Sopexa, a compnay focusing on promoting French food products in the Middle East, has revealed it is looking to increase France’s market share in the regionalF&B industry — breaking down some myths about French food in the process.
Speaking to HME.com at Gulfood 2010, Sopexa Middle East managing director Eric Santier said although France had a presence in the region there would be a number of strategies throughout the year to build on it.
“We already have a presence in terms of the products, but we are not one of the main suppliers in the region,” Santier said.
| Advertisement |
“We need to bring more products and we need to give the opportunity to French companies to come and find distributors.”
At this year’s show, Sopexa, which is contracted by the French Ministry of Agriculture, held an interactive live cooking station to give “more impact in terms of visibility”.
Santier said that this idea would be further developed at next year’s show to increase exhibitor and visitor interaction.
He added that half of the 62 French exhibitors at Gulfood were already present in the region, but the other half were looking for distributors and importers.
It was noted that the trend in exhibitors in the French pavilion was towards more original delicatessen-style products, such as high-quality salts, oysters and foie gras.
However, Santier said that although France’s reputation as a culinary powerhouse was a positive, the negative association with French food products was the myth that it is expensive and complicated.
“We try to explain that France has a food country has a large range of products, affordable as well as expensive,” he explained.
“We will be running promotions and we are organising events and training for the food industry. One event we hold is Aperitif a la francaise, dedicated to chefs and general managers of hotels, and we concentrate on food products from France already available in the UAE.”
Visit the Aperitif a la francaise website for more information.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
