Since the announcement at the beginning of July, Al Arz's quantitative market share rose by about 28%.Among the supporters who increased sales were dozens of Israeli diplomats in Israel and around the world, who purchased more than 600 pounds of tahini to support owner Julia Zaher
The company's support of the LGBTQ+ hotline caused a widespread backlash in the Arab-Israeli sector. One grocery store owner in Tamra wrote on Facebook that the company is "people who don't respect religion," while a resident of Wadi Ara wrote that they threw out two containers of the tahini, saying "I am for boycotting the company that supports actions that are against society and religion."
Data collected by StoreNext shows that the company's financial sales rose by 18% during the first week after the announcement and 27.7% the week after. Quantitatively, Al Arz's sales rose by 16.9% in the first week and 27.9% in the second week.
While the Achva Tahini Company remained the leader in the industry and wasn't impacted by Al Arz's rise in sales, a number of competitors were impacted by the rise, with drops in sales reported by Baraka Tahini, private companies, Tahini Jerusalem and Har Bracha Tahini.
But despite the overall gains, Al Arz's sales are suffering in the Arab sector, its main market. Sales agents who sell the tahini to private stores that aren't included in StoreNext's data have not ordered more stock since the boycott began. As Muslim Israelis prepare to mark Eid Al-Adha this week, the company's sales are not benefiting from the rise in sales usually recorded before holidays, according to Calcalist.
Al Arz has also experienced losses in sales to the US and institutions due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The hotline will be operated by "The Aguda – The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel" and paid for by Al-Arz. It will provide information and emotional assistance to LGBTQ+ Arabs in routine and emergency situations. This is the first time that an Arab company has openly invested in an LGBTQ+ initiative in Israel.