From coffee-flavored cheese to savory ice lollies with spinach and beetroot, plenty of innovations are on display at Gulfood this year. The annual exhibition, which recognizes the most unique products with the Innovation awards, nominated over 50 products in 10 categories.
A Dutch company is introducing its cheese with coffee flavor at Gulfood this year. Although the product has been popular for a while, the company has tweaked its recipe to give the cheese more depth, flavor and a caramelized finish. “This product is especially popular in the Arab region,” said Manar Ibrahim, a spokesperson for Daily Dairy Holland which produces it. “We see a spike in demand especially in Saudi Arabia around Ramadan when everyone is hosting a lot. This is a different product and everyone likes to serve it for their parties.” This year the company is hoping to find suitable partners to launch their products in the UAE market.
Hungarian brand Zamat is introducing its new fermented sauce this year, which has the sweetness of dates and tang of fermentation. “Fermented food is usually associated with sourness,” said Csanad Britalan, export director from the company. “But this product is completely different. There is the sweetness of the dates but our lactofermentation process cuts down the sweetness by 50 per cent, making it an ideal sauce to go with all kinds of food.”
Imagine beetroot, spinach and kale in an ice lolly. That is exactly what homegrown brand House of Pops has at its stand. The savory lollies have been a hit with customers, according to its founder Mazen Kanaan. However, the brand’s trump card this year has been the edible flower ice lolly, which has been shortlisted in the best health and wellness product category. “Adding edible flowers to our ice lollies has been on our wish list for over two years now,” said Mazen. “However, it became possible only in November 2024 when we entered into a partnership with Bustanica. Within 17 days, we developed the recipes and they were available for sale in December 2024. We are so excited to have been nominated for this award.” Mazen added that the line has become incredibly popular, partly due to its visual appeal.
Imagine a healthy and nutritious jam that is suitable for people with diabetes. Peruvian brand Kiria has come up with a quinoa fruit jam that is preservative-free, has no sugar and contains 95 per cent natural products. “It took us almost three years of testing to get the consistency of the jam right,” said Karem Matos Perea, founder and CEO of the company. “We have seen a lot of people with allergies to preservatives and we wanted to create something that is healthy enough for all of them.” She added that quinoa is widely available in Peru and is a staple in their diet. “I began thinking of how I can add quinoa to other products and make it healthier while using something that is widely available,” she said. “That is when I hit upon the idea of making it into a jam.”
Imagine a small 1cm cube of freeze-dried beetroot that has enough nutrition of a whole beetroot. That is what the brand Super Garden has come up with. The company, which brought ice cream that doesn’t melt to Gulfood in 2023, is back with a brand-new product which has caught the eyes of European space agency as a suitable food for its astronauts. Another one of their products- the coffee and dates freeze-dried cubes has ten times the energy value of a Red Bull, according to the company’s CCO Tomas Nagele. “We are in the final stages of discussion with a UAE distributor,” he confirmed. “So soon, these products could be available in the UAE market.”
The 30th edition of Gulfood kicked off at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on Monday and will last until February 21, bringing together more than 500 exhibitors from 129 countries, with a spotlight on the next frontier of food.
