WELCOME AND CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS
Presenter | Dubai Eye 103.8 FM
ADVANCING INTELLIGENT & RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS
Day 1
3 November 2026
Al Multaqua, Dubai World Trade Centre
OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Minister of Economy and Tourism | Ministry of Economy & Tourism
LOCALISING THE UAE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
THE RISE IN FOOD SECURITY: RESPONDING TO THE FOOD NEXUS WITH AN INNOVATIVE AND HOLISTIC APPROACH
• With premium costs in energy, logistics and fertilizers, what is the future for the Middle East? • How are accelerated factory builds and upgrades helping manufacturers secure and safeguard their future? • How are manufacturers shifting to alternative suppliers to mitigate vulnerabilities? • What actions can be taken to give higher priority to ensure and maintain food safety throughout the supply chain? • With food price inflation and insurance premium hikes continuing to surge, how will pressures cascade across the entire value chain? • Effective approaches to successfully pivot toward increased local food production to strengthen long-term resilience
STRATEGIC DEBATE: BUILDING SOVEREIGNTY AND RESILIENCE: SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES FOR FOOD MANUFACTURERS
• A global outlook on the impact of high energy prices and severe shipping issues • How can nearshoring and reshoring strategies bring production and sourcing closer to home to shorten supply chains? • How are businesses implementing technologies to improve end-to-end visibility? • Inventory management strategies to mitigate unexpected shocks • Future-proofing your operations through strategic partnerships
PANEL: FROM DISRUPTION TO ENDURANCE: NAVIGATING CROSS-BORDER LOGISTICS
• How have regional disruptions impacted UAE’s export model, and what alternative strategies have been adopted? • In what ways has domestic production scale-up helped food manufacturers reduce exposure to cross-border disruptions? • What sourcing, routing and storage strategies have been implemented to ensure business continuity? • In which ways does technology enable F&B logistics operators optimize transport challenges? • With the UAE’s zero Hormuz strategy, what does this mean for port and infrastructure expansion?
FIRESIDE CHAT: EMPOWERING GROWTH AND ACCELERATION FOR F&B SMEs
This fireside chat will explore how F&B SMEs are navigating today’s fast-changing business landscape. Sharing first-hand insights on the strategies and support systems fuelling growth in the sector – from cutting import dependency and shortening supply chains, to embracing smart manufacturing for greater operational resilience. This session will also explore why more SMEs are shifting towards centralized production models, and how government partnerships and initiatives are helping towards accelerating this journey. This is an opportunity for you to hear real stories from the frontlines of F&B growth and innovation and leave with practical takeaways on what’s truly working F&B SMEs
ECONOMIC ADDRESS: ACCELERATING INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE TO MITIGATE RISKS IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
• Why we fund grids, ports and fibre as infrastructure, but not the system that feeds the people who run them – introducing the “5 Trillion Dollar Question” • The 18-24-month outlook: Energy and input-cost volatility, fractured supply chains, climate-driven yield risk, and why these compounds into a capital allocation problem, not policy footnote • Nutrition-as-infrastructure: Logistics, cold chain, local production, applied nutrition and AI as the operating layer beneath food security, and concrete mechanisms to strengthen it • UAE import dependency reframed as strategic advantage: Sovereign vehicles such as Khalifa Fund and the Emirates Growth Fund as the natural first movers: a live European field pilot as a transferable methodology • A direct call to action: Which capital vehicle in the room will be first to treat nutrition as infrastructure, and what the first movers stand to gain
FARMING THE DESERT: A CASE STUDY OF LOCAL AGRICULTURE INNOVATION
LEADERS’ PANEL: WOMEN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING IN THE UAE
As the UAE continues to strengthen its position as a regional hub for manufacturing excellence, this panel will bring together leading women shaping the sector’s future. Our panellists will share how they’re driving industrial development, advancing sustainable practices, and championing technology and innovation transforming the world of manufacturing today. This panel offers a candid look at challenges and opportunities facing women who are at the forefront of this industry.
TECH TALK: DRIVING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE WITH THE USE OF AI
• How is AI optimizing and shaping food production? • Why do AI pilots rarely scale, and does a modular plant make the difference between a pilot and real savings? • Engineering Intelligence as the missing link between AI, digital twins, and real production. • Explore how AI-driven digital twins have become critical for optimizing energy usage and mitigating supply chain disruptions during uncertain times • What role is AI playing in addressing ingredient shortages and future-proofing production? • Real-time farm-to-fork: Enhancing food safety with the use of IoT, predictive analytics and blockchain
PANEL: BUILDING A RESILIENT FOOD ECOSYSTEM WITH THE USE OF LOCAL INGREDIENTS AND DOMESTIC PRODUCTION
• What actions have food manufacturers taken to shift toward locally sourced ingredients? • Emerging trends in non-fertilizer-intensive alternatives to advance food manufacturing • Localising food production with the use of hydroponics as a sustainable alternative • Addressing food security vulnerabilities through the rapid expansion of vertical farming • Key lessons other countries can learn from the UAE’s model of large-scale vertical and hydroponic farms
CHAIR’S CLOSING REMARKS
Day 2
4 November 2026
Al Multaqua, Dubai World Trade Centre
EXECUTIVE ADDRESS: THE FUTURE OF FOOD & BEVERAGE: UNDERSTANDING TOMORROW'S CONSUMER
PRESENTATION: YOUR PACKAGING HAS ONE JOB: GET CHOSEN. DESIGN FOR RELEVANCE. INVEST FOR GROWTH.
Packaging is one of a brand’s most important sales assets. Treating it as a cost-saving exercise can undermine the very thing it is supposed to do: convince people to choose the product." • What you are really selling • What the brand should stand for • Turning Strategy into packaging • How you should invest • How to make it happen
Day 3
5 November 2026
Al Multaqua, Dubai World Trade Centre
WORKSHOP: TASTE DISRUPTED. JOY RESTORED: EATING LESS, EXPECTING MORE IN THE GLP-1 ERA
• What are GLP-1 medications, and why are they creating one of the biggest disruptions for the food and beverage industry? • How are GLP-1 consumers changing what they eat, how they eat, and what they now expect from food and beverage? • If consumers are eating less, why are they expecting more from every bite and sip, and what does this mean for brands? • How can the industry restore enjoyment, satisfaction, and emotional connection to food while delivering nutrition and wellbeing? • What are the emerging opportunities across snacks, beverages, dairy, culinary, protein-rich foods, and functional nutrition?
WORKSHOP: BUILDING A FOOD BUSINESS IN THE UAE: LESSONS FROM SCALING TABCHILLI
A practical founder's guide to building and scaling an F&B business in the UAE, drawing on the real journey of growing Tabchilli from a startup into a multi-channel food manufacturing business. • Understanding the UAE food business landscape and identifying market opportunities • Building the right business model and selecting the right distribution channels • Scaling through retail, e-commerce, q-commerce, B2B, and direct-to-consumer • Budgeting for growth: the hidden costs founders often overlook • Compliance, food safety, and operational excellence as foundations for long-term success • Managing supply chain challenges and building resilience • Cultural awareness and relationship-building when doing business in the UAE • Winning strategies versus costly mistakes, with practical lessons and actionable takeaways for entrepreneurs
WORKSHOP: FIND THE SWEET SPOT: ACCELERATE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT WITH SYMVISION AI™ TASTE DESIGN
What if you could predict a winning formulation before creating the prototype? Join Symrise experts to see how Symvision AI™ Taste Design combines AI, predictive modeling, sensory science, and consumer insights to identify the sweet spot among taste, consumer liking, cost, and ingredient availability. Watch Symrise use the tool live, with examples from selected beverage applications. • Predict Flavor Performance: Connect formulations with sensory profiles, consumer liking, and related costs. • Develop Faster: Reduce trial-and-error and focus on prototyping the most promising formulations. • Reformulate Confidently: Optimize for sugar and sodium reduction, cost targets, and ingredient supply changes. • Optimize for Success: Leverage AI and Symrise expertise to create market-ready products tailored to specific needs.
WORKSHOP: THE PLANT PROTEINS PLAYBOOK: NUTRITION, SUSTAINABILITY AND TASTE
This workshop will focus on integrating clean and sustainable protein solutions into the manufacturing and culinary sectors. Consumers are increasingly seeking clean-label and high-protein, plant-based foods that deliver on taste, texture, and nutrition. Plant-based proteins are playing a pivotal role towards building healthier, sustainable and ethical food economies and are estimated to reach a market size of $200 billion over the next decade. In this workshop, participants will understand the key elements of: • The protein transition: Why the food industry needs novel proteins • How plant proteins are made? • The nutritional and sustainability benefits of plant proteins and their role in a post GLP-1 consumer landscape • Culinary Integration - bridging R&D and culinary art: How manufacturers, institutional dining sectors and chefs can integrate plant proteins to recreate popular and commercially viable dishes
WORKSHOP: RESHAPING PACKAGING IN VOLATILE TIMES
• With the F&B industry inherently tied to plastic, what is the short- and medium-term outlook for our sector? • As 4-8% of global oil and gas is used in the production of plastic, what does this mean for the packaging industry in the Middle East? • What are the most recent state-of-the-art IoT technologies being adopted in cold chain management? • How have disruptions to key shipping routes affected freight and logistics costs? • What impact does supply constraints have on the consumer?