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Focus on 8 sectors, Zero Waste, Inspire lend an innovative touch.
Feb 04, 2022

The 28th edition of Gulfood is slated to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) between February 13 and 17, 2022, with a focus on eight sectors and new introductions such as Zero Waste.

The five-day dazzler offers solutions to optimise production, plant, process and profile and it is said to be the world’s leading business, industry and networking place for global food and beverage.

The theme for 2022 will be connect, create and the future for better.

Being the premier event for the food and beverage processing industry in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA), it will connect visitors with about 4000+ global solution providers and suppliers from 120 countries, showcasing the latest F&B business improvement tools.

Highlights of the event:

New feature launches: Gulfood Zero Waste

Giving further details, one of the organisers, said, 'This 2022, amid pandemic, restaurants going sustainable and that’s why we are launching Gulfood Zero Waste as a city wide campaign and during the show where one of our partners, Waste Lab will collect food waste on the last day of Gulfood - will be collected from exhibitors as well as live-cooking stations to be used for compost production.'

Revamping Tastes of the World to Gulfood Top

Launching Gulfood YouthX

Launching Gulfood E-commerce

Focussing on Women Leaders: Gulfood Women Leaders

Focussing on start-ups with a dedicated feature: Gulfood Global Changemakers:

Bringing back: Gulfood StrEAT – Last it was held in 2020 / pre-pandemic

Gulfood is the most important event of the year for food professionals looking to source the latest products, gauge market developments and connect with global suppliers.

Explore new markets

Open conversations with over 5,000 suppliers from 198 countries around the world and discover new market opportunities from across the globe.

Increase profits

Source from one of the widest range of global F&B products, at the most competitive prices for your business.

Join in discussion with the experts on the future of F&B

Learn about new and sustainable forms of producing and consuming food.

Also, the Food for Future Summit brought by Gulfood, will be happening directly after Gulfood on Feb 23 and 24, 2022 @Expo Dubai 2020, Dubai Exhibition Centre, according to the organiser.

The show floor

A sector-wise floor plan makes it easier to navigate the show and maximise time at the event. Hence, the show floor is segmented across 8 food & beverage sectors, which lets find products and suppliers of choice easily and quickly!

1. Beverage: Soft drinks, hot drinks, waters and fresh beverages

Exciting trends in the global beverage industry and there has been a shift in demand for functional beverages, which were previously associated with sports enthusiasts.

Increasingly, what companies term ‘lifestyle consumers’ are also entering the category. Kerry Taste and Nutrition defines this consumer group as inclusive of healthy agers, vegans and vegetarians, and millennial women.

'These beverages were previously targeted towards a niche audience but are now widely available across multiple channels,' Kerry noted, pointing to growing distribution across supermarkets, health stores, foodservice and online.

Demand for products that are plant-based is also on the rise. There are functional innovation opportunities for smoothies and ‘plant-based super drinks’.

2. Dairy: Milk, yoghurt, butters and cheeses

The dairy-free ‘milk’ category is often the first category where a consumer enters the world of dairy alternatives.

Consumption of evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk continues to grow and is expected to register an average annual growth of 2% from 2019 to 2024. This growth comes from Latin America, the Middle East, and to a lesser extent from Asia.

The global dairy alternatives market generated $13.0 billion in 2018, and forecasts that the segment will reach $35.8 billion by 2026, registering a compound annual growth rate of 13.6% between 2019 and 2026

Consumers with allergies to dairy products and consumers who follow a vegan lifestyle are helping to drive demand of plant-based products.

3. Fats & Oils: Nut & plant-based edible oils, animal fats & ghee

Most consumers (68%) across the world closely monitor the type and amount of fat and oil in their packaged food, according to a recent global study from Cargill.

Some 93% were aware of omega-3s, which is an important nutrient with many health benefits some consumers don’t get through their typical diet. In most countries, an organic certification on a label is more impactful on purchasing decisions versus a non-GMO verification.

Studies confirm that consumers track what goes into their bodies by closely reading labels of packaged foods, with fat and oil type as strong purchase consideration factors.

4. Health, Wellness & Free-From: Organic, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, enriched & fortified foods

Covid-19 accelerated the shift in healthy trends that is here to stay.

There is a new understanding of what and how to eat and how these foods have a significant effect on their stamina, strength and immunity to fight off viruses and other health abnormalities.

There is a shift to more wholesome carbs from whole grains, ancient grains. Consumers are also expecting more plant based and plant forward.

'The time has come to think beyond hummus and falafel, and even chickpea pasta. Rich in fibre and plant-based protein, chickpeas are the new cauliflower — popping up in products like chickpea tofu, chickpea flour and even chickpea cereal,' said Whole Foods.

Plant-based innovation has hit the jerky category with brands utilising a variety of meat-free ingredients from mushrooms to jackfruit dried at the peak freshness to preserve nutrients and flavours.

More attention will be given to foods that contain Vitamin C and supplements to boost immunity

Consumers are branching out from the ubiquitous olive oil and trying new varieties of cooking oils such as walnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, and sunflower seed oil.

Coconut and buckwheat flour are already big news, but next year it’s predicted we’ll see a rise in fruit and vegetable flours, such as bananas and cauliflower.

5. Meat & Poultry: Halal, Grass and Corn-fed, Free-range

Fresh meat and poultry sales rose 8.1% this year, equating to an extra ($540.96 million).

The first half of 2020 saw an increase in at-home meals which resulted in 48% of consumers buying more meat.

Nearly two-thirds of consumers said their knowledge about meat and cooking meat has improved since March. Innovations will pay off as consumers experiment due to meat shortages.

The lockdown drew consumers towards online shopping, however 52% of consumers confirm that they would return to their pre-pandemic meat shopping habits.

As the purchase of meats increased, meat-eaters and flexitarians became comfortable buying other meat cuts when their preferred cuts were not available. While it became clear that plant-based substitutes were popular among the vegetarians.

The fresh meat category was helped by the 'halo effect' of lockdown, which resulted in consumers wanting more comfort food. That trend has put meat firmly at the centre of the dinner table.

6. Power Brands: One-stop-shop for multiple product categories

PepsiCo, Eat Just, Givaudan and DuPont are confident that the plant-based trend is going to be more than just a passing fad, driven by consumer health and wellness demands as well as sustainability concerns.

'One of the challenges for the plant-based industry is to get consumers to move from ‘try it once’ to ‘regular part of my diet’. Consumers are not looking to avoid meat or dairy; they are looking for a great eating experience while caring for a better planet and a better health – we need to widen the food space here to provide more versatile food menu and options,' stated Michelle Lee, Asia Pacific regional marketing leader, DuPont, while talking about power brands.

Boom of Private Label Brands

The boom of private label brands picked up during the lockdown. Consumers were less picky about which brand they were consuming because of the rushes of products at the start of stay-at-home orders.

Beyond availability, the reasons for the consumer loyalty shift include value and convenience. People are looking for deals as money gets tight and they are trying to get their shopping done in as few places as possible.

7. Pulses, Grains Cereals: Beans, Rice, Cereals & Flour

The global pulse ingredients market is expected to grow from US$16.2 billion in 2017 to US$24.3 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period from 2018-2025.

Snacks produced through wholegrain lentil flour have been found to meet consumer acceptability with respect to the textural and structure aspects.

The rising number of people following animal-free diets is one potential driver of the boom the pulse industry is experiencing.

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for cereals and grains seeds and is expected to remain dominant during the forecast period.

During the lockdown this year, consumers started baking more which resulted in all-purpose flour going out of stock. A huge influx of consumers started experimenting with alternative flours such as nut flours.

The Covid-19 outbreak has led to greater demand for eat-at-home products like breakfast cereals and snack bars. Uncertainty about how long social-distancing will last has led many consumers to stock up on long-lasting cereal products like breakfast cereals, granola bars and other cereal bars.

Many people due to changing lifestyle prefer cereal bars as an alternative to the less-healthy snacks which provide a rapid source of energy.

8. World Food: 120 Country Pavilions Niche & Speciality Products

UAE currently imports 90% of its food, and has set a target to be the world’s most food secure nation by 2051.

Al Mheiri affirmed that the world needs to build more flexible and sustainable food systems to be able to face challenges such as those created by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, noting that strengthening international community relations is a key pillar to supporting global food security by creating a strong network for food trade.

46% of consumers believe restaurant-branded products are a convenient way to attain the restaurant experience and flavours at home.

Traditional hospitality is getting edged out, particularly with Covid-19 giving consumers more time to stay at home and sharpen their own culinary prowess. Increased home cooking is driving the use of convenient meal kits/starters and more sophisticated ingredients, resulting in new food experiences.

Conference

Gulfood Inspire

In Inspire, one can learn and debate the topics and trends that matter for 2022 and beyond. Create new networks across the value chain and benchmark the latest technologies at the largest annual F&B gathering in the world’

Gulfood Inspire conference features five packed days of compelling and essential content for the F&B community.

Over 200 speakers including F&B business leaders, ministers, policymakers, retail heads, technologists, agriculturists, analysts & futurists.

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