Welcome to join a Business Finland Trade Mission focusing on opportunities in the food and beverage sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and State of Qatar (Qatar) on 23 – 28 September 2023.
The visit program will include industry specific, tailor-made buyer meetings with local importers, distributors and retail chain representatives in the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia and the United Emirates. Also, meetings with the main relevant government bodies may be included in the program.
In Qatar we will be concentrating on cooperation with LuLu retail chain. LuLu Group International is an Indian Emirati-based multinational company operating a chain of hypermarkets and retail companies, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. LuLu Group has become a key contributor in the Gulf region with an annual turnover worth USD 8 billion. LuLu is the biggest retail chain in the Middle East with 215 outlets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and elsewhere.
Lulu retail chain is highly interested to identify new potential suppliers from Finland. Meetings with LuLu will provide a very good insight to food and beverages categories, which have high interest in the Gulf region. LuLu is especially interested in products that are unique to Finland: organic, vegan, free from products (gluten and lactose free), or products with low fat, low sugar or salt.
Why join?
This trade mission offers an excellent opportunity for Finnish food and beverage companies to take advantage of the numerous economic opportunities offered by the leading economies in MENA region KSA, UAE & Qatar. It allows the participants to establish high-level business connections with local partners in visited areas, explore collaboration opportunities, and find suitable buyers and/or channel partners which can support brands entering the market.
All participants of the trade mission will receive a personal, tailor-made meeting schedule, where the product category and the offering of each company are targeted for buyers having interest towards these products. Each company will also be supported with a professional person from the team of Business Finland or consulting company. An experienced local consulting company will be used for identifying the best partner candidates and arranging the meetings between them and the Finnish participants.
Who should attend?
Food and beverages sector companies focusing preferably on functional products, food additives or other added value products such as oat and other plant-based products, natural products (juices, berries), confectionery or other convenience products. Products can be targeted either for retail, food service channels or food industry. Companies can be large or medium sized, having already the readiness to start export business to the Middle East.
Transforming healthcare is high on the agenda in the Middle East, and there is a growing consumer demand for food products and innovative solutions that support healthy lifestyles and well-being.
Participation fee
To cover the expenses of arranging the visit program in the Middle East participants will share the costs based on following principles:
- Major companies: 1500EUR + 24% VAT per person
- SME’s and Micro companies: 1275EUR + 24% VAT per person
Business Finland will invoice the participants after the visit based on the actual costs. The invoiced fee will not exceed the amounts mentioned above.
