VP Portfolio Growth Food & Hospitality, Exhibitions Department, Dubai World Trade Centre, Mark Napier gives an exclusive event insight to Inside Food & Drink.
Gulfood Manufacturing, the only annual F&B manufacturing event in the world, represents the pinnacle of the global food and beverage manufacturing industry evolution, offering a decisive destination for those seeking to accelerate the adoption of technology. VP Portfolio
Growth Food & Hospitality, Exhibitions Department, Dubai World Trade Centre, Mark Napier spoke about the event to Jasmine Lodge.
With Gulfood Manufacturing coming up 7th to 9th November, what would you say are the advantages for companies attending the show?
Food manufacturers have been faced with a double whammy – rising inflation and input costs on the one hand, and pressure from retailers and consumers to keep prices down on the other. Innovation and efficiency are key for manufacturers to sur vive and thrive. Shows such as Gulfood Manufacturing put tangible commercial outcomes front and centre for them.
How has Gulfood Manufacturing evolved since the last show?
The show is bigger. It is broader. It is deeper. Gulfood Manufacturing continues to grow year-on-year, garnering interest from top global food production players.
2023 will be the ninth edition of the show, and it sits firmly at the top of the hierarchy of events for the food production industry. It is the leading industry event in the MENA region, in the top tier of global industry events, and the only annual event of its kind in the world. This year’s edition will take a deep dive into themes of sustain -
ability, digitalisation, flavour, efficiency, trailblazers and innovation.
On the exhibition side, we are delighted to see a bigger presence of European manufacturers from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Furthermore, the Chinese and Taiwanese Pavilions are back with full force following a few years of absence due to Covid-19.
How many exhibitors are you expecting this year? How many visitors are you targeting?
VP Portfolio Growth Food & Hospitality, Exhibitions Department, Dubai World Trade Centre, Mark Napier gives an exclusive event insight to Inside Food & Drink.
We will have over 2,000 exhibitors this year, spread across 15 halls, and are expecting more than 36,000 attendees from more than 160 countries.
What is on offer for visitors this year?
Visitors can look forward to discovering cutting-edge solutions on the show floor, as well as hearing inspiring and insightful keynotes and panel discussions from the business leaders, experts and decisionmakers driving the F&B manufacturing industry forward, at the Food Tech Summit. Register early and one can take advantage of the supplier scheduling and selection tools on the website and show app to help find the most relevant business improvement solutions.
The best of the best will be featured in the Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards. Registration to Gulfood
Manufacturing is free, and visitors will have access to three additional co-located events, bringing the industry together in a single food ecosystem: The Speciality Food Festival - the leading platform for the food service, hospitality and retail sectors and all things gourmet; ISM Middle East – MENA’s Leading Sweets and Snacks event; and Private Label Middle East – the only event of its kind in the MENA region for private labelling and contract manufacturing.
The last GFM show included Innovation Tours. How successful was this event? Will the tours be available this year?
Our Innovation Tours are always very popular, with our charismatic host taking our visitors on a highly informative and valuable discovery of high-tech machinery solutions and ingredients innovation across the show floor. The tours will be available
, Dubai, UAE
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again this year, and we are also adding a new dedicated tour focused on Green and Sustainable Manufacturing.
The show consistently offers new solutions to connect the global food manufacturing industry, providing platforms to unveil new products, services and technologies, while connecting with
industry leaders, addressing key challenges, creating new business opportunities and gaining valuable insights into emerging market trends. By creating a platform for the largest companies in the food industry to present their products, services and solutions to thousands of influential buyers from across the globe, participants will have the opportunity to build new professional relationships, strengthen existing ones and execute high-value deals.
7 – 9 Novembe
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I know this is a little early, but can you offer any predictions about trends and developments among the companies exhibiting this year?
Digitalisation, sustainable packaging, alter native protein development, nutrition and flavour, equipment efficiencies, responsible production, food waste solutions, automation, robotics, and AI will no doubt all be front and centre. New launches and technology showcases are always a highlight, as many global companies choose Gulfood Manufacturing as the setting to launch their new products.
What challenges does the food and beverage manufacturing industry face? How does GFM help the industry to overcome these obstacles?
Challenges the industry is currently facing include import and export restrictions, sustainability, safety and transparency, ingredients sourcing, rising costs/ROI, and supply chain disruption, plus workforce restructuring, production efficiency, digitalisation transforming food systems and the huge opportunities presented by innovation.
VP Portfolio Growth Food & Hospitality, Exhibitions Department, Dubai World Trade Centre, Mark Napier gives an exclusive event insight to Inside Food & Drink.
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Gulfood Manufacturing is a platform where these issues will be debated in high level panel discussions, new ideas are formed in inspiring keynote sessions and ground-breaking solutions unveiling the future of food production, will be presented on the show floor itself.
What part of Gulfood Manufacturing are you personally looking forward to the most?
Our aim is to always take the industry to new heights and create a lasting positive impact as Gulfood Manufacturing continues to retain its position as a leading industry platform, championing breakthrough developments that drive the industry forward. I am excited to see what innovative products and solutions will be launched on the show floor, along with
the inspiring insights and ideas that will be discussed and put forward at the always thought-provoking Food Tech Summit.
Is there anything not covered by the above questions that you would like to share with our readers?
We are very excited to have recently announced the launch of Saudi Food Manufacturing (in affiliation with Gulfood and Gulfood Manufacturing) taking place in Riyadh from 22nd to 24th April 2024. With increased market demand, the inaugural edition of Saudi Food Manufacturing will raise the Kingdom’s fast-growing food manufacturing and processing sector to new heights and cement its place at the heart of progress towards the strategic goals set out in Vision 2030. n
