We went to Chênée to meet Hugo Ben Ouazzou, the son of Alain Ben Ouazzou, who founded the Comptoir des saveurs orientales. We discovered a recently founded and inviting family business that already employs four people.

How did the Comptoir des saveurs orientales begin?

‘The idea of creating this company came from a love for couscous and the desire to share this Eastern cuisine, which was passed down by my great-grandmother as a well-kept family recipe, with everyone,’  Hugo Ben Ouazzou tells us. There are various teas and typical Eastern dishes, such as lentil salads, pearl couscous salads, tajines and, of course, their flagship product: couscous.

In order to meet the growing demand for organic produce, Comptoir des saveurs orientales bases its philosophy around local and 100% organic produce. The aim is to offer the customer produce that is home-made, fresh, organic, varied, delicious and locally sourced. This produce is packaged in cane-pulp trays, which are completely recyclable. A system for processing their waste has also been put in place, in order to remain environmentally friendly.

These delicious ready-made meals are exclusively available in organic shops in Wallonia or Brussels.

The role of Etilux

In order to offer customers an authentic flavour experience, each couscous is accompanied by a delicious home-made harissa sauce!  Hugo and Alain Ben Ouazzou searched for a quick and efficient solution that allowed them to offer a sauce on the side of the couscous packet. That way, those who do not want harissa sauce do not have to use it. ‘Basically, an adhesive tape applicator was used to stick the sauce sachet onto the packaging,’  Hugo Ben Ouazzou explains.

The problem with this type of product is that the initial tack (= stickiness) is not suitable for all environments. Indeed, once they are taken out of the fridge, the gluing surface of the couscous boxes has a layer of moisture that makes it difficult to make anything stick. This is when the collaboration between Etilux and the Comptoir des saveurs orientales started.

The objective was to enable the company to find a quick, efficient and inexpensive solution to attach the sachet, but also to offer a product that can be used quickly. Our specialist, Samuel Scheunis, recommended the Power Adhesives hot-melt glue gun. This gun is designed for people who are looking for a gluing solution that combines simplicity and quality, making it the ideal choice for most gluing applications. Furthermore, in order to avoid wasting too much time, this gun recharges quickly and heats up in just two minutes.

The gluing process

In real terms, the glue can be applied after each packet of couscous has been chilled to remove any bacteria. The advantage of this method is that only a small amount of the product is needed to make the sachet stick. Secondly, the sachet requires very little handling. A single person can handle the gluing process without wasting too much time. The first step is to make a very small glue dot on the packaging, then glue the sachet of harissa directly onto the dot of glue. Finally, the package is wrapped in cardboard and the couscous is ready to be sent!

Thanks to this solution designed by Etilux, the Comptoir des saveurs orientales now has a gluing system that combines speed and efficiency, while also being inexpensive and making it possible to offer couscous lovers a truly enjoyable taste experience.

The solutions proposed by Etilux

In order to provide an effective solution and glue the spices to each box of couscous, Etilux decided to work with the Power Adhesives brand, which specialises in developing and manufacturing high-quality hot-melt adhesive products and offers a broad range of glue guns.