Gulfood 2015: The biggest edition in the show’s history

The landmark 20th edition of Gulfood, the world's largest annual food and hospitality trade show, was inaugurated on Sunday by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry, along with Helal Saeed AlMarri, Director General of the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC), and a host of local, regional and international ministers, ambassadors and dignitaries.

Taking place from Feb. 8 to Feb. 12 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), Gulfood 2015 is the biggest edition in the show's history, with more than 4,800 companies from 120 countries participating across 120,000 square meters of exhibition space.

"For almost three decades, Gulfood has provided a strategic investment platform for food traders and suppliers from around the world to meet in Dubai," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, DWTC - the organizer of Gulfood. "With billions of dollars' worth of trading taking place directly on the show floor, business transactions at our milestone 20th event are expected to record their highest level to date - further enhancing Dubai's position as the world's leading trading hub and contributing to the growth and development of the UAE's increasingly diverse economy." As a strategic enabler in Dubai's vision to become the global Islamic economy capital, Gulfood 2015 also brings together more than 1,000 international specialist Halal food brands and companies at the second annual Halal World Food Exhibition - the world's biggest sourcing event for Halal food products.

As part of the Gulfood Leaders Events, Gulfood 2015 hosts a number of international heads of state, ministers, government officials and C-Level executives from the private sector during a series of industry-shaping conferences and summits covering various food-related sectors. At the highest level, the World Food Security Summit - one of the world's most important platforms for addressing global food security action plans and policies - took place on Sunday.

Today, the Halal Investment Conference will focus on a sector of increasing financial importance for the global food and beverage industry, with key Halal industry players and senior government decision-makers due to discuss commercial and business opportunities presented by the $1.1 trillion global Halal food market. With Nabil Molla, CEO of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organisation (GSO) among the speakers, the UAE's leading role in Halal standardization and certification will be top of the agenda. On Wednesday, an effective network of entrepreneurs, franchisers, franchisees and investors will gather for the Food Franchising Forum to share insights, trends and opportunities for food franchising - one of the growth drivers of the regional hospitality market. An essential guide to food franchising, the conference is especially pertinent as the UAE is a strategic point-of-entry for the growing number of international brands expanding into the GCC and the wider region.

With thousands of food and beverage products and services introduced every year at Gulfood, the Gulfood Awards - being presented for the sixth time - presents an opportunity to recognize and reward best-in-class excellence and innovation across the region's food and drink industry. Comprising six categories and 10 different awards, an international panel of independent industry experts judges the highly prestigious accolades. Taking place today at the five-star Conrad Hotel in Dubai, the award ceremony will also play host to a unique and memorable celebration of the show's achievements over the past 20 editions. Over 1,000 leading industry decision-makers, celebrity chefs, key exhibitors, customers, media and national groups are expected to attend the anniversary event.

On the main show floor, Emirates International Salon Culinaire in association with the Emirates Culinary Guild will showcase the culinary skills of 1,300 professional chefs. This year's Salon will be evaluated by a panel of 25 renowned experts, mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) to judge culinary events across the globe.