Moscow food industry manufacturers showcased their products to visitors of the 29th international exhibition of the F&B, equipment for hotel and catering business and cuisine of the Persian Gulf countries. Gulfood 2024 unfolded on 19-23 February at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
A Made in Moscow stand was functioning at the exhibition. It provided the opportunity to get acquainted with the products from 18 companies of Russia’s capital that passed competitive selection at the Moscow Export Center.
These include NUTTIS LLC, a manufacturer of natural nut CPG foods under the Nattys® brand. “Our products are made using lean technology of preserving all the beneficial properties of nuts, without any artificial additives: only pure & honest composition and supreme quality. These are sold by federal retailers and at marketplaces across Russia, – says Yuliana Nikolaeva, the brand founder and the company CEO. – At GulFood we presented Nattys natural peanut and nut butters. This was our first case at an international exhibition, so we set the task of getting the feedback of our product, contact with retailers and in general gain attention of new partners, investors, and distributors.”
The sugar-free, gluten-free and high protein pastry from RoseMaryCake’s M&N brand is already familiar to Dubai consumers – last year the company launched its products at the Yalla!Market marketplace. “We create balanced and truly delicious healthy desserts, – said Natalia Stafievskaya, CEO and co-founder of the company. – We debuted at the Gulfood exhibition and presented the product lines of our brand: these are biscotti cookies, protein cookies, a fruitcake and a fruit-and-nut bar. The trend towards healthy living and conscious consumption will continue and we wanted to convey our value proposition, our product, and naturally win their love and loyalty. At the exhibition we were seeking representatives of Retail, HORECA, marketplaces, distributors – contacts with them and the opportunity to launch cooperation with new partners.”
Another member in the Moscow pool of the exhibition – the Beauty Bite brand of products for women’s health – already presented its products at Gulfood last year. The brand’s originator Inna Bogdanova highly appreciated the potency of this business event: “At the time we received 300 target contacts from 30 countries, the exhibition results gave us two potential partners, with one of them we are already cooperating. We opened sales in the UAE and have tested the market for six months to realise where to go next.” The brand’s products are low-carb and high in healthy nutrients. In 2023, the brand was awarded nine golds at the World Food international exhibition. The company’s main export focus has been Arab countries, where diabetes rates are high.
“The United Arab Emirates traditionally remains an appealing market for the Moscow business – and interest in the country is expanding year by year. The share of Moscow in the total volume of Russia’s non-resource non-energy exports to the UAE for the first 11 months of 2023 was over 27%; and this figure will grow, as indicated by the interest of Moscow companies for this region,” emphasized Vitaly Stepanov, CEO of Moscow Export Center.
“Moscow Export Center has already conducted more than 15 business events with partners from the UAE, attended by some 300 companies. Opening the Made in Moscow stand at the Gulfood exhibition, where 18 companies presented their food products, is another example of such support. Moreover, by the year’s end, the MEC will implement more projects to solidify the trade and economic cooperation between Moscow and the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, IT companies will be able to take part in the GITEX Global, and companies from the movies and animation industry, as well as FMCG manufacturers will have the opportunity to hold business talks with partners as part of a business mission to the UAE,” Vitaly Stepanov added.
The Moscow government established the Moscow Export Center to offer non-financial and financial support to local business owners in marketing the Russian capital’s manufacturers’ and service providers’ products abroad. Increasing the number of Moscow exporters and carrying out projects for the growth of their foreign trade are the MEC’s main goals.