The event, which is known for being the biggest sales and sourcing platform of the year, provides industry suppliers the opportunity to meet serious international buyers and market their brands.
The five-day Gulfood 2011 exhibition hosted an incredible 3,800 exhibitors, 81 international pavilions and welcomed over 55,000 buyers from 152 countries.
“The Middle East is an increasingly important market for our business. Attending the Gulfood exhibition is the best business choice we made because it allowed us to showcase our fresh and frozen meat that is shipped from Brazil,” said Marsell, CEO of a frozen meat company in Brazil.
“This is the first time we exhibit in the Gulfood event, but we have been monitoring the event for years. We now hope to start business with different countries and start expanding,” he added.
The global food industry is targeting the GCC market as an opportunity for future growth, which is why many products and brands flew all the way from Asia, Africa, Europe and the US to market their name and look for sponsors in the GCC.
“We want to show people the quality of our products by giving them small samples to taste our unique and fresh cheese,” said Turkish exhibitor Aagh, an owner of a cheese company in Istanbul. “We seek to find sponsors for our products in the retail section, as we want to sell to big supermarkets in Saudi Arabia and countries around it because these are the locations where the money is.”
The United Kingdom stand was the center of attention for all attendees as it featured various famous products that are especially produced in The UK. “We are here to showcase the products made and manufactured in the UK for people to see because most of them here don’t know they exist. So far, we have received many requests from businessmen who want to start business with us in distributing within the GCC,” said Alan, a British exhibitor for chocolate and candy. “Many supermarkets and retail stores buy chocolate and candy from the UK, especially England, in small quantities and sell them for higher prices. We want to start an agreement with those supermarkets to start giving them big quantities so they can sell it to people for reasonable prices,” he added.
The East Asian food corner at the exhibition was filled with Chinese, Japanese and Korean products from rice, noodles, snacks and frozen cuisine. “The Gulfood exhibition is the best place to see our competitors and see their new projects and developments in products and quality,” said Chang, a Chinese exhibitor majoring in rice.
“Our products are known to be one-of-a-kind in Asia and we distribute all over China, Japan and Korea. We know that the Middle East are big fans of Chinese food, so we want to start looking for sponsors and promoters for our brand here,” he added.
Famous Saudi Bakery, Al Rashed Food Company, was also exhibiting to market their new retail brand, Yaumi, which they plan to distribute in the Middle East and Asia.
“We recently launched Yaumi goods in response to consumer demand throughout the GCC as well as internationally. Today, there are over 180 products within the Yaumi range covering four ranges — breads; cakes; puffs and pastries, biscuits and chips — with more lines planned in the future,” said Mahmoud Ghanayem, General Manager at Rashed Al Rashed and sons group.
“This is our first time we exhibit at the Gulfood event although we have been attending each and every one. We thought this would be a great and smart opportunity to introduce our new product to people and to the retail industry,” added Ghanayem.
New international companies were also looking to break into the Middle East market for the first time. “I have heard a lot about the Gulfood exhibition and friends told me that I should take a booth and display my products to make it easier for me to find sponsors in the GCC,” said Eashan, owner of a small tea and herb business in India.
“All I do is mix herbs with black or green tea and add some fruits and spices in it, according to what costumers are looking for. My business is not new in the Indian market, but mine is the best since I use high quality ingredients and tea.”
According to Hamad Al-Nasser, one of the attendees at the exhibition, the Gulfood event is the best event to learn more about the products that are used daily by people. “I have been attending this event for years now and every year, I’m introduced to new products and fall in love with others. I am passionate about food, so it makes sense that I am here every year. I also come to check out international food and meet with suppliers for my future business since I work in the food industry. I’m willing to invest in some of the companies exhibiting here,” he said.
