Welsh food and drink companies are looking to the Middle East for new markets, as they prepare to attend Gulfood in Dubai later this month, the key international food and drink trade event for the sector. Held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Gulfood is expected to attract over 5,000 exhibitors and over 86,000 domestic and international trade visitors from 170 countries with thousands of industry peers and people passionate about driving the market forward.

The Welsh Government is hosting a ‘Food and Drink Wales’ Pavilion in the International Hall where 16 Welsh companies will be attending, all looking to promote their produce, identify new customers and increase their export market.

One company looking to break into the Middle East market is Pembroke Dock’s Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company, which specialises in contemporary products, predominantly using seaweed which is inspired by the coast and seas of Pembrokeshire.

The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company began as a street food trader and has gone on to develop a range of products, including Captain Cat’s Ship’s Biscuits and Captain Cat’s Môr Seasoning, Mermaid Confetti No2, and Welshman’s Caviar which gained a Great Taste award in 2014 and Welsh Sea Black Butter. Their recently launched Mermaid’s Larder, a collection of dried condiments of wrack, gutweed, laver, dulse and kelp will be showcased at Gulfood.

Commenting on the success of the business and this further opportunity to expand their market, founder Jonathan Williams said: “All our products are made using the highest quality ingredients and focuses on bringing innovative products linked to local seafood and the seashore. Street Food was the ideal place to start the business and we have created a number of products which have been very successful within the UK market.

“Working with the Welsh Government, we identified potential opportunities for our products in the export market. Showcasing our produce at Gulfood will give us an idea of the extent of this interest and we can hopefully identify new distributors and buyers.”

Supported by the Welsh Government, the Food and Drink Wales presence is crucial to developing the sector, according to the Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans.

“The development of both existing and new export markets for Welsh food and drink products will be essential as we aim to realise our vision to grow sales in the sector by 30 per cent by the year 2020. Exporting can transform any business. Obvious benefits are more sales and greater profits, but trading internationally gives many other competitive advantages.

“With commitment and hard work there is real scope to sustainably grow the industry by 2020, seeing Wales becoming a leading food and drink nation. We are keen to assist both new and experienced Welsh exporters to attend and succeed at key events such as Gulfood.”

Established over 25 years, Gulfood has a well-deserved reputation amongst exporters for delivering spectacular return on investment. Gulfood presents the opportunity to source and discover unique products from hundreds of specialist producers and over 110 international pavilions. In attendance food and drink companies vary from speciality and fine food to the widest range of organic food and drink.

Gulfood 2016 will be held in Dubai from 21-25 February, with 16 Welsh companies in attendance on the Food and Drink Wales stand.