Calabria Region comes to the UAE

Widening the trade relations, the region is facilitating and promoting F&B and startup sectors

The project was born from the collaboration between the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the UAE, the Calabria Region, and Confartigianato Imprese Calabria to internationalise Calabrian companies willing to approach the Emirates market. The two sectors involved in this project are food and beverage, and StartUp.

The main objective of the project was to promote the activities of companies and StartUp operating in the Calabria Region in the UAE. In particular, facilitating opportunities for development and institutional and economic collaboration, a greater knowledge of the opportunities granted by the market of reference, increase the knowledge of Calabrian companies on how to approach the UAE market, to start and consolidate trade relations.

The Project activities for F&B sector included:

1. Presence at the fair "Speciality Food Festival" at the Dubai World Trade Centre with a stand for 19 Calabrian companies. Three days were dedicated exclusively to a professional audience from the Gulf Area, Africa and Asia.

2. Referent manager in Dubai for six months dedicated to the promotion of companies.

3. Cooking show: During the days of the fair, Michelin-starred chefs and restaurateurs from Dubai presented their creations, also making use of the companies' products.

4. Use of the Representative Office at the Chamber to provide an initial guarantee to local buyers for six months.

5. B2B platform for six months used as a 'launching pad' to present the companies of the project in the Gulf Area: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in the UAE is a reference point for Italian companies, and thanks to the consolidated relationships with local distributors and operators, it supports development, provides adequate support to Italian companies, and promotes opportunities for institutional and economic collaboration and greater knowledge of the UAE market.

Within this project, one of the key activities has been the participation of 19 companies from the Calabria Region at the 'The Specialty Food Festival', which was held from November 9-11, 2021 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. It provided the opportunity for Calabrian companies to exhibit typical regional products of the highest quality and have an individual stand.

The booths were located in the Calabria area within Zabeel Hall four, Italian area — Italian Chamber of Commerce in the UAE.

Three days were dedicated exclusively to a professional audience coming not only from the Gulf Area but also from Africa and Asia.

Commercial operators from more than 33 countries have attended the exhibition, among them, distributors, importers, chefs and managers of local restaurants and bars.

The commercial operators who attended were more than 15,000.

During the exhibition, Italian and International chefs independently selected products directly from the stands adhering to the project for their cooking shows. Many buyers and distributors showed great interest in products belonging to the various categories, asking for more information and searching for direct contact with companies.

After the exhibition, the Italian Chamber of Commerce set up an exhibition space at its headquarters located Downtown where distributors and catering professionals were invited so that they could acquire samples and hold in-depth meetings on the products.

The companies who exhibited at the food festival were the following:

Astorino Pasta (dry pasta) – Z4 C 43

Agricola Brittelli Elisabetta (oil) – Z4 C 60

Dolce Passione (confectionery products) – Z4 C 63

Agricola Spes (agricultural products) – Z4 C 65

Gruppo Oleario Portaro Srl (oil, pizza, tomato sauce) – Z4 C 52

Calabrian Pasta (fresh pasta) – Z4 C 56

Forte srl (artisanal dry pasta) – Z4 C 66

Gioda’ di Giovanna Conforti (jams, juices, sauces) – Z4 C 62

After having been chosen, the Startup will have the opportunity to participate in the selection made by the incubator to make use of their services of both development and incubation.