Gulfood 2014 review

As the official media publication of the region’s biggest F&B trade show, Caterer Middle East was on the ground at the event, which, for the first time, spanned a staggering five days. Here’s a look at what happened at Gulfood 2014.

The first five-day-long Gulfood event took place on February 23-28, 2014, and Caterer Middle East was thrown headfirst into all the foodie action taking place over the course of the week.

At the time of going to print, no official event figures were released by the organisers, but rest assured, it was a busy week.

With over 4500 exhibitors and Salon Culinaire being its biggest yet, the show had a lot to offer — and we report what we discovered at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

New openings
One of the ways in which Gulfood 2014 was utilised by its exhibitors was to announce a move into a new market, or plans to do so.

Beirut-based design agency WonderEight said it will open its first UAE office in Q1 2014, followed by an office in London by the end of the year. WonderEight managing director Boudy Nasrala explained: “We have a lot of clients in Dubai and the area, so we have to be close to our clients. In Q4 2014, we will open in London.”

The company, which was set up in Beirut, Lebanon 15 years ago, offers a range of services to restaurants including brand creation, restaurant design, packing, marketing strategy, and graphic design. WonderEight also works with three other partner companies to provide a 360-degree offering to clients.

“We have an architecture firm that is very well experienced in the region with restaurants; we have a consulting agency that does a lot of engineering, food consulting, franchising etc; and we also have contractors and kitchenware. This works well for clients who are new to the hospitality sector,” explained Nasrala.

WonderEight’s portfolio includes more than 50 restaurants across Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, London, Paris, Canada, and the USA.

Kitchen equipment manufacturer Manitowoc also revealed the opening of a new sales office in Dubai in the Jebel Ali area.

Manitowoc Foodservice senior vice president — marketing and strategic accounts EMEA Graham Veal said: “We are investing in the region with a new office in Jebel Ali, including a demonstration kitchen for our customers to work on new menus, ideas, sessions with food suppliers, and we are investing in resources in terms of sales service infrastructure.

Manitowoc has also expanded its team in the Middle East, with the appointment of a sales project manager, a distribution manager, a global and regional accounts manager, key accounts and distribution manager, and an admin and marketing coordinator for emerging markets. The company will also appoint a culinary specialist to join the team this year.

UAE-based Raw Coffee jumped into the fray by telling us about the UAE chapter of the Speciality Coffee Association in Europe (SCAE) at Gulfood 2014. Raw Coffee co-founder Matt Toogood, who has previously won the title of UAE Barista of the Year, said: “What we are doing is highlighting the programmes that are available through the Speciality Coffee Association and we’re forming a chapter in the UAE. There are already about 15 companies that have joined up.”

Barista education will be pushed, said Toogood. Companies can enroll their baristas to go through a formal education process.

He added: “What’s really interesting is that we’ve got all the different companies all around the UAE who are competitors, but we work together because it’s all about the love of coffee.”

He said this move has a long-term aim. Toogood revealed: “We have got a three year goal to get baristas recognised as a specialty profession in the UAE. Just like you’d have a chef or a mixologist, we want the same for baristas.”

He continued: “Coffee is not just coffee, and a barista is not a coffee maker. A barista is someone who understands and loves all the aspects of coffee — an artist, a technician.”

Article continues on next page ...

Product launches
If it’s not a new opening, it’s a new product! Gulfood saw the launch of many new items in the Middle East market, with exhibitors showcasing what they could offer the region’s F&B industry.

Melitta launched two coffee machines — the Caffeina XT6 and the CT8. Key account manager Falko Pluckebaum said: “We’ve worked on these for two years to introduce completely new coffee machines with the latest components.”

The Caffeina XT6 features a new design as well as new grinders, cold and hot milk foam, a milk cooler that can hold up to four litres, a cup warmer, and a touch display for pictures or product names.

The CT8 coffee-machine is suitable for large consumption and can produce up to 250 cups of coffee per hour. The machine also features a hot and cold milk foam maker and a touch display.

According to Pluckebaum, the cold milk foam is ideal for hot areas in the summer and can be used to make iced coffee or ice lattes.

Another firm, UAE-based distributor Gourmet 360 used Gulfood to increase the profile of gluten free and organic products across the Middle East F&B market. Founded two years ago, Gourmet 360 has since signed agreements with large US-based F&B suppliers such as Bob’s Red Mill, Sarahbeth’s and Sir Kensington’s, to introduce their ranges of organic and health food products into the Middle East.

Gourmet 360 president Natasha Gangaramani said: “We have a range of products, such as Bob’s Red Mill gluten free coconut flour, which is very hard to find in the market here and some suppliers would charge a premium for, as there is high demand and very low supply. However, that is not how we operate. We have very low margins, and we work very closely with our suppliers and with customers in the Middle East.”

Article continues on next page ...

Market expansion
The Middle East is seen as a busy and booming market, and it’s no wonder that firms are looking to expand their reach.

UAE-based Al Ain Dairy is planning to use a new range of long life juices and an expanding portfolio of camel milk products to boost the company’s growth throughout the GCC market.
The company also unveiled new, ‘adult-focused’ long-life fruit juice flavours, including pomegranate, green cocktail, and lemon & mint.

Al Ain Dairy chief operating officer Shashi Kumar Menon said: “We are just stepping up our efforts into long-life products. We have always been a fresh produce company, and therefore focused a lot on the UAE. But now with more long-life products, we hope to be present across the whole market within one or two years.”

The firm also unveiled plans to differentiate its product offerings from regional competitors, with one tactic to expand the company’s range of camel milk products, such as an upcoming camel milk ice cream.

“We have already had a lot of enquiries about these products, and camel milk is becoming more popular as a potential super-food. The challenge we face now is to create enough supply, because the demand is there and we just have to try to keep up with the production,” added Menon.

Al Ain Dairy has a range of camel milk ice cream coming out before the end of the year.
Expanding beyond the region seemed to be a theme. Sunbulah Group, which has its HQ in Jeddah, KSA, along with four factories, exports to 40 companies across the GCC, Levant region, North Africa, Canada, Malaysia, and Indonesia, but is looking to expand.

Its division manager – food services and frozen bakeries Nabil Najem said: “We launched the frozen bakeries section last year and now that we have worked on the launch we will start exports. We are only in Saudi Arabia at the moment, and are looking to export anywhere and find distributors as well.”

Sunbulah owns the Ashifa Honey brand, which is the only non frozen item in its portfolio. Najem added: “We want to go global into the honey business, and in the frozen business we would like market leadership in the GCC and North Africa.”

Article continues on next page ...

Gulfood Awards innovation
The winners of the fifth Gulfood Awards were crowned at a gala dinner at the Conrad Dubai on the opening day of Gulfood 2014.

DWTC senior vice president Trixie LohMirmand said: “The exceptional calibre of entries received this year highlights the widespread talent and innovation flourishing in our region.”

For the first time this year, Gulfood Awards winners’ products — from best packaging to new foods — were displayed in the newly-launched Innovation Gallery in DWTC’s Sheikh Saeed Halls.
Genius Foods, which was exhibiting at the show for the first time, was one of the big winners on the night, taking home two awards and one highly commended.

Genius Foods international marketing manager Leslie Horne later told Caterer Middle East: “We are proud of our product and it’s different from the other gluten-free products that are on the market. If you test ours against any others, you will find it’s the closest to conventional bread, but without gluten in it. It’s wheat-free and dairy free; it’s an exceptional product.”

Its international account manager Duncan Keith added: “We have a small footprint in the Middle East at the moment but we’re looking for more flexibility to work with retailers and every single channel in the Middle East. It’s a great market and one we are very interested in.” Genius Foods products have been available in the regional market through Spinneys since December 2013.

Article continues on next page ...

Salon Culinaire
The competition this year was spread over a larger area and visitors were treated to sights of beautifully carved vegetables, specially designed cakes, carefully plated food, amazing ice carving feats, and chefs walking around snapping photos of various creations.

Nestlé Professional food business manager Thomas Haller was a marshal at the competition, and said it was “very, very good”. Commenting on participation numbers, he said it was important to be grateful to hotels who send their teams to the show during a week when the rooms are nearly full. He acknowledged the work of the Emirates Culinary Guild in the competition and said it is doing a lot of work to encourage more chefs to participate.

Dubai World Trade Centre director of kitchens Harald Oberender said: “What is even more important is how the event is focusing on developing the next generation of young chefs.

These are the future of our industry and to see how well they do against the best in the world is a tribute to how Dubai’s culinary credentials have grown in stature over the years.”

Haller added in conclusion: “It is important for young people in the UAE to get exposed to competitions [like this]. It’s the most important thing... it’s the future of Dubai; the future of Dubai is hospitality.”

Article continues on next page ...

Pavilion hop
With 120 national pavilions and 10 new countries on board, the interest in the Middle East from across the world was represented through the companies present at the show

Peru
The Trade, Tourism and Investment Office of Peru in Dubai revealed that Peruvian exports to the GCC grew by 300%, driven partially by the agriculture sector.

Speaking to Caterer Middle East at the show, the Trade, Tourism and Investment Office of Peru director Alvaro Silva-Santisteban said: “When we arrived, our trade was around US$ 6.5million. Now, we are talking US$ 52 million in exports. So there’s been more than 300% growth, and from that, 50% is F&B.”

“The sector where we think we can generate the biggest ties is F&B; Gulfood is our biggest participation in the whole Arab world and it’s the biggest sector where we think we can make a difference,” he added.

The Trade, Tourism and Investment Office of Peru was set up in Dubai in May 2011 to increase awareness of the country’s products, which, according to Silva-Santisteban, was negligible at the time. The organisation is now changing its strategy to focus on 10-12 key products in the GCC market, while adding complementary products and services.

“We already have a base in terms of exports, we are already more or less known. The first two years we focused on communication. Now that we are going into the third year, we are going from communication, to positioning,” said Silva-Santisteban.

The products they will focus on include asparagus, grapes, mangoes, avocados, paprika, seafood, ceviche, pulses, chocolate and cacao, and snacks such as dehydrated food, and evaporated milk.

Article continues on next page ...

Singapore
Singapore hosted 48 companies at its largest ever Gulfood pavilion, as the country attempts to build upon its strong trade relations with the GCC markets. This relationship was formalised last year when Singapore became the first non-Middle East country to sign a free trade agreement with the GCC nations, which International Enterprise Singapore claims is something that gives the country’s F&B suppliers a real advantage in the Middle East.

Speaking to Caterer Middle East, International Enterprise Singapore food division director Audrey Tan said: “This agreement means that 95% of the products made in Singapore will be exempt from an import tariff, which I believe averages around 5%. This will make us more attractive to importers and distributors in the Middle East, and allow Singaporean food and beverage companies to be much more competitive.”

Also at the pavilion were chefs Lawrence Toon and Samson Lin from the Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC), who cooked a selection of Singaporean dishes at the stand’s pop-up dining experience.

“Singapore’s culinary landscape is renowned for its delicious street food, innovative restaurant concepts and exquisite fine dining experiences. The pop-up café, launched for the first time at Gulfood, provides visitors with a taste of our authentic Asian flavours and showcases the iconic dishes that Singapore has to offer,” said Lester Lu, regional director for International Enterprise (IE) Singapore in Dubai.

Article continues on next page ...

Malaysia
Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), an agency of the Malaysian Government introduced a range of new products at Gulfood 2014 under the brand “FELDA Best”, a brand developed to market the FELDA settler produce internationally.

A selection of frozen traditional Malaysian products such as aloo curry puff, sweet potato cake, tapioca cake and sambal fried bun were on show, and marked the first of the company’s products to be promoted internationally.

FELDA assistant settler’s development officer Norliza Othamn explained to Caterer that the company already works with Lulu hypermarket and was at the show to introduce themselves to other buyers.

Othamn said: “We are here to introduce ourselves to other buyers; maybe not just in Dubai but other places in the world. The main objective of FELDA in the future is to market our products internationally all over the world. The producers of our products are all Muslims and the products are 100% halal; this is the place where halal food is very much needed and demanded so we’ll do it here first.”

Othamn explained that another objective of the company is to “eradicate poverty in Malaysia”.

She added that there are currently over 100,000 families in FELDA and they are encouraged to be entrepreneurs so that they can develop business themselves.

She said: “Around 35,000 settlers venture into entrepreneurship and from that about 10% are already quite advanced; FELDA chooses the best products and we develop them so they can be marketed internationally,” pointing out that the seven on display at the stand are examples of the work of FELDA Best.

FELDA group chairman Tan Sri Haji Mohd Isa Dato' Haji Abdul Samad said: “Gulfood will be important for FELDA to identify and establish networking with potential trading partners, distributors and retailers both in the gulf region and globally. Malaysian food producers, retailers, manufacturers and service providers should expect a productive week of business trading and relationship building with Gulfood visitors.”

FELDA was initially established to manage the resettlement of economically disadvantaged people from rural locations in areas planted with rubber and palm oil to facilitate the growing of cash crops.

Article continues on next page ...

Japan
After a three-year absence, 16 companies from Japan exhibited at Gulfood. Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Dubai executive director Kotaro Kodoma told Caterer Middle East that the move was reflective of what had happened in the country over the last few years.

He said: “We suffered very severely during the tsunami followed by the nuclear blast accident. For three years it was difficult to promote our produce and fisheries products.

“However, now we are in a state of recovery and we feel secure in the safety of any of the products from Japan.”

After these incidents, there was a restriction on fresh products from Japan but Kodoma said proudly that these import restrictions have already been overcome in the UAE.

With the exhibition, several Islamic societies which are very active in Japan gave approval to the products at the show, citing them to be fully halal.

Kodoma is positive about the upward trend of using Japanese suppliers and products in the region. He said: “We are seeing the rapid increase in Japanese restaurants in Dubai, which exceed a 100.

“Japanese food and culture are getting more popular in the region. We should respond rapidly to this trend to expand our variety of products, and supply excellent Japanese items.”

In addition to exhibiting at the show, JETRO has a strong relationship with the F&B industry in the region, and Kodoma said the government organisation sometimes invites special buyers from the industry into Japan and introduces them to Japanese products, suppliers and producers.

He added clear communication and relationship building was the key to success: “Those buyers are great supporters of our activities, not just in terms of imports but also promote our products in the market.”