Gulfood is back and bigger than ever with additional floor space, new pavilions, and an extra day added to the calendar. Some of the 4500 exhibitors tell Hotelier what they hope to achieve at the event and Emirates Culinary Guild president Uwe Micheel reveals why up to 1400 chefs will enter the week’s Salon Culinaire.
Gulfood, the world’s biggest food service, hospitality and retail event for the food and beverage industry, is back for its 19th instalment. Owing to its growing popularity, the event — which will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from February 23-27, 2014 — has been extended to five days.
The extension follows a directive issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, and ruler of Dubai, to support the level of show floor business transacted each year.
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A record 4500 exhibitors, including more than 300 new companies, will participate at Gulfood 2014 — an increase of 7% on last year. With so much more to see and experience in 2014, Gulfood has added an extra 27,000m2 of floor space to accommodate the growing demand from exhibitors.
The team has also prioritised guest feedback from previous years and will implement new features for delegates such as a new registration hall, aisles that are now double in width, exhibits organised by theme, newly-designed, easier-to-read maps, and a free mobile app and online meeting planner to help delegates book meetings, plan their days, and get around the exhibition.
“Gulfood is a very dynamic fair and the Middle East is an exciting market that is growing very fast. Therefore, participation in this show always proves to be quite captivating. It is a great chance to do business with new customers as well as to meet loyal ones. It also provides a business development opportunity that is hard to find anywhere else,” says La Marquise International’s marketing manager Darya Yurkina.
With GCC food imports forecast to reach US $53.1 billion by 2020 according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Gulfood’s emphasis on the ‘finished food’ market reflects the significant regional business potential for global food and beverage related businesses.
“The Middle East is a key market for Santos. Business is growing here very fast with a lot of interest for our products, especially around the juice and coffee business.
Gulfood is definitively the biggest international show in the Middle East and this is the opportunity for Santos to meet all our partners from the region and eventual new importers from Africa or other countries that we don’t see anywhere else,” says Aurelian Fouquet, president of Santos, a manufacturer of commercial electrical equipment for the F&B industry.
Del Monte’s marketing director MENA Virginie De Beco adds: “Del Monte has identified Gulfood as the perfect platform to showcase our vertically integrated business operations and feature our extensive product portfolio to the key players in our industry throughout the region.
Del Monte is optimistic in securing new leads with new markets and Gulfood will also give us the opportunity to team-up with our current business partners from various MENA markets.”
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