Gulfood Zero Waste, first sustainable edition

One of the world’s largest annual food and beverage sourcing events set out with a mission to create a sustainable food and beverage show and to underscore the UAE’s status at the forefront of change in the sector. Gulfood continues to play a leading role in tackling global issues with the launch of Gulfood Zero Waste, a global campaign in partnership with restaurants and hotels aimed at driving global zero-waste initiatives. Gulfood 2022 took place across the 21 halls of the Dubai World Trade Centre from February 13-17. The latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations indicates one-third of the world’s food is wasted, equating to 1.3 tons annually, at a cost of US$1 trillion. Beyond the detrimental environmental impact, wastage also translates into the loss of nutrients and resources (water, land, labour, energy and cost) invested in food production. Gulfood took the lead in addressing this issue by launching a first-of-its-kind citywide project that will see chefs from 30 UAE restaurants, cafes and dark kitchens making the best of ‘ugly’ produce and eliminating waste.

Kitopi “cloud kitchen”

Founded in Dubai in January 2018 and considered one of the world’s leading tech-powered food companies, Kitopi’s mission is to satisfy the world’s appetite. Kitopi has 3,500+ employees and 80+ kitchens across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, with a portfolio of invested and franchised brands to help it scale and expand its customer reach locally and internationally. Nathalie Haddad, vice president of Meal Plans at Kitopi, shared at Gulfood her vision and strategy for Kitopi’s Meal Plans and for growing “Right Bite” into a global brand, while building the company’s core strengths around healthy food, with a focus on quality and service backed by the latest nutrition research and trends. Founder of Right Bite kitchen in 2004, Haddad has grown the brand into one of the most recognisable and trusted healthy food brands.

France takes culinary experiences to the next level

The French food and beverage industry saw a 120% increase in participation this year across the event’s World Food, Dairy, Meat and Beverages sections. Business France managed four French pavilions at Gulfood 2022 with 69 companies present, up from 30 in 2020.

Great week for French fresh produce in Dubai

Interfel participated for the second time at a stand that brought together five French companies: Apple Bird, Blue Whale, Cardell Export, Harmonie and Pominter. In parallel with the event, an educational pop-up featuring the best of the French market made its return to the France Pavilion at the Universal Exhibition from February 14-16. More than 2,100 tastings were carried out over three days among the 45,000 visitors present at Expo 2020. “It’s been a very great week in terms of commercial impact for our companies, which have been able to meet many customers. There’s also been a significant media impact via the influencers visiting the exhibition,” said Daniel Soares, international marketing export manager at Interfel.