Opinion
Gulfood for thought
Gulfood 2009, the renowned food, ingredients and hospitality exhibition held in Dubai last week, was undoubtedly a hit. Compared to last year, the number of exhibitors were reportedly up, and so were the visitors (though official figures won’t be released until the end of this week).
Many people have asked me how I personally felt Gulfood ‘09 went. I’m about to post a show report about Gulfood here on FoodBev.com, and a review will also feature in Water Innovation and Beverage Innovation magazines, so watch out for those.
However, while the event can claim to be successful, I didn’t spot as many outstanding innovations as I thought I would. Although many trade exhibitors were confident about striking the right deals with partners in the Middle East who weren’t going to end up as timewasters, I also got a sense from talking to food and beverage industry executives that, for many, the economic upheavals in many markets of the world had begun to have an impact on business in the region too.
In short, they have every right to remain bullish about prospects for business opportunities and sales growth for a variety of F&B products and services in the Middle East, but an underlying realism (yes, even in Dubai) was also evident that not all projects should lift off from the ground, as many will fail to deliver success.
Best highlights at Gulfood included the Beverage Opportunity Workshops, which I was involved with. There were several major new pavilions, too, including an impressive one from Hong Kong. And in terms of which exhibition stands I felt were the most impressive, here’s my top 10 below (in alphabetical order):
- Al Ain Mineral Water
- Buffalo Energy Drinks
- Coffeeland
- Del Monte
- Icelandic Glacial
- Nestlé Waters
- Planet Coffee
- Powerhorse
- Rani
- San Pellegrino.
The press office team managing the event – particularly Mona and Jon – deserve a special mention of thanks for their efforts in keeping journalists happy with cups of coffee and internet access.
If you have any comments, views or suggestions about Gulfood ‘09, then please email me.
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Water Innovation looks at the spectrum of packaged water, from still and sparkling source waters through purified alternatives to flavoured and functional developments.
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