“They saw our product and decided to change the concept at a restaurant in their latest Dead Sea resort,” he explains.

“There were also a lot of Iranian hoteliers at the show, which we didn’t see last time we were here.”

Raised professionalism

According to Hatter, this year’s show was “a lot more professional” than his last visit to the exhibition two years ago.

“What I liked about this year’s Gulfood was that all the idiots weren’t here,” Hatter asserts. “Two years ago it was manic, but this year because of the admission charge there were less people, but of better quality.

“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality and instead of having the wrong people there you actually saw the decision makers.”

Hatter cites the admission charge as one of the key reasons behind the raised level of professionalism.

“You can’t just have a free-for-all; at the end of the day we’re all here to do business,” he points out. “There’s no point in having people milling about if they’re not going to buy — if they’re serious about catering what’s AED 50 to enter the exhibition?

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“I’ve put my form in for next year, but I’m going to come on my own instead of with the British delegation,” he adds.

Another company making its mark at the show was OK Furniture. Company chairman Hamid Reza Nadali comments: “It was a very professional show and far better than last year; we managed to do a few good deals this year.

“The big advantage of Gulfood is that all the dignitaries who attend are professional,” continues Nadali. “They come here for a deal; there’s no wasting time, no checking something and moving on.”

Nadali says his only complaint would be the lack of international publicity surrounding the exhibition.

“Gulfood needs more advertising to attract to more clients and visitors from different countries,” he insists.

Gulfood project manager Goli Vossough says she was extremely happy with the outcome of this year’s show, emphasising the high level of professionalism throughout the exhibition.

“The majority of the exhibitors gave me a very positive vibe; they have all been very upbeat and some have made outstanding deals with suppliers and distributors,” she reveals.

“Overall, everyone was really happy with the show — and if the exhibitors are happy then I’m happy, because that means we’ve done our job properly and they’ve conducted their business.”

Vossough explains that the decision to implement an admission fee has helped the show tremendously over the past two years.

“We introduced the fee last year, so it’s not a new concept, but it does help as it means the normal Joe Bloggs can’t just walk in.

“We have been very strong with our marketing campaign and the messages we have sent out; we have been emphasising heavily that this is a trade-only show and only visitors and buyers for this industry should be coming into the convention centre,” she says.

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) marketing manager Yvonne Zeljkovic adds: “It’s essentially our unique selling point — it’s the thing that other international shows don’t do.

“Gulfood is the one that vets the visitors pre-registration and on-site, maintaining the quality of the visitors; that’s something all the exhibitors raved about this year.

“And to be able to get all these exhibitors and have them happy about the quality it quite exceptional,” she says.