Hussain Mohammed Showaiter Sweets

About the Founder and Founding Story

In the early 19th century, Bahraini trader Hussain Showaiter would travel from Bahrain to Basra, Iraq, to bring back building materials like wood and bamboo, which he traded in.^[6] Around 1850, he was introduced to halwa by an Iraqi family from Najaf he had befriended. Enjoying the confectionery, he decided to learn the recipe during his stay in Iraq.^[7] A few months later, he returned to Bahrain and began making it at home, gradually adapting the recipe to create a uniquely Bahraini recipe.^[8] He would prepare it during the winter at home with the women of the family, while working as a diver in the summer.^[9]

The Showaiters’ halwa became popular, and the family was widely credited for introducing the dessert in Bahrain.^[10] Customers would visit the Showaiters to buy the homemade dessert, which eventually became an integral part of Bahraini culture, traditionally served with coffee to guests during Eid celebrations, weddings, and other occasions.^[11] Commonly made of sugar, corn starch, saffron, and nuts, halwa has a long shelf life, making it a practical choice for seasonal sea voyages. Pearl divers would take halwa on their trips, with its sugar providing the energy needed during extended periods at sea.^[12]

The family tradition of halwa making was passed down from Hussain Showaiter to his children, including his son Mohammed, who secured a location to sell halwa outside the home.^[13] In 1920, the first Showaiter Sweets store opened in Muharraq.^[14]

Growth Phase 

Mohammed Showaiter was succeeded in turn by his children, in particular Hussain Mohammed Showaiter, born in 1912.^[15] After Mohammed’s death in 1924, Hussain was raised by his uncle, Rashid Showaiter, who took him diving and taught him the family trade of halwa making. Hussain eventually married Rashid’s daughter, who also became involved in making halwa at their home.^[16] Hussain went on to take over management of the store, which he modernized and renamed Hussain Mohammed Showaiter Sweets.^[17]

Hussain was succeeded by his two sons, Mohammed Showaiter and Fouad Showaiter (b. 1958), who had been assisting his father in the business since he was a boy. The brothers carried on the family’s legacy while diversifying into the production of additional sweets.^[18] Fouad completed school in the mid-1970s, and although Hussain encouraged him to attend university, he insisted on joining the family business to support his elderly father, particularly in the absence of his older brother, who was studying abroad.^[19] Fouad joined the family business in an official capacity around 1976, at a time when the business employed fewer than half a dozen workers.^[20] He started with delivering the halwa before gradually becoming significantly involved in its preparation and the store’s supervision.^[21]

The business grew in parallel with Bahrain, the original store in the old market of Muharraq eventually being joined by a chain of stores across the country and a factory.^[22] Fouad’s four children—daughters Fatima and Muneera, and sons Muhana and Hussain—shared his passion for halwa, carrying the business into its fifth generation.^[23]

Fouad went on to establish a museum in one of the Showaiters’ old stores, with a hall dedicated to the history of halwa making. The museum highlights his family’s heritage, from their days as pearl divers to their legacy as pioneers in the confectionery industry. One of the most valuable items on display is the first cooking pot used by the family for making halwa—at least 150 years old; the Showaiters donated a pot of similar age to the Bahrain National Museum. The family museum also features other cookware, which is a century or more old, passed down from one generation to the next. The celebrated halwa itself is now also popular as a traditional national souvenir for foreign visitors to take home from Bahrain.^[24]

Today

Members of the family’s fourth and fifth generations remain at the helm of Hussain Mohammed Showaiter Sweets, with Muhana Fouad Showaiter as general manager and Hussain Fouad Hussain Showaiter as factory and production manager.^[25] The business has 12 branches, all in Bahrain, and employed more.