11 FMCG
Some 20 years after the inaugural exhibition, in 2007 the number of exhibitors at the show passed the 2,600 mark — a far cry from the 65 exhibitors that assembled two decades earlier. Now the largest gathering of professionals involved in the FMCG sector in the Middle East, the 12th Gulfood covered an expansive 50,000 square metres and attracted 37,618 trade visitors from 140 countries.

12 SOLD OUT!
Occupying the entire Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) in 2008 — including the additional 11,000 square metres in Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Maktoum Halls — the 13th edition of Gulfood completely sold out. The exhibition covered more than 60,000 square metres of space and, for the first time, a waiting list of potential exhibitors was created.

13 Extension
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Finance Minister and Chairman of Dubai World Trade Centre, opened the show in 2009 and announced a new extension of exhibition space at DWTC would commence construction immediately. The extension ensured DWTC facilities would provide one million square feet in overall covered exhibition space — catering for even more Gulfood growth.

14 Awards
The Gulfood Awards were launched in 2010 to celebrate the show’s 15th anniversary.

15 MICE Market
The show’s contribution to Dubai’s burgeoning MICE sector was detailed in an Economic Impact Report conducted for the 2011 event, which showed Gulfood generated and estimated US $150.8 million (AED 553.4 million) in Total Value Added Impact to the Dubai economy in the form of direct spend, indirect contribution and induced contribution.

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16 Business Deals
With a mammoth 68,681 trade visitors flocking to the show in 2012, the Gulfood post-show survey revealed 31% of exhibitors made more than 10% of their annual business over the show’s four days.

17 Five Days
The 18th edition of Gulfood in 2013 marked its final four-day outing after His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, issued a directive to expand the event to five days from 2014 onwards.

18 Spin-off Show
In an historic first, food processing and manufacturing providers were strategically removed from the refreshed, five-day ‘finished foods’ show and handed a dedicated spin-off event in Gulfood Manufacturing, which debuted in November 2014. The decision opened up an additional 27,000m² of freed-up floor-space for 4500 exhibitors to trade and explore international networking opportunities with 81,622 visitors.

19 In 2015 ...
Gulfood 2015 will span 127,000m² of exhibition space including a purpose-built, 23,000m2, temporary structure — the largest-of-its-type regionally.

20 Progress
More than 85,000+ visitors from over 170 countries are expected to attend 2015’s event, with up to 4800 exhibitors from 120 countries.