Gulfood Inspire

• The top concerns facing food and drink industry leaders across the globe
• How businesses are adapting their business models and responding to challenges and risks
• The opportunities for the food and drink industry in the next 5 years

• Tackling ESG & Changing Consumer Lifestyles
• Managing Supply Chain Issues
• Adapting to Rising Costs

• Outlining the extreme pressures of the food and beverage industry as a result of the global economic situation.
• Demonstrating how consumers around the world are experiencing squeezed grocery budgets amid evolving inflationary pressures. 
• Highlighting how food and beverage companies can support consumers with added-value product innovation, empathetic marketing campaigns and affordable at-home experiences

• Growth on growth in the food delivery market: Competition/saturation - is consolidation the answer?
• Differentiation and customer service, what tech makes a difference in the F&B delivery market?
• Analysing the rise of dark kitchens and dark stores vs. traditional restaurant take out
• Market player strategies, expansion and pivots

• A look at “revenge” diners’ expectations and desires
• From exquisite ingredients to exotic dishes, fine dining is about quality
• Experience and escapism, dining goes beyond the food on the plate
• Competing in excellence, the world of awards and accolades and what they mean for F&B markets and individual restaurants

• Taking the dining experience to the next level with immersive technologies
• When dining meets learning, leads to more conscious consumers
• Designing ecosystem positive menus

• Turning values into viable business
• Empowering local partners
• The genesis of Dubai’s sustainable dining scene
• More than a restaurant: starting and maintaining a movement and why it’s more important than ever

• A look at the sustainable food production, regenerative practices, shorter food chains…
• Conscious food production and consumption supply and demand projections
• Education, building trust and transparency for consumers
• Rigor and regulations in food certification and labeling

• A look at the impact consumer trends in terms of meat vs. alternative protein consumption and expectations
• How is current inflation affecting the plant-based protein market?
• How do different alternative protein techniques compare in terms of scalability and viability? (Plant-based, fermentation-derived, cultivated)

• What does sustainable future meat production look like?
• The cultured meat opportunity: for people, planet and profits
• Lab-grown limits – from tech to consumer adoption and everything in between
• Addressing affordability and advances in making cultured meat mainstream

• Embracing alternative proteins within a traditional seafood processing business – why and how
• The challenges and opportunities of the nascent and promising alternative seafood segment

• Quality feeds and dietary quality of animals.
• Sustainably sourced feed fats and the ecosystem.
• The link between animal nutrition, milk yields and consistent productivity

• Demand and consumption?
• Sustainability and viability?

• Leading global trends in diets – from free from to keto and the opportunities they hold for F&B businesses
• With the rise of diet related diseases, what role does the F&B industry play in population health?
• Malnutrition in the modern world and the urgency of delivering the RIGHT food to people
• Improving nutrition through reformulation to guiding healthy choices to shift dietary patterns

• Gain an in-depth view of African F&B landscape
• The impact of AfCFTA on the continent’s F&B industry
• The lasting effects of Covid on supply chain considerations

• Examining Africa’s production, processing and export outlook
• Hurdles to access African markets and how to clear them
• Emerging flavours and trends from Africa, stimulating Africa’s food SMEs
• Tapping into underserved markets with e-commerce, efficient supply chains and advanced distribution solutions

• 8 mega trends driving consumer behaviour changes across Africa
• Calling all intra- and entrepreneurs – how these translate into F&B business opportunities
• Competition, disruption, innovation and breaking boundaries!

• Overview of the development of the F&B industry in Lithuania
• Success stories and future outlook

• Why invest in KSA? The market context and outlook for F&B production in the kingdom
• The food cluster initiative, support and incentives
• Ecosystem as a service for food businesses

• Investment opportunities in the Food processing industry in Saudi
• Advantages and success stories

• Opportunities, outlook and what’s cooking on the Indian F&B scene
• The UN declared year of the millet – health and nutritional advantages
• Supporting sustainability and climate change through diversification and adoption of new staples

• Overview of MoIAT and Food Standards & Regulations
• Aligning with high F&B technology

• An introduction to food regulations in Dubai
• A look at the food import/export process
• Preparing operations to comply with food safety requirements
• Implementing safety enhancement progammes in food establishments

• Leveraging digital platforms to bolster national economies – real life examples
• Empowering company growth through facilitated access to international markets
• Global trade enablement thanks to B2B e-commerce

• A look at the nature and scope and forecasts of supply chain disruptions today and the impact on F&B stakeholders
• Food handling and opportunities for investment in the GCC
• Supporting wholesalers with import and reliable sourcing
• Excellence in stable and sustainable end-to-end supply chain

• Responsibility is: Investing in regeneration of nature
• Responsibility is: Focusing on farmers’ prosperity and sustainable systems
• Responsibility is: Empowering thriving communities
• Responsibility is: Global

• The F&B value chain in today’s context
• Food commodities and the current food security status around the world
• A perfect economic and geopolitical storm – global and regional illustrations of impacts
• Cost management and viability in this context. Shining a light on Asia and Africa outlooks and opportunities

• A vital industry’s duty to provide quality products despite challenges
• Ensuring quality while minding profits – where and how to strike a balance in an era of rising costs for all
• Meeting global logistical challenges to deliver staples to markets across the globe

• The evolution of vertical farming technologies, where we started, where we are and what’s coming up
• Sharing knowledge and skills to achieve the promises of vertical farming and CEA
• Bringing food production closer to consumers, retail and distribution – real life examples
• The trouble is, if it’s not viable, it’s not sustainable!
• The key to unlocking SUSTAINABILITY, QUALITY & ACCESS?

• Can sustainable agriculture and food production be achieved without digital technologies?
• The status of digital adoption in the agrifood sector today
• What’s needed to drive accessibility and adoption?

• What are Web 3 and metaverse anyway?
• YOUR BRAND needs to pay attention, or risk losing customers
• Examples of metaverse in use for loyalty programmes, brand building, product testing…

• What’s around the corner in metaverse tech for F&B?
  • From next gen engagement and NFT enabled customer experiences, to bringing dark kitchens into the light
• Looking further down the line to neuro-stimulation technologies for an advanced immersive experience
  • Advantages in food innovation
  • Sensory and ML capabilities for food safety
• What’s happening on the restaurant metaverse scene right here in the UAE?

• UAE/Global Landscape -  is the current environment well suited to provide the infrastructure required to support innovations in technology across the full value chain?
• Web 2 to Web 3 transformation -  using technology to support decentralized data management, aggregation of supply chain components, increased transparency and reduced cost and risk throughout supply chain management and logistics regulations.
• Exploring the benefits of blockchain technology in traceability - The link between supply chain and food safety

The technology behind Token gated commerce refers to a payment system that uses digital tokens as a means of securing transactions and granting access to exclusive products, experiences, or events.

• Enabling users to claim ownership of physical and digital assets with certified proof of authenticity.
• Tangible Asset Backed “Phygital NFTs”
• Uniting the generations through Metaverse by providing new ways to create immersive, personalized experiences.

In this exciting interaction segment, agrifood startup founders will get the chance to present their company, product or service to a panel of industry experts and the audience. Join as they get quizzed and receive invaluable feedback to take them companies to the next level.

• Analysing the agrifood investment landscape, trends and needs
• Foodtech as an asset class - what are investors looking for?
• Connecting the ecosystem and enabling innovation – how to get in the game
• How is the Middle East comparing in terms of public and private funding of agrifood and foodtech ventures?

• Halal food growth and trends: from religion to food safety assurance, hygiene and reliability
• Production, certification and regulation – an introduction to what you need to know to navigate these
• The role of halal accreditation bodies in developing the halal food sector
• Meet the Halal meat production leaders, their best practices and learn of opportunities

• The love of the kitchen emboldened by lockdown – new F&B opportunities in at home dining 
• Adventurous consumers ready for new flavours and cuisines, while still seeking convenience 
• Thoughtful indulgence – health, ethics and sustainability matter in the clean eating trend
• End-to-end innovation in the at home food segment

Gulfood Inspire wrap-up:

• What does this vital trifecta mean for the food industry in 2023 and the foreseeable future?