P.PSH.1541 - Gulf Food Immersion Event

Summary

Gulfood Dubai stands as one of the world’s most prestigious food exhibitions, attracting global participation and cementing its reputation as the largest International Food Expo. While official visitor numbers are yet to be confirmed, the 2025 edition hosted 5,500 exhibitors from 129 countries, spanning a massive 1.3 million square feet. Its growing popularity has led to plans for the 2026 event to be divided between two exhibition venues.

Objectives

Prof Consulting was engaged to deliver a curated retail safari highlighting the approach to health and wellness, leading brands and the role of meat-based solutions. Other objectives of the project included Prof Consulting identifying suitable opportunities to showcase the MLA R&D capabilities for Australian red meat and identifying target buyers.

Key findings

Each business came to Gulfood with a different agenda and with the vision of achieving slightly different outcomes.
 
During the follow up meetings with each business, they highlighted that they appreciated that this was a group event and found that visiting an event such as this with other businesses and experts was a positive experience.
- it allowed for sharing of experience and expertise 
- it allowed for understanding the pit falls those others further on in the journey had made and 
- it allowed for a bond that enables each to feel comfortable enough with each other to ask for advice and guidance as they progress on their journey to sell product UAE/GCC.
Each business that participated in this project reported a positive experience.

Benefits to industry

This immersion activity has been designed to develop ad pilot a structured method for ensuring that study tours are aligned to innovation priorities and that field-based knowledge gathering in a systematic manner by industry participants, that have expressed the interested in partnering with the MLA to drive the red meat value added product mix. Prof Consulting Group as a market leader in consumer, retail and manufacturing analysis, having worked across multiple markets and supply chains were engaged to bring international experience, market insights and strength of networks to this initial study tour supporting the participants.

In summary each participant benefited from the trip in different ways, each way contributing to their own approaches to commercialise the outputs from their R&D activities, access new markets and contribute to the MLA’s 2030 objective. Engaging some of the largest grocers and distributors in the region who in many cases are already trading Australian red meat to showcase some of the industry driven innovation will have enhanced trust and confidence in the industry.

MLA action

Final report to be made available on MLA websites and be used as the basis for any other international market immersion events.

Future research

The three businesses being supported by MLA and Prof Consulting have learnt about the region and how trading in the region is structured.

These are lessons that can be shared across the MLA group of clients in terms of assistance with regulations:

•    What is required for each product type?
•    What are the barriers to entry?
•    Who can assist with the completion of regulatory documents?
•    What fees are required to have documents completed and submitted?