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Taste of Opportunity: Exploring the UAE's Food and Drink Landscape

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Looking for your first or next market for your food and drink products? Join us to find out why the United Arab Emirates could be the perfect market you are looking for.

What you’ll learn

  • understand the trends driving demand in the UAE food and drink sector
  • navigate regulatory requirements and best practices for entering the UAE market
  • identify potential business opportunities for UK food and drink producers to expand in UAE

Description

Did you know that the UAE imports around 90% of its food and drink? Food and drink consumers in the UAE are on the lookout for high-quality British products, especially as consumer trends are increasingly shifting towards health-conscious and organic food products, with a 25% rise in demand over the past year.

These statistics demonstrate that there are significant opportunities for UK food and drink producers to grow their business in UAE - so now is the perfect time to be exploring your growth potential in this market!

Join us for an in-depth exploration of the UAE's flourishing food and drink sector, where demand for imported products is on the rise. In this session, our in-market experts will be providing valuable insights into market trends, consumer preferences, and the strategic opportunities available in UAE’s vibrant and dynamic food and drink landscape.

Our experts will also be providing an overview of the steps you need to take to successfully enter the UAE market, including tips for building strong relationships with local partners and recent success stories.

Whether you are new to selling overseas, or looking to expand into the UAE market, this session will provide essential knowledge and actionable advice to get started with selling your food and drink to this exciting market!

Speakers

Jose Diego Manzanera

Founder & CEO, Gulf Business Consulting

Jose runs a business and investment advisory firm based in the UAE which provides professional advice for leading companies, governments, and institutions from all over the world into the Middle East.

In his almost 20 years of living and working in several countries of the GCC, Jose Diego has been advising ministers, diplomats, SME owners, and entrepreneurs from Europe, Latin America, the USA, and Canada.

Jose is also a keynote speaker on successfully doing business in the Middle East, a teacher of cross-cultural intelligence and an author of articles about business and trade in the Middle East for national and international media.

Elene Kalmikova

International Markets Adviser - Middle East and Pakistan Region, Department for Business and Trade (DBT), British Embassy - Dubai

Elene joined the British Embassy in Dubai, UAE in November 2021 as an Investment Officer and later moved to the Export Support Service Team, which is a cross-sector team that helps UK companies with a high export potential that are looking to do business in the region.

Natalie Best-Garrett

Head of Services, Skills and Agrifood and Drink Portfolio, Department for Business and Trade, British Embassy - Dubai

Natalie manages strategic Food and Drink partnerships and opportunities in the UAE, whilst also horizon scanning for new opportunities in other sectors, including in Creative, Sports Economy and Consumer Sectors.

Mark Burkett

UK Export Academy Adviser, Department for Business and Trade

Mark has been involved in exporting for over 30 years and has exported successfully to every continent around the globe.  

With his wealth of experience and enthusiasm for UK exports, Mark is on a mission to help UK businesses take their products and services to overseas markets in the best possible shape to achieve success.

Edoardo Rossi

Regional Sales Director for Food, Careem

Edoardo holds a vast experience in the food delivery space, having spent more than 8 years working for Deliveroo, talabat and now Careem in the region. Specializing in scaling and leading large commercial teams, Edoardo holds comprehensive knowledge of the current market dynamics and will speak about how Careem has been supporting F&B partners through delivery and dine in solutions.

Abdul Piranie

CFO and Partner, Chaiiwala

Abdul Piranie BA ACMA is the CFO and Partner of Chaiiwala of London. Abdul has over 20 years of experience in Financial Services, first with HSBC Bank Plc and then Global Payments where he was the International Finance Director of Europe. His experience is largely around leading Acquisitions, Mergers and Corporate Governance. As part of the Chaiiwala Executive Board, Abdul has been instrumental in both national and global expansion that has seen substantial brand growth and has been a key figure in developing the strategy to make Chaiiwala a household name globally and execute different formats across the sector.

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