ItsRaw.ai Aims to Transform UAE Restaurant PR with AI-Driven Simplicity

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 7-04-2026

4 min

Dubai’s ItsRaw.

ai aims to cut restaurant PR costs “for the price of a brunch”.

The UAE’s $1bn F&B marketing spend leaves 28,000 outlets battling for attention.

Restaurants can “self-write” or use AI to create media-ready stories in minutes.

Structured submissions ensure basics like prices and booking links are always included.

Success will hinge on adoption in a crowded, AI-heavy martech market.

Dubai’s food scene never really slows down. New openings, pop-ups, seasonal menus, it’s a constant race for attention. Now a new tech platform, ItsRaw.ai, wants to help restaurants in the UAE cut through that noise without spending a small fortune.

Launched from Dubai, ItsRaw.ai positions itself as a public relations tool built specifically for restaurants. The promise is simple and quite cheeky: get your news out “for the price of a brunch”. Subscriptions start from AED 367 a month, roughly $100, which in a city like Dubai can indeed be the cost of eggs Benedict and a couple of coffees.

The platform is targeting a sizeable market. The UAE’s restaurant industry is estimated to spend around $1 billion (more than AED 3.7 billion) each year on marketing and PR. With over 28,000 F&B outlets operating across the country, competition is fierce. I’ve spoken to enough founders over the years to know that marketing budgets can quickly spiral out of control, and for smaller operators, traditional PR retainers can feel like a bit of a faff.

ItsRaw.ai offers two routes: a “self-write” option or AI-assisted content creation. In practice, restaurants answer a series of guided questions, generate structured copy, and then distribute it via the platform’s media database. The material can also be published on their own websites. The idea is to help even operators with no formal marketing background produce content that is media-ready in minutes.

Co-founder Jonathan Ivan-Duke says the platform is built to help restaurants of all sizes tell their stories and bring more customers through the door. He points to the sheer scale of the UAE’s F&B industry and argues that accessible storytelling tools are needed now more than ever.

His fellow co-founder, Mir Murtaza Khurshid, frames it in practical terms. He has said that in the time it takes to boil an egg, a restaurant can set up a profile, share its latest offers and send the information to a refined media database. According to him, the goal is to make it the fastest, easiest and most affordable way to get restaurant news in front of influential audiences.

And believe it or not, the platform also aims to make life easier for journalists and editors. One common complaint in food media circles is receiving press releases that miss basic details, location, timings, prices, booking links. ItsRaw.ai structures submissions so that these essentials are always included. That attention to detail is spot on, if it works as intended.

The founding team brings solid credentials. Ivan-Duke is a former Sky broadcast journalist who also led in-house PR for a FTSE 100 company before relocating to the Middle East, where he worked on regional launches for brands such as Airbnb and Savills. Khurshid, born and raised in Abu Dhabi, has more than 15 years of experience in integrated marketing. His track record includes campaigns for Five Guys, Tashas Group and Taj Hotels, as well as supporting high-profile chefs like Joël Robuchon and Pierre Gagnaire, and UAE names such as Il Borro, Hutong and 99 Sushi.

The name ItsRaw.ai nods to the idea of combining raw ingredients with the right technique to create something special. In this case, the “ingredients” are restaurant updates, offers and announcements, shaped into structured stories that can travel across media channels, search engines and even AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT.

On the flip side, some might wonder whether another AI-powered content tool is really what the industry needs. I reckon the answer depends on execution. If it genuinely lowers the barrier for smaller venues to be visible, without locking them into costly contracts, it could be a welcome addition. The UAE’s hospitality sector is booming, yes, but margins can be tight and visibility is everything.

At Arageek, we often hear from early-stage founders who say getting press coverage feels mysterious, almost closed off. Tools that demystify that process can be empowering. Still, technology alone is not magic. A compelling concept, good food and consistent quality remain the heart of any successful restaurant, no platform can fix a weak menu.

For now, ItsRaw.ai is rolling out with a clear focus on the UAE market. Whether it becomes a staple tool for thousands of outlets or just another option in an already crowded martech space will depend on adoption in the months ahead. But in a region where dining out is practically a national sport, any solution that promises smarter visibility, and does it affordably, will definately get attention.

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