This trade fair mostly receives exhibitors from Dubai, Africa and Europe, with a smattering of exhibits from Asia, including India, China, Sri Lanka and Japan. Exhibitors can expect to receive quality business visitors, mostly from the UAE.
◊ By Rutaksha Rawat; Photos© Benefit Publishing Pvt Ltd
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The 16th edition of the Middle East Organic & Natural Products Expo, the UAE’s only trade show focused exclusively on the organic and natural products sector, was inaugurated by His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and was graced by the Agriculture Minister of Karnataka, N H Shivashankara Reddy.
The India pavilion saw participation from 23 organic and natural companies
Hosted from November 18-20 in Dubai, under the ministry’s patronage and supported by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), as well as, Pure & Eco India as Media Partner, the expo featured over 220 exhibitors from 55 countries across the Food & Beverages, Health, Beauty, Living and Environment sectors.
Over the three days, 7,332 trade buyers and 256 VIP buyers attended the event and visitors were robust both in terms of quality and quantity.
PRODUCT TRENDS – 2019
The expo was well-executed and showcased 13 country pavilions, including that of India, with 23 exhibitors. Exhibitors hailed from various parts of the world including Canada, China, Columbia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Morocco, Malaysia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Italy, Nepal, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, UAE, the UK, USA, Vietnam, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria and India.
Dehydrated Fruits is a trending product, with wide varieties of fruit crisps available, such as kiwi, mangoes, pineapples, strawberries, etc
Product exhibits ranged across a gamut of organic and natural products—from organic rice to camel milk soaps to psyllium to organic farm inputs, all kinds of organic dried fruits and nuts, wild forest honey, organic bee pollen, organic and natural bath and body products, organic teas, cheeses, Indian spices and foods, and lots and lots of organic fresh produce.
A new, innovative product spotted was ghee capsules—ideal for consumers who do not have culinary applications for the superfood but covet its nutritional content.
Ghee Capsules, an innovative new product for the non-ethnic market
Although the footfall was homogenously received by all through the 3 days, wildly popular exhibits were those with organic dehydrated fruits (many such were present). Bulgarian company, Roobar, which makes organic, vegan and gluten free dessert snacks, welcomed steady throngs of prospective buyers and consumers through all 3 days.
Bulgarian organic snack company, Roobar, was one of the most popular booths at the fair
Customers also flocked to Ghanaian exhibits showcasing African black soaps and beauty products; and organic certified shea butter from Ugandan company, Guru Nanak Oil Mills Ltd, which claims their shea butter is the “Only Certified Organic Shea butter in the World,” also proved to be an attraction.
UAE MARKET GROWING
Exhibition director, Shinu Pillai, shares the 2018 edition of the Middle East Organic & Natural Products Expo has by far enjoyed the highest numbers of exhibitors and buyers than any previous year. He believes the success of the expo is a reflection of the growth of the organic market in the region. “We host the largest gathering of organic and natural products in the MENA region, and this has been our most successful year yet. We saw that the market was growing, and doubled our hall size in accordance, but the show has delivered much more than we anticipated.
Our focus has always been to provide serious buyer leads to our exhibitors before and during the expo, and with 256 VIP buyers in attendance, apart from the trade buyers, the feedback has been highly positive,” he says.
O2O Connect, the expo’s online-to-offline platform on which exhibitors and buyers can pre-schedule meetings was reported to be a success, with over 2,000 meetings scheduled prior to the expo. The platform can be accessed through www.arabianorganics.com, the event’s online wholesale portal, which offers complete fulfilment packages, including local product certification, online payment, warehousing and last-mile delivery.
The expo received a positive response to its maiden concurrent event, International Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) Conference & Expo—which hosted 14 informative sessions.
The exclusive Organic Tea & Coffee pavilion was also well received, with Yuan Xuan, the promoter of Chinese company, Yuan Ben Tang Tea Culture, confirming participation for the next 10 years, “Because the expo was amazing.”
Exhibitor Nuno Albarran, director of LusoTrade, a UAE-based distributor of organic and natural products with a special focus on Portuguese products, was pleased with his experience. “Dubai is the land of opportunity right now, and we saw a very high trend of organic products appearing here, especially from the past 2-3 years. We are very glad to be here at the Middle East Organic & Natural Products Expo. We met a lot of buyers and had a lot of pre-scheduled meetings; we met interested visitors from supermarkets, hotel chains, and pharmacies. Even if 20% of the meetings get converted, our business will benefit hugely,” said Albarran.
Elena Negrobova, co-founder of Live the Nature, Dubai, an online boutique for organic and natural skincare products, found her visit to the expo to be productive. “I came here to meet my existing suppliers, and because we are interested in sourcing new organic brands and products from the field of skin and personal care. I am happy to say we met some interesting companies and hope that it will go further. You will see me again next year,” she said.
The 17th edition of the Middle East Organic & Natural Products Expo will be held from December 3 to 5 in 2019 at the Dubai Convention & Exhibition Centre.
WHAT YOU MISSED
- 220 exhibitors from 55 countries participated.
- There were 13 dedicated country pavilions in all. The India pavilion enjoyed participation from 23 companies.
- 7,332 trade buyers and 256 VIP buyers attended.
- 2,000 B2B meetings were organised prior to the show.
- Trending product was Dehydrated Fruits.
- Popular booth at the event—Bulgarian company, Roobar, which makes organic, vegan and gluten free dessert snacks.
- Innovation spotted—Ghee Capsules for non-ethnic markets.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Joby Mathew
Sales Director
Ph: +971 50 454 4693
Email: [email protected]
Websites: www.naturalproductme.com
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