GULFOOD WORLD ECONOMY SUMMIT AGENDA

This session offers an in-depth overview of Dubai’s dynamic F&B sector, presenting the latest updates, key figures, and market insights that define its growth. It will highlight emerging trends, investment opportunities, and success drivers positioning Dubai as a leading global hub for innovation and trade in the F&B industry.

Gain exclusive insights from a leading F&B industry executive on how Dubai’s integrated ecosystem is enabling growth, innovation, and global competitiveness across the food value chain. This session will uncover the key enablers that have positioned Dubai as a strategic hub for food trade, manufacturing, and innovation — including its advanced logistics  and infrastructure, supportive regulatory framework, and access to over 2 billion consumers across regional and international markets. The discussion will also highlight how  international companies can tap into Dubai’s thriving F&B landscape to establish, expand, and connect with new market opportunities across the MENA region and beyond. 

A series of one-to-one meetings offering practical guidance and strategic advice to:

• International companies exploring business establishment and investment opportunities in Dubai 
• Dubai-based businesses pursuing expansion into overseas markets

Delegates will engage directly with Dubai Chambers respective teams to receive practical insights, tailored guidance and support to advance their growth plans.

Global food systems are at a crossroads. Technology and infrastructure are no longer optional—they are the backbone of resilience. From digital platforms that optimize production to smart logistics that reduce waste, innovation is shaping the future of food security and systems. These opening remarks will set the tone for a day dedicated to accelerating transformation as well as ensuring that every investment in technology and infrastructure translates into more sustainable food systems for generations to come. 

Food systems demand infrastructure that can adapt as fast as global challenges evolve. This panel explores the latest strategies on building infrastructure that is not only sustainable but also future ready.

• Agile design principles, smart logistics, and next-generation cold chain technologies transforming the backbone of food supply
• Optimizing the balance between performance and cost
• From risk to resilient food supply chains: role of emerging technologies for a smart food future
• Supply chain transformation: building integrity, transparency, traceability and sustainability
• Strengthening agri-food supply chain stability and increasing agri-food innovation and adoption
• Maintaining modern research Infrastructure: Technology mapping, analytics integration and precision agriculture

• How do we craft policy that really works?
• Are plastic alternatives better?
• Plastic “pollution”: What is it and how do we prevent it?
• Microplastics: Imminent danger or storm in a teacup?

This session will help to build connections between fresh produce stakeholders and the global export markets.

• Export-focused discussions with buyers in key international markets to help local producers align their operations with global demand.
• Evolving consumer preferences and how global producers can position themselves competitively
• Critical role and impact of local sourcing

The global agriculture and food industry depend critically on capital to continue expanding production and infrastructure and financing global trade. Capital is also key to accelerate the development and adoption of transformative technologies. This panel explores the growing pool of capital that is targeting the industry, the emerging investment opportunities and the financing strategies that can deliver financial returns and impact at scale.

• Expanding the capital pool to close the funding gap in the global agriculture and food production system
• Agricultural natural capital: challenges and opportunities to attract institutional capital to the industry
• FinTech and the future of trade finance to overcome working capital requirements
• Emerging models, from green bonds to blended finance shaping a future where sustainability and profitability go hand in hand.
• Investments in the Global South: Enabling intra-regional and external investment flows to build a more resilient ag and food supply chain.

The future of food isn’t just about innovation. It’s about trust and transparency powered by technology. In this candid conversation, two industry visionaries will explore how AI, blockchain, and digital ecosystems are rewriting the rules of food systems based on their experiences and what they expect for a decade to come.

Today’s discussions underscored how technology and infrastructure are not just enablers but catalysts for resilient, future-proof food systems. With no collaboration across sectors, innovation and scalability cannot be unlocked. Together, we are shaping a sustainable food ecosystem for generations to come.

The global F&B landscape is evolving at unprecedented speed. New market frontiers are opening, and consumer expectations are shifting toward health, sustainability, and unique experiences. To thrive in this dynamic environment, businesses must embrace bold strategies and forge partnerships that turn challenges into opportunities.

 

A brief introduction to India’s Partner Country profile, the scale of participation across two venues, and the importance of India – UAE food trade relations.

A visionary address highlighting India’s rise as a global food powerhouse, its value-added transformation, and the deepening India-UAE partnership.

This fireside captures the strategic depth of India-UAE cooperation and sets the stage for export-focused discussions.

• Strengthening bilateral food trade under CEPA
• Ensuring reliable, high-quality supply chains
• Rising GCC demand for Indian value-added products
• Opportunities for joint branding, private labels & co-manufacturing
• Enhancing traceability, safety and sustainability

This panel brings together the companies shaping India’s biggest export success stories.

• Evolving from commodity-driven exports to premium, branded, and value-added categories
• Consumer preferences in the GCC market
• Innovations in RTE/RTC foods, spices, dairy, beverages, bakery & confectionery
• Packaging, shelf-life, quality, and certification challenges
• Scaling Indian brands in retail across the Middle East

Discover how South Africa's agricultural exports are uniquely positioned to thrive and innovate in the dynamic Gulf region, unlocking new frontiers for growth.

Manufacturers are recalibrating for the next demand wave across EMEA, Africa, Americas, South Asia — where population growth, urbanization, and evolving retail formats are reshaping category mix and price ladders.

• Inward entry theses, route‑to‑market choices, and affordability architecture to unlock progressive share while protecting margins. Identifying the standards, norms and traceability factors to enter new markets
• Understanding key considerations for large-scale projects in developing countries: New areas of capital investments; markets; labour supply; training; logistics; support from parent company; government contacts and relations; raw materials, packaging, and ingredients sourcing: standards, norms

Consumers are making values‑driven and value‑for‑money choices simultaneously, trading up to functional and premium on some occasions while trading down or private label in others.

• Portfolio segmentation, pack/price ladders, and positioning that win in this barbell market
• From Z to Alpha: Selling stuff to your new and future customers
• Global food packaging trends to win future customer: Are we packing it correctly?

This masterclass offers a concise, accessible framework for understanding the psychological, cultural, and behavioral factors that influence public and market acceptance of innovation — while moving beyond traditional risk communication toward a more inspiring, future-focused approach to technology messaging. Through global examples and applied insights, the session equips participants with practical communication principles that reduce perceived risk, build trust, and accelerate the responsible adoption of future-forward food solution.

Understand the behavioral and cultural drivers that influence how stakeholders perceive new food technologies.

• Identify common communication pitfalls that slow or undermine innovation adoption.
• Explore the limitations of traditional risk communication strategies.
• Learn a practical, behavioral-science framework for introducing emerging technologies with clarity and confidence.
• Examine real-world examples illustrating successful strategies for scaling new food solutions across diverse markets
• Gain actionable principles for framing benefits, addressing uncertainty, and building trust
   

Workshop Leader: Jack A Bobo, Food Futurist, Executive Director, UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies

From unlocking growth in frontier markets to redefining consumer value, scaling regenerative systems, and navigating evolving standards, one message is clear: success will demand agility, collaboration, and innovation at every level.

Food fraud in its various forms is on the rise and is predicted to increase significantly in the future and this could present a real threat to you and your business at any point in the food supply chain.

Understand the types of food fraud:

• Case studies from various food sectors
• Mitigation techniques to protect your business and your supply chain

The aim of this workshop is to get participants have a thorough understanding of:

• How we Identify the risks of food fraud in the supply chain
• Mitigation risk assessment techniques that can be adopted
• Mitigation controls for high-risk raw materials and ingredients

This workshop would cover:

• Food fraud examples in various food and supply chain sectors
• Introduction to PAS 96:2017 - Guide to protecting and defending food and drink from deliberate attack
• Introduction to Threat Assessment & Critical Control Point (TACCP)
• Introduction to Vulnerability Assessment & Critical Control Point (VACCP)
• Global certification standard requirements

This workshop is suitable for all those who are involved in technical and quality assurance of materials through the supply chain for food manufacturers, agents & brokers, importers and exporters, packaging manufacturers and retailers.

Meet Your Expert Workshop Leader:

Russell Parry founded Advanced Food Safety Limited in 1995, which is one of the most respected food safety consultancy & training companies in the UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, and he has won many National awards over the years for his training, exporting and entrepreneurship, including Entrepreneur of the Year and Best Trainer of the Year.

Advanced Food Safety Limited is a multi-award-winning company including Exporter of the Year, Food Northwest Award for International Trade, Best Training Company of the Year and SME of the Year. Russell is the author of many food safety & HACCP textbooks & courses and has appeared on several TV & radio programmes as a food safety expert. Russell developed the brand leading ALLSAFE eLearning and distance Learning food safety training courses and downloads for BRCGS and GFSI Standards.

After 30 years in business Russell is still providing consultancy daily to a wide range of food manufacturers, food packaging manufacturers, storage & distribution companies and agents & brokers developing systems for them to meet and to maintain the requirements of the BRCGS Standards and other GFSI standards. He also provides an invaluable internal auditing service to maintain systems.

Working every day in industry gives Russell a genuine insight into the difficulties facing the food industry and this provides the basis of Russell’s practical support solutions for his clients.

The aim of this workshop is to help participants have a thorough understanding of how to:

• Build a successful company
• Prepare a company for an exit (IPO or M&A sell-side)
• Determine the best acquirors (strategics and PE)
• Determine the best pre-IPO and IPO investors
• Optimize investor returns through an exit

The workshop will cover:

• The importance for companies of achieving meaningful commercial scale, positive EBITDA and profitability
• Rationale for partnering with large corporate strategics
• How to find the right pre-IPO investors
• How to decide whether to pursue an IPO, M&A sell-side process or dual process (IPO and M&A)
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) that companies typically needed for an exit
• How far in advance a company should prepare for an IPO, M&A, or dual process
• The steps involved in the IPO, M&A, and dual process
• How companies can maximize synergies for an M&A transaction
• Most effective strategies to achieve a successful exit

The workshop is valuable for agriculture and food industry participants. AgTech & FoodTech company executives and investors will find the session beneficial at it will provide key insight on how to achieve a successful exit.

Meet Your Expert Workshop Leader:

Adam Bergman is a Managing Director at EcoTech Capital where he works at the intersection of technology innovation and climate change. Adam is a sustainability executive leader with almost 30 years’ investment banking experience raising capital and executing M&A transactions. He also provides strategic advice and financial guidance to senior executives and boards on capital raising, growth strategies, M&A, and partnerships. As one of the first investment bankers to focus exclusively on the CleanTech sector, starting in 2005, Adam is recognized as a leading subject matter expert and is a frequent speaker at industry events and publisher of articles on sustainability.

Adam has built industry leading AgTech investment banking practices at Citi and Wells Fargo by creating a broad ecosystem to help drive adoption of technology and innovation throughout the food & ag value chain. Adam established the AgTech cohort for Wells Fargo’s innovation incubator (IN2) at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2018. He is a technology advisor to Western Growers Association, which represents local and regional family farmers who grow over half the nation's fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. Adam also is a technology advisor for SeaAhead, a bluetech startup platform in Boston, Massachusetts, whose mission is to support new, innovative ventures, with a focus on sustainability and the oceans.

Adam has a B.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Additionally, he holds an M.A. in International Development from the International University of Japan.

Climate regulations are often seen as threats. This workshop flips the script by treating regulation as a competitive advantage. We will design an “Enabling Market Agreement” where clear government rules and long-term private contracts provide the certainty farmers need to invest in generational resilience. The shift is from compliance to strategic alignment, positioning farmers as the starting point from which resilience and global food security scale across the entire value chain.

You will develop an Enabling Market Agreement, clarifying the key public and private enablers required to align political cycles with long-term biological timelines across the value chain.

The Market Access Deal: From Compliance to Trusted Market Access

Trade requirements and sustainability standards are increasingly shaping market access. While compliance entails costs, lack of access represents a far greater risk for farmers and supply chains. This deal focuses on how verified performance and traceability can be translated into trusted and simplified market access, reducing friction and providing greater certainty for long-term investment.

Key question: How can compliance be recognized as a basis for trusted market access, rather than repeated controls and transaction costs across the value chain?

The Public Deal
Aligning Public Action with Intergenerational Timelines

Political decision cycles are short, while agricultural productivity, soil recovery and resilience depend on long-term biological processes. This misalignment limits farmers’ ability to plan and invest for generational resilience.

This deal explores how public policy conditions, incentives and regulatory approaches can be designed to provide long-term certainty, enabling investment despite volatility and short-term pressures.

Key question: What public policy conditions are required to align political decision cycles with long-term biological and investment timelines?

The Security Deal
From Spot Transactions to Strategic Partnerships

In an increasingly volatile global context, supply security has become a strategic priority. Transactional, spot-based relationships often fail under stress, exposing both producers and buyers to disruption.

This deal examines how commercial agreements can evolve toward long-term partnerships, aligning incentives and sharing risk to strengthen supply resilience.

Key question: How can commercial agreements evolve to support supply security while remaining viable for both farmers and buyers?

Expected Outcome:

A consolidated outline of an Enabling Market Agreement, identifying the critical public and private enablers required to align political cycles with long-term biological timelines, in a way that supports resilience and the needs of the entire value chain.

Meet Your Expert Workshop Leader:

Rodrigo Ramírez is Founder & CEO of Numen Bio, a regenerative agriculture and ecosystem services company operating across Latin America, Africa and Europe, focused on improving farmer profitability through market-based sustainability solutions.

With more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, consultant, board member and corporate executive, he works at the intersection of farmers, markets and public institutions, designing frameworks where regeneration, traceability and ecosystem services are integrated into competitive market strategies. His approach centers on aligning market access requirements, long-term commercial agreements and public incentives so that sustainability delivers predictable, additional value for farmers.

He served as a Board Member of El Tejar, contributing to one of Argentina’s first financially scaled agricultural production models, implemented across 1 Mha, with 90% under leased land.

Rodrigo also played a key role in transforming a joint venture between Argentina’s two largest media groups into a leading national and regional exhibition platform, including the country’s flagship open-air agri-industrial and food industry fairs.

His professional path evolved from local roles to regional leadership positions, with strong involvement in institutional representation and government engagement, bringing a systemic view of agrifood resilience based on aligned incentives across the value chain.