DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Think of the Arab region, and probably the first things that come to mind are revolution and oil. While for the past three years the Middle East has exported much of the latter, some of its companies have flourished by tapping into local traditions. They've rebranded local wares into high-end products and launched them on international markets.

In the malls of Dubai, there is little evidence of the political upheaval rocking the region and even less of the oil fields that have produced the riches of this cosmopolite emirate. What does have a highly visible presence, however, are Cafe Bateel and al-Nassma Chocolate, two companies that have transformed typical Arab staples — dates and camel milk — into a luxury product.

“Both Bateel and al-Nassma have taken ingredients that are specific to the Arab region and added an approachable factor to them. They have used products such as dates and camel milk that may be very foreign to most and made them evolve into a brand everyone wants to associate with,” branding consultant Khatchig Mikaelian told Al-Monitor.

Bateel was born after a trip to Zurich by its chairman, Ziad Al Soudairy. At the time, low-quality dates were mostly available in the dusty souks, or markets, of Dubai, Jeddah or Riyadh.