Gulfood 2017 Preview: Bigger and better
Having launched in 1987 in Dubai, UAE, Gulfood 2017 is set to undergo its biggest ever change in layout, format and visitor experience, since its first event.
To increase accessibility and trading potential, Gulfood 2017 will focus on finished food and beverages and highlight eight of the biggest commodity trading sectors with dedicated halls organised by beverages; dairy; fats & oils; health, wellness & free-from; pulses, grains & cereals; meat & poultry; power brands and world food. The sectorisation of Gulfood comes amid growing global sales across the eight show components.
With space already completely sold-out to exhibitors, Gulfood 2017 will span more than 1,000,000 ft2 of indoor exhibition space and purpose-built temporary structures, and offers more than 1,000 new-to-show food and beverage producers.
Gulfood 2017 will feature 120 national pavilions and will also see hundreds of international heads of state, ministers, government officials and scores of national trade associations eager to ink lucrative bi-lateral trade agreements among tens of thousands of anticipated visitors. Gulfood 2017 will host more than 5,000 local, regional and international companies from 120 countries displaying hundreds of thousands of finished food and beverage products.
In addition to its significantly expanded sourcing opportunities, one of Gulfood’s undisputed draws is the annual Emirates Culinary Guild International Salon Culinaire — the world’s largest single-entry chef competition. The Salon Culinaire will raise the profiles of more than 1,000 of the regions’ top professional chefs, pastry chefs, cooks and bakers for a series of competitions evaluated by a panel of renowned experts mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS).
Halal World Food will further cement its standing as the world’s largest annual halal food sourcing trade show through the new sectorised format. As international visitors continue to source a wide range of halal products for domestic markets, the vast majority of halal-certified products at Gulfood will be showcased in a dedicated Meat & Poultry zone. This will enable buyers to easily locate and appraise produce relevant to their needs, whilst also acquiring insight into investment opportunities entering the halal sector throughout the world.
Elsewhere, the eighth edition of the Gulfood Innovation Awards will recognise best-in-class excellence and innovation across the region’s food and drink industry. With 20 categories, the event is judged by an international panel of independent industry experts, with winners to be announced during the gala ceremony hosted alongside the exhibition.
In addition, a record number of local F&B businesses are set to launch their international product lines at Gulfood 2017. Four hundred Emirates-based F&B companies will be in attendance, making it the highest number ever from within the UAE.