Speaking of the hospitality sector Popal added: “I can see the mid-scale hospitality sector growing in the coming years. There are many international brands arriving into the region, all of which offer guests high quality accommodation.”
Popal added: “As an operator we help you to be more successful but in a way that is really simple, and we do this through our four categories: coffee, cold beverages, signature desserts and flavours. Our mission is to help food service operators grow their sales and manage costs in a way that is simple operationally.”
Swedish kitchenware suppliers Smaky (pictured above) exhibited at Gulfood with the aim of growing its presence in the Gulf region. According to company founder Konstantin Turac, Saudi Arabia already represents Smaky’s largest market in the Gulf, where the brand has attained SASO certification for its products, which allows them to be approved for the KSA market. The UAE, Bahrain and Qatar represent the next target markets for Smaky, Turac revealed.
“Smaky mixers have got a really good name, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, but we are not a huge company. People refer to us as a small big company,” says Turac.
A company with its eye on branching into the region and exhibiting at Gulfood for the first time was Welsh brand The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company. Founded by chef Jonathon Williams, the company produces food products made with seaweed from Welsh waters.
For Williams, the company is part of a revival of a traditional Welsh delicacy, called ‘lavar’ (eaten in the traditional dish lavar bread, made with seaweed). He said: “Interest in seaweed dropped off in the UK, and came back into fashion with Japanese cuisine. We realised that British waters were rich in the same seaweed made popular by Japanese cooking.”
Although not currently stocked in the Middle East market, the company supplies 300 stores across the UK, and products for retail in Sweden, Ireland and the Czech Republic.
The brand, Williams added, aims to supply “high-end retail and high-end food services.” From 2017 onward, The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company will return to Dubai with a view to assessing potential in the emirate for the first food outlet by the Welsh brand.
Another Welsh company that made its Gulfood debut was Pant Du, which supplies premium natural Welsh water. The company is currently not supplying to the GCC, but looking to supply what Pant Du describe as ‘top’ hotels and restaurants that reflect the company’s boutique product.
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