News From : DagangHalal.com (21 Mar 2009)
Although doom-mongerers predicted that this year’s show would attract fewer visitors than for previous years, Gulfood 2009 proved them wrong. Ben Watts assesses the success of the exhibition for visitors, exhibitors and organisers alike The region’s leading food show sailed back into town last month for its biggest ever edition, this time adding an additional venue and plenty of new exhibitors to boot. And to the delight of both exhibitors and visitors, the daddy of Middle East food shows proved once again why Dubai remains the food and beverage industry’s regional hub. Satisfied customers Rastelli owner Anthony Rastelli, who was exhibiting in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (DICEC) Sheikh Maktoum Hall this year, says Gulfood 2009 was “one of the more successful shows” for the Halal food company, adding that there had been no particular impact from the economic climate. “We have not seen the global downturn have too much effect on the market we are in and we have had a focus here for the last six years,” adds Rastelli. “Our booth in the USA Pavilion was a lot bigger then those around us — everybody else has downsized, but we expanded our stand.” The New Jersey-based firm broke with convention by avoiding the style used across the USA Pavilion in an attempt to garner more attention from potential clients. “We had the US flag in various places around the stand, but we wanted the roof of the stand left off in order to give it a different appearance, rather than being boxed in,” comments Rastelli. Source from : http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com