Exclusive focus: ISM Middle East gears-up for major regional confectionery showcase
ISM Middle East in Dubai. Pic: Neill Barston
With ISM Middle East is set to open its doors in Dubai tomorrow, editor Neill Barston speaks exclusively to Katharina Buschjager and Mark Napier of its organising team, as well as its UK pavilion team, as Confectionery Production returns to cover the show sweets and snacks categories that are shaking-up the region.
As one of the most stylish global business centres in the world, Dubai has continued to thrive as a centre for international events across every sector imaginable. (Watch our exclusive video preview for this year’s major event here).
In its comparatively short history, it has literally risen from the desert over the past century, to become one of the most sought-after locations for everything from luxury property programmes and sporting spectacles, through to its ever-expanding and entertainment sector. As far as the food and drink market is concerned, Gulfood Manufacturing, which this year celebrates its tenth edition, has underlined the major demand for equipment and systems within the broader MENA region, delivering a multi-billion industry.
For its part, the confectionery industry has enjoyed its own time in the intense sun of Dubai, with its World Trade Centre playing host to ISM Middle East in a new timeframe this month. This has enabled its significant expansion, with a total of more than 500 exhibitors across a total of eight In a bold move, this year’s ISM Middle East has switched from its previous date of November to a new September timeframe.
Certainly, as we reported last year, the event offered a huge regional gateway for some of the world’s biggest brands to be represented in the region through key distributors. There was a genuine buzz surrounding its busy trade floors, as visitors from right across the Middle East, as well as many who had flown in from across Europe, and wider North African and Indian regions, made the most of its engaging show floors.
Notably, as Confectioner Production previously covered, Barry Callebaut placed a strong marker of intent down for its presence in Dubai, through instituting one of its chocolate academies in the city – located in a glamourous setting within the famed Burj Khalifa tower. Other major players have followed suit in opening offices within the region, given its strategic importance to the wider region, which has seen the market evolve rapidly.
As its organising team explains, this time around, there are over 13 new countries participating in the show, including Denmark, France, Guatemala, and Vietnam, bringing dynamic new tastes and experiences to the show.
The combined array of exhibitors, including a British contingent led by the PS8 group behind a small but distinguished UK pavilion, offer access to a combined tally of 50,000 global product ranges. Notably, this year’s exhibition is promising to be bigger and better than ever, with a particular focus on chocolate, confectionery, desserts, snack foods, ice cream, fine bakery, and dates and date palm products. In addition, partnering with Euromonitor and Innova Market Insights, there has been a marked increase in the delivery of trends sessions, with these now taking place right across its three days of action between 24-26 September.
Speaking to Confectionery Production, Katharina Buschjager, ISM Middle East’s director, and Mark Napier, the organising group’s events director, believed the newly positioned show is poised to capture the region’s thirst for a host of global sweet treats. “I am very excited to see this year’s edition take place, and we have seen constant growth with it for 2023, and through Koelnmesse and Dubai World Trade Centre joining force, it has become even stronger in its concepts and state-of-the-art features. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how it is perceived by everyone, with over 550 exhibitors this year, which has seen it double from last year’s event, and over 50 nationalities.
So, it’s going to be really impressive and a huge show – the demand is there for it and we are still dealing with a waiting list for it,” enthuses Katharina, who came on board last year to drive its forward momentum. As her colleague Mark Napier explained, there had been a sizeable amount of work and planning behind the scenes in making the shift to the new date. But the show, which had previously been known as Yummex, underwent a key rebranding to ISM Middle East two years ago, which he believed had been a considerable success.
From its relatively modest ambitions a decade ago, he felt its transformation into his present guise has been a testament to the strength of the management team. “This has been an ambitious project for us, and we established that what it really needed was scale – we’d received excellent feedback from exhibitors and visitors. “So, that was our primary goal that we set for ourselves was to see it grow, and it’s incredible that this has been pulled off. There’s been a huge investment in content and speakers, and its educational programme. When these ambitious ideas come together, that’s what makes it enjoyable,” explains the group events director, who added that it has left them with a perhaps enviable challenge of how it can meet exhibitor demand.
As ever, exploring new trends will be high on the agenda of this year’s show, and it seems that the global shift towards healthier options is one that is being embraced in the region, as well as significant potential for private label manufacturing. Fresh impetus Among freshly introduced aspects of the show is a networking scheduling facility for the event, which organisers are anticipating will prompt a considerable response.
Moreover, as we’ve covered in detail before, Dubai in particular has been renowned as a setting where businesses and individuals especially favour those personal relationships, which has led to events seeing a serious volume of trade conducted and plans being carried forward.
But as Mark Napier adds, there’s a special allure regarding ISM Middle East, in placing both global and regional brands under the spotlight. “The event is all about the things that are enjoyable in life, and they are indulgences that make life pleasurable. “When we are having a tough time, we can cheer ourselves up with a chocolate, it might be 80% dark chocolate with a healthy piece of fruit in there, but you also reach for a treat when there’s a celebration. “It’s one of the things I have noticed about living here in Dubai, is that whenever I come back here from my travels, it seems that everywhere in the world has a celebration that has some form of confection, everything from births, marriages and parties,” he explains, noting the MENA region is no exception to this rule in its love of gifting.
From her perspective, Katharina believed there was a considerable wave of optimism surrounding the latest edition of the show, even in spite of background global market challenges. She adds: “The results from last year were mindblowing, having just joined the trade fair. To talk to the exhibitors and visitors and see their reaction to our plans, was great. I had some conversations with exhibitors who were all convinced that ISM Middle East was the platform for the market for their businesses,” she says of the region’s stellar confectionery show that is going from strength to strength.
UK participation
The UK’s food and drink sector is poised to make a significant impact at the upcoming ISM Middle East trade show in Dubai, as leading British confectionery and biscuit brands prepare to showcase their latest innovations. As Britain’s pavilion organiser, PS8 noted, the MENA region remains a critical market for exports, and with a reputation for quality, innovation, and tradition, exhibitors are eager to connect with buyers and show visitors to the event between 24-26 September. Notably, UK exports of sugar and chocolate confectionery reached over £1billion in 2023, with the Middle East region accounting for £141million in sales.
Among the delegation from the UK this year, will be Walker’s Nonsuch, a family-owned company with over 130 years of toffee-making expertise, will also be participating at the event. Known for its highquality toffees, they will debut new 350g Gift Boxes, a product line tailored to the Middle Eastern market.
With a longstanding presence in the region, and its first Middle Eastern market being Oman, Walkers Nonsuch continues to innovate, introducing Arabic ingredients and nutritional information on all retail packs to cater to local tastes. Another key brand will be Jakemans UK, a heritage film established in 1907 and known for its premium menthol confectionery, is leveraging its longstanding reputation to expand into new international markets. Meanwhile, the World of Sweets, the UK’s largest distributor, importer and wholesaler of confectionery, will be making its debut at the ISM Middle East.
It is known for its extensive range of in-house brands like Bonds of London, Crazy Candy Factory, and Kingsway, as well as exclusive partnerships with global brands such as Anthon Berg and Warheads/ For its part, Ferrero-owned FBC UK will be showcasing its range of iconic biscuits that have delighted consumers for generations. Its participation includes iconic brands such as Maryland cookies; Jammie Dodgers – Britain’s leading kids biscuit variety; Paterson’s, the region’s leading shortbread brand; and Fox’s Biscuits, which is a Top 100 UK brand.
Market optimism
Sandra Sullivan of PS8, at last year’s ISM. Pic: Neill Barston
Speaking to Confectionery Production, Sandra Sullivan, of the PS8 organising group believed that prospects were looking good for this year’s show.
In her view, the market was looking promising for companies looking to break into the region, which is enjoying especially resilient fortunes.
She said: “We run the UK group at ISM in Cologne, which has been such a strong show, with the UK having one of the largest groups there. So, in monitoring what was happening with ISM Middle East has been key for us over the years. I think that Koelnmesse would agree with us that the dates changing a lot has probably meant that it hasn’t had the continuity and built the profile that it should have done earlier,.
But we are really pleased that they have taken on the ISM name (from its former identity as Yummex), to take on the credibility of the Cologne show, and the uptake in interest just on the back of that has been notable.
“So, we have done the show a few times now, and supported a couple of companies rather than having a group, but this time we are working with seven or eight UK brands that are making up our group, including Walkers Nonsuch – which the Middle East being a strong region for them, with its operations in Oman opening up wider business for them in the region,” and she observed that a number of smaller and emerging enterprises from the UK also set to test out the market, with the sector proving especially buoyant in the region.
Sandra added: “The Dubai and Middle East region has always been a very strong market. When you look at export stats generally, chocolate confectionery performs very well, with the MENA region having sales of £141 million last year, which is great – and people do realise that it’s attracting buyers from across the region, and it’s very much a hub show for people to come into from the wider region.
“What the UK has done very well is that we have a real tradition in that sector, as well as being innovative, so there is that balance between well established high quality brands, versus new creative innovative items as well.”
