The new edition of Gulfood Manufacturing unveiled a wider exhibition profile between October 31 and November 2, featuring sectors such as ingredients, processing, packaging, automation and control, and supply chain solutions. The trade fair showcases solutions for the complete spectrum of food and beverage manufacturing, at Dubai World Trade Center, UAE.
Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards rewarded best practices and innovation within the food manufacturing industry value chain. Mecatherm is among this edition’s winners, with its flexible FTA oven being recognized as the best innovative equipment.
UPDATE: Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has been awarded ‘most innovative food ingredient’ for its natural sweetening solution, Fruit Up Fiber, at Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards.
Fruit Up Fiber is a source of soluble fiber that provides sweetness with 30% less sugar on a dry basis relative to nutritive sweeteners, such as sucrose or glucose. Based on naturally occurring carbohydrates, Fruit Up Fiber can provide developers with a lower sugar, clean label solution for a wide range of food and beverage applications. It has a glycemic index of 40, is also non-GMO, and Halal and Kosher certified.
“Using naturally sourced sweetening ingredients and fibers for sugar reduction gives developers the opportunity to appeal to consumers who are looking to reduce their sugar intake and are also making health and wellness a priority in their eating choices, and Fruit Up Fiber is a great solution to meet this demand,” said Ramesh Sambamoorthy, managing director, Middle East, WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients, a business unit of ADM.
Automation and Controls was one of the five dedicated sectors at Gulfood Manufacturing this year, as the spin-off to Gulfood closed its fourth year. The show spanned more than 80,000 square meters of exhibition space across 13 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Other dedicated sectors within the exhibition included Ingredients, covering the latest in taste and flavor solutions – from amino acids to yeast nutrients; Processing – featuring the latest answers to all needs from baking to water treatment; Packaging; and Supply Chain Solutions – covering everything from cold storage to forklifts.
Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC, said: “The show is a conduit for industry stakeholders eager to accelerate their regional distribution and sales potential, and develop new routes in the food manufacturing sector. The continued growth in the show’s participation emphasizes how the world’s leading equipment, ingredients, logistics and supply chain solutions providers view Gulfood Manufacturing as the preferred platform to leverage an operational foothold in the regional market, specifically via Dubai. Despite global political and economic challenges, Dubai continues to offer a supremely stable base in which to do business, backed by a visionary leadership and a government that is committed to investment and diversification of the economy as part of its long-term future growth strategy.”
The fair featured one of the biggest hosted buyer programs in the region, for food manufacturers and professionals in the market for ingredients and processing solutions. Over 2,000 pre-qualified serious buyers nominated by exhibitors visited the show from across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia with a preset budget, to spend with participating exhibitors.
In association with partner food processing players, Gulfood Manufacturing organized tours to show real-life innovations at work inside some of the region’s top, award-winning food factories. As automation took center stage at the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC), visitors could observe robots working together with people along production lines, and high-speed machines in action. Breakthrough products fresh out of food laboratories could also be sampled.
The Business Talks Conference was held on the sidelines of the exhibition, featuring in-depth analyses, debates and discussions on topics including digitization in the industry, smart manufacturing, big data and analytics, aimed at supporting businesses steer in a “future-friendly direction”.
Gulfood Manufacturing 2017 presented food and beverage manufacturers with the opportunity to connect with more than 1,600 local, regional and international suppliers and industry service providers, while creating easier access for these exhibitors to meet new customers to boost their business potential.
Exhibitors from more than 60 countries showcased their latest innovations, including 30 national pavilions, with first-time participation from countries including Poland and across the CIS. Gulfood Manufacturing 2017 saw the biggest Italian participation in the show’s history, with 3,800 sqm dedicated to companies spanning all sections of the country’s food manufacturing and equipment industry supply chain. Major manufacturing nations present at Gulfood Manufacturing included Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, USA and the UK. China, meanwhile, also rolled out its biggest participation to date as the Far East giant challenges the status quo across the industry.
This article will be updated as the information becomes available.