WORLD’S LEADING F&B PROCESSORS TO EXPLORE MEASA EXPANSION AVENUES AND REGIONAL MANUFACTURERS TO SOURCE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT TOOLS AT DEDICATED TRADE EVENT
Conceived to capitalise on unprecedented market demand for the region’s F&B processing industry, Gulfood Manufacturing will debut as the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia’s (MEASA) biggest-ever trade show launch which is also making history as the biggest
launch ever to be held in Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) to date.
Gulfood Manufacturing is the new home for ingredients, processing, packaging and food logistics providers who service the rapidly growing food and beverage production industries established in the Middle East, Africa, Far East and Sub-Continent. The event provides food manufacturers with the ingredients, equipment and business improvement tools that enable more efficient production and distribution. Gulfood Manufacturing has three focused sectors namely Food Logistics Middle East, ProPack Middle East and Ingredients Middle East.
With more than 1,000 international suppliers participating in the specialist B2B platform, the inaugural show is expected to gather more than 10,000 regional and global trade visitors, as well as 1,500 delegates who will share the latest industry insights, market trends and state-of-the-art technology and product innovations in a cache of niche shows, conferences and technical workshops.
The industry heavyweights are primed to utilise Gulfood Manufacturing’s unique proposition as a one-stop-shop to source the latest ingredients, processing machinery, packaging equipment and logistics, warehousing and cold chain solutions to enable faster and cost-effective production of safer and more reliable products-key enablers in saving costs and increasing revenues in the increasingly competitive global food trade industry.
“The Middle East is rightly viewed as a key growth territory for the global food processing, packaging and manufacturing sectors”, said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice-President, Events & Exhibitions Department, DWTC. “Gulfood Manufacturing will give international equipment, logistics and cold chain suppliers a tailored investment platform to gain an operational foothold in one of the world’s fastest growing markets”.
“Internationally, the sector is seeing multi-billion dollar investments and Gulfood Manufacturing will help facilitate and accelerate regional development. The fact the show will be the region’s largest-ever trade show launch speaks volumes about how international suppliers, producers and manufacturers in various segmented industry sectors view the burgeoning regional market”.
As a vessel conceived to spur growth, Gulfood Manufacturing will leverage Dubai’s strategic position as a recognised manufacturing and logistics gateway between East and West and the primary re-export hub to emerging countries and economies across MEASA.
With GCC food imports forecasted to reach USD 53.1 billion by 2020 according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Gulfood Manufacturing will reverse the ‘finished foods’ focus of February’s annual Gulfood showcase and, instead, highlight the region’s ripe business potential as a leading international manufacturing and processing hub. MEASA’s largest-ever, industry-specific Hosted Buyer Programme will be a key asset in turning promise into product.
Designed to enable large multinational food producers to explore MEASA expansion avenues and empower regional food manufacturers to respond to increased customer demand by replacing and upgrading production line equipment, the Gulfood Manufacturing Hosted Buyer Programme in partnership with Tetra Pak will ensure companies seeking the manufacturing business improvement tools needed to compete in increasingly competitive global markets make multi-million dollar investment decisions at the event.
With influential buyers from Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Iran, Nigeria and others attending the show, the Hosted Buyer Programme encapsulates the entire Gulfood Manufacturing mandate: to highlight growth avenues, prompt dialogue and increase inward investment.
Aside from gathering the vast majority of the world’s major F&B processing players, the event’s ‘unique business potential’ has already been hailed by Dubai’s Food and Beverage Manufacturing Business Group (FBMG) – a non-profit industry body for F&B manufacturers based in the Emirate. With established and industry newcomers from every corner of the globe heading to Gulfood Manufacturing to conduct high level networking and investment-driven discussions across the region’s food manufacturing sphere, the world looks set to follow suit.
Three niche B2B trade platforms will also be co-located with Gulfood Manufacturing this year:
• The Speciality Food Festival which caters for producers, suppliers, importers & exporters of gourmet, halal and organic products eager to showcase lines to a target audience of buyers, gourmet chefs, distributors, delicatessens and retail outlets.
www.speciality.ae
• Seafex Middle East which is the region’s biggest trade fair and sourcing platform for the international seafood industry.
www.seafexme.com
• Sweets & Snacks Middle East which is a dedicated platform for the international sweets, confectionery and snack industries across the MENA region.
www.sweetsmiddleeast.com
