Healthy Snacking
Dubai – The 28th Gulfood edition provided an ideal platform for many Food and Beverage (F&B) brands to showcase their products. The functional beverages and healthy snacks garnered more interest from the visitors. Nutritional value and convenience in consumption was central to visitors’ objectives in the event which promoted change and creativity according to FoodIngredientsFirst.

Innovative Vitamin Shots
Only 4 You (O4U) from Germany exhibited an innovative vitamin shots alternative that triggered when the bottle’s cap was twisted. O4U is a patented technology wherein the cap is filled with flavors and vitamins while the bottle with water and citric. This design is innovated so that the vitamin shots are injected into the drink once the cap is twisted. Each drink contains more than 50% of the daily required vitamin and it also acts as a detox drink. The lack of preservatives and additives is also a major factor.

Healthy Snacks
Indian origin healthy snacks made of nuts and seeds along with other superfoods from Eatopia gained most attention. Eatopia also showcased their millet cookie which had the same taste as the regular cookie. Jowar (new quinoa) is a slow roasted gluten-free whole grain made into a shape of puff. The snack is 80% healthier and has 70% less fat. Other variants of Jowar made of oat puff were also displayed during the event.

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Alternative to Traditional Sweetened Jams & Snacks
One of the products nominated for the Innovation Awards at the Gulfood 2023 was the honey jam. It was the first product that provided a healthy alternative for refined sugar with honey. Gulfood 2023 Berries and honey were used as an alternative without additional flavoring making honey jam pure. While the jam categories in general are diminishing, because of their unhealthy sugar-laden jams, this provides a solution for the problem.

Similarly, an alternative for energy snacks made of seeds, nuts and natural honey was exhibited. The Nut Pops contained all the nuts and seeds bound together with honey. Another major sweet alternative exhibited was the Fruit Minis made of 70-75% fruits. There were three variants of fruit minis wherein honey was the key ingredient.

Sprouted Bean Snacks
India’s Ghodawat Consumers also displayed ready-to-eat sprouted bean snacks. The bean snack was made by dehydrating seven sprouted lentils. These can be consumed by adding them in boiling water and are ready for consumption within a span of three minutes. Some of the lentils that are used in this are pulses and black-eyed peas. The product was also shortlisted for the Gulf Innovation Awards. Another exhibitor Nature’s Own Factory presented buckwheat beverages and chocolates targeted for kids. The snack contained healthy sprouts, grains and lentils.

Healthy Energy Drinks & Beverages
Nature’s Own Factory also presented a buckwheat drink with a variety of flavors including apple, cinnamon and mango. Furthermore, they presented buckwheat chocolates in coconut and coffee varieties as well. These were marketed towards children as they were not only tasty but were highly nutritious. Similar to Gulfood Manufacturing 2022 that focused on food security, Gulfood 2023 emphasized on creativity whereby F&B brands offered healthy and sustainable food products to consumers. Despite the global economic slowdown, the UAE continues to be one of the fastest-growing F&B industries in the world. It offers immense potential for investment within the F&B sector. On similar lines, online food delivery has grown exponentially in the UAE. Many UAE residents prefer to order food online. This has led to the significant rise of UAE’s F&B e-Commerce providing opportunities for investment in the industry.