Departing this month will be the largest ever trade delegation from Wales to attend one of the world’s leading food and beverage exhibitions in Dubai. Gulfood is to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from the 26 February – 2 March 2017.
25 companies from across the food and drink sector in Wales are taking part under the Welsh Government’s Cymru/Wales presence.
Gulfood is one of the most important food, drink and hospitality shows in the world. With 5,000 exhibitors participating from over 120 countries, and over 90,000 buyers attending, it is one of the world’s biggest annual food and hospitality shows.
The Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM will be in attendance, and commented:
“We all know the quality of Welsh food and drink is up there with the best in the world, however, we need to maintain our visibility and showcase our innovative products at key international trade events. Gulfood offers an exciting and unique opportunity for all our food and drink companies large and small to increase export activity by connecting with buyers from around the world.
“It is a key event for the sector and we are keen to assist both new and experienced Welsh businesses to attend and succeed at trade events such as Gulfood.”
There are opportunities in the UAE for Welsh food and drink companies in most product sectors, in particular, confectionery products, soft drinks including bottled water, chilled/dairy products and grocery products.
One company looking to make an impact at Gulfood is North Wales based Meet the Alternative, a UK manufacturer of premium meat alternative/meat free frozen products.
Alison Compitus, Export Manager of Meet the Alternative sees this trade event as a great opportunity to explore new markets and promote their products directly to a global audience,
“We are very excited about going to Dubai and attending one of the world’s largest food events. Gulfood will give us a fantastic opportunity to introduce our meat free, high protein soya products to the Middle East market and to have direct contact with buyers, distributors and suppliers. Hopefully we’ll return to Wales with plenty of contacts and potential buyers.”
The award winning mid Wales bottled water company, Tŷ Nant, is a well-known global brand, and Steven Gatto, Sales Director knows the value of attending trade events,
"The Middle East is an important market for Tŷ Nant Spring Water Ltd and Gulfood 2017 offers the ideal platform to showcase our award winning natural mineral water and spring water ranges.
Having previously exhibited at Gulfood, we understand this key exhibition allows us to support our established customers and identify new opportunities in a competitive marketplace."
Gulfood will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 26 February – 2 March 2017. Welsh companies attending vary from bottled water, dairy and bakery to grocery products and meat production.
Visit the Cymru/Wales stands S-N10 in the World Food Sector, stands B2-18 in the Dairy sector and stands Z6-B20 in the Beverages sector.