Having debuted last year as the biggest-ever trade Show launch in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia (MEASA), the second annual Gulfood Manufacturing returns to Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 27-29 October, 2015.
Conceived to capitalise on unprecedented market demand for the region’s F&B processing industry, the inaugural event of the dedicated trade platform welcomed over 1,100 companies from 56 countries – including 26 official country pavilions – and attracted 26,329 visitors from 156 countries. With major local, regional and global firms such as Tetrapak, UFT, IMA, GEA, IPS, Multivac, Al Thika, Mecatherm, Rieckerman, Dohler, Cargill, Wild, Ishida, TNA and JBT already on board, Gulfood Manufacturing 2015 is poised to up the ante again. Organisers are projecting exhibitor growth of more than 35 per cent as the international F&B processing industry gathers to share latest industry insights, market trends and state-of-the-art technology and product innovations in a cache of niche shows, conferences and technical workshops. The industry heavyweights are primed to utilise Gulfood Manufacturing’s unique proposition as a one-stopshop to source the latest ingredients, processing machinery, packaging equipment and logistics, warehousing and cold chain solutions to enable faster, cheaper and cost-effective production of safer and more reliable products – key enablers in saving costs and increasing revenues in the increasingly competitive global food trade industry.
“When preparing for last year’s inaugural show, we rightly identified that the Middle East is viewed as a key growth territory for the global food processing, packaging and manufacturing sectors,” said Mark Napier, the Exhibition Director. “Having evaluated feedback from our global partners, exhibitors and visitors, we are pushing the envelope even further this year to provide international equipment, logistics and cold chain suppliers a tailored investment platform to gain an operational foothold in one of the world’s fastest growing markets.” At the heart of the Gulfood Manufacturing business proposition is Dubai’s strategic position as a recognised manufacturing and logistics gateway between East and West and the primary re-export hub to emerging countries and economies across MEASA. With GCC food imports forecast to reach US $ 53.1 billion by 2020 according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Gulfood Manufacturing will reverse the ‘finished foods’ focus of February’s annual Gulfood showcase and, instead, highlight the region’s ripe business potential as a leading international manufacturing and processing hub. MEASA’s largest-ever, industry-specific Hosted Buyer Program will be a key asset in turning promise into product. Designed to enable large multinational food producers to explore MEASA expansion avenues and empower regional food manufacturers to respond to increased customer demand by replacing and upgrading production line equipment, the Hosted Buyer Program will ensure companies seeking the manufacturing business improvement tools needed to compete in increasingly competitive global markets make multi-million dollar investment decisions at the event.
