Mark Napier, Gulfood: UAE’s Food & Beverage sector will hit $13.2 billion in 2018
EuroMeatNews.com: What can you tell us about Gulfood 2018? Who will make a first appearance on this year’s edition?
Mark Napier, Gulfood: The 23rd edition of Gulfood from this year is set to welcome more than 5,000 exhibitors from 92 countries,
with more than 120 national pavilions, including firsttime participants Estonia, Serbia and Slovakia. The show will also welcome hundreds of international heads of state, ministers, government officials and scores of national trade associations eager to ink lucrative bilateral trade agreements among tens of thousands of anticipated visitors. Following a successful debut last year, Gulfood 2018 will continue to adopt a sectorised approach to further increase accessibility and trading potential. Tens of thousands of finished food and beverages will be featured in halls dedicated to eight of the biggest commodity trading sectors: Beverages;
Dairy; Fats & Oils; Health, Wellness & Free-From; Pulses, Grains & Cereals; Meat & Poultry; Power Brands and World Food.
EMN: What are your expectations for this year’s edition? What is the investors perception regarding the Middle East market?
MN: Gulfood 2018 will further strengthen the UAE’s lead role in setting the global food agenda. For over three-and-a-half decades, the exhibition has been a key driver in fostering innovation across the local, regional and global food and beverage supply chain, and we expect the on-site sales generated by 95,000-plus buyers and visitors at Gulfood 2018 to contribute to the UAE food and beverage market reaching a valuation of AED82 Billion by 2020 (source: Euromonitor International).
In attracting the Middle East’s largest trade industry audience, generating huge transactional volumes every year on the show floor, and setting global foodstuff commodity prices, Gulfood is the region’s premier food and beverage industry platform – it underlines Dubai’s leading role in the global food sector.
With regional investment in food production on the rise, international manufacturers see the Middle East as a lucrative market
for their products. In this dynamic climate, Gulfood continues to empower the global food and beverage community as an unmatched trading and knowledge platform that offers unrivalled market overviews and insights to industry professionals.
EMN: How is this year’s edition different from the previous one?
MN: Gulfood’s 2018 edition will see the unveiling and exploration of new Tastes, Trends and Trade.
Taste - celebrating world flavours and ingredients at a central point between East and West, the exhibition provides a unique opportunity to experience true culinary diversity. Welcoming master chefs and world-class food producers from all corners of the globe, the exhibition floor is a veritable festival of live cooking demonstrations and fresh food sampling that no amount of desktop research could hope to emulate.
Trends –established as the world’s largest annual food and beverage trade event, Gulfood is the place where every player in the global food industry – from SMEs to large corporations descend annually to set, discuss and debate new trends. Visitors can experience the hottest consumer trends showcased by experts in international retail and food service.
Trade–with more than 5,000 exhibitors participating at this year’s edition, which once again returns with a sectorised format, suppliers and buyers have the opportunity to meet, connect and trade with their target audiences with greater accessibility and increased, vital face-time.
Furthermore, with consumer preferences constantly evolving, driven by convenience, value, sustainability and increasing health awareness, Gulfood 2018 will focus on the five pillars of taste namely: Salt, Sour, Sweet, Bitter and Umami.
EMN: What can you tell us about the evolution of the Food & Beverage industry and how is it reflected in Gulfood?
MN: The F&B industry is one of the largest manufacturing sectors in terms of jobs and value added in most economies, contributing USD 77.5 trillion globally in 2017. That is expected to rise further at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.9 CAGR of 2.9 percent between 2017-2030, driven in part by population growth in emerging markets within Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa,with a growing shift towards packaged and convenience foods in these regions.
As the world’s largest annual food and beverage trade show, Gulfood remains the perfect platform for the leading industry players to launch new products, innovations and services to meet changing consumer demand.
Gulfood 2018 will unveil thousands of new product launches across all sectors and segments. This year will bring more than 1,000 new-to-show food and beverage solutions and services.
EMN: What can you tell us about the F&B industry from UAE?
The UAE’s F&B sector is expected to grow by about 4% annually to reach USD13.2 billion in 2018, according to a report by KPMG, a global audit firm, due to the opening of new outlets and an increase of tourism in the country. The wider GCC food and beverage industry is set to witness strong growth to reach a value of USD34 billion by 2020, according to a Gulfood report.
EMN: Which are the main challenges for the industry and what do you think the players in the field should do to overcome them?
One challenge is the constantly evolving consumer preferences and an increasing demand for healthier food options, sparked by a rise in health awareness. Food producers are having to innovate with their offerings or risk being left behind.
The F&B landscape is being changed by the rise of UAE’s home-grown eateries and this is posing posing a greater challenge to international chains. More often, consumers are looking for exciting dining options, which global food chains may not necessarily offer. In adittion, home-growneateries have a better understanding of regional tastes and a strong affiliation to communities.
And according to the new industry report commissioned by Gulfood, nearly 20% of the F&B market in the UAE is home-grown. Therefore, in order for international brands to overcome and stay ahead of the competition, they will need move forward with a localised approach, i.e. creating menus and operations that suit local tastes and cultures.
Another key challenge facing the industry is the increasing use of internet and new technologies, and applications.The high penetration of smartphones is driving the growth of online food ordering platforms, particularly in the GCC,which has one of the highest smartphone penetrations globally.
Online food ordering optionsare transforming the way people dine, especially among millennials. With a younger and more tech-savvy population, the GCC is set to witness robust demand for these platforms, with the UAEandSaudiArabialeadingthecharge. Therefore, it is vital that food outlets stay on trend and keep pace withchanging consumer patterns and behaviour.
Gulfood, which brings together a who’s who of the food industry, presents exhibitors with the ideal platform to showcase how they have the answers to meet demand.
EMN: What do you think is the key for success in the F&B industry?
Whether you are a fledgling start-up in the Middle East, or a major international manufacturer in Europe or the USA, companies looking to stay successful and ensure prolonged growth need to stay ahead of the curve by investing in automation, new channels to market, increasingly sophisticated ingredients and packaging solutions.
In a word, innovate. The global food and beverage industry is one of the most competitive sectors in the global economy, so staying still is the equivalent of going backwards.
The ultimate proof is in the eating or drinking, so end products must be attractive to consumers in everything from price and packaging, to taste and provenance.
EMN: What trends should we expect for 2018 regarding food & drinks innovation?
Today’s customers want to know where their products are made, what ingredients have been used in the manufacturing process, and, vitally, are the ingredients used healthy and do they originate from sustainable sources.
When the end customer has finished consuming the product, they want to know their environment impact is as low as possible - meaning sustainable, environmentally-friendly and biodegradable packaging will continue to be in vogue.
The modern consumer is spoilt for choice, so only products that tick a diverse spread of demographic demand boxes in geographies where consumer preferences often vary from market to market will be able to compete in the increasingly competitive global food sector.
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