaging with its dedicated Eid Al Adha section on the app.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are pleased to see such strong demand for our offering,” Hussein Heiba, commercial lead at Noon minutes, told Khaleej Times. “Customers can place an order up until two days before Eid Al Adha.”
According to Chase Lario, VP of Groceries at Careem, the service is designed to streamline an important Islamic tradition.
The platform has rolled out the initiative in partnership with a local partner. “We have collaborated with Dhabayeh Al Emarat,” said Lario. “This partnership ensures a consistent supply of high-quality livestock with authenticity in observing the sacred tradition of Udhiya. Many individuals often face challenges in finding suitable vendors to perform this important ritual, and we’re happy to simplify this process for our customers.”
Noon minutes, meanwhile, has partnered with local municipality-approved slaughterhouses for the service. “This ensures that the process adheres to all relevant regulations and maintains the highest standards of hygiene and halal practices,” said Heiba.
Options
Both the Careem and Noon minutes apps give buyers the option to choose between the cut and the number of pieces. They can also choose to have the animal sacrificed on any of the three days of Eid, with meat delivery scheduled for the same day.
According to Lario, the response has been tremendous. “Within a few days since launching, we’ve witnessed a surge in the number of orders from our customers.”
He said the platform had taken care to make sure the animals met with the requirements of sacrifice. “To align with the Udhiya tradition, all sacrificial animals available on Careem are adults, aged above 6 months,” he said. “We offer a range of goats and sheep, with a focus on locally sourced varieties such as Naimi and Najdi sheep, as well as locally raised goats.”
This year, Eid Al Adha falls on June 16. Residents will get a paid holiday from Saturday, June 15, until Tuesday, June 18, to mark the festival.