“Gulfood 2026” launches a platform for grocery trade

The Gulfood 2026 exhibition revealed its intention to launch the “Gulfood Grocery Trade” platform, which was designed specifically to serve the fast-moving consumer goods sector, brands, and grocery products, in a step to keep pace with the rapid expansion witnessed by the retail and wholesale grocery trade sector in the Middle East region, simulating major transformations in the food and beverage system.

The platform’s activities will be launched from January 26 to 30, 2026, at the Dubai Exhibition Center in Expo City Dubai, to highlight the growing strategic importance of grocery trade in ensuring the availability of products, price stability, and the flexibility of supply chains across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and regional markets.

The “Gulfood Grocery Trade” platform, within the “Gulfood 2026” activities, is a high-impact commercial market that brings together manufacturers, brand owners, merchants, distributors, purchasing groups, and those seeking expansion, partnerships, and growth based on sales volume.

According to Gulfood 2026, the Middle East region stands out as one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world, driven by population growth, urbanization and the rapid expansion of modern retail trade. The grocery and fast-moving consumer goods sectors are gaining a lot of this momentum, as the UAE alone records about $40 billion in grocery retail sales, with an annual growth rate of approximately 6.5%.

The “Gulfood Grocery Trading” platform includes a diverse group of regional manufacturers, manufacturing companies and commercial institutions, and the list of exhibitors includes: “Agro Blend”, “Ajman Chamber”, “Al Naqeeb”, “Anabtawi”, “Biotech”, “Dairy World”, “Dubai Industrial City”, “QNT”, “Stall”, and the Umm Al Quwain Chamber, as these entities showcase their capabilities in the fields of packaged food, dairy products, and nutrition. food ingredients, and value-added grocery products.

Gulfood Grocery Trading also confirmed broad international participation, representing a group of leading markets in the supply of grocery products – including China, Malaysia, Senegal, Thailand, the United States, Turkey, and Vietnam, in addition to the UAE – which supplies retail and wholesale trade channels in the Middle East with an increasing share of grocery products.