Middle East confirms remarkable capacity for trade through Virtual Events

UAE’s Organic Digital Trade Expo held on 30-31 March delivered the largest virtual gathering of the organic, natural and bio-industry in the region with 22,600+ attendees from 42 participating countries. The first edition of the virtual tri-series proved to be one of the pioneers in facilitating trade during these challenging times, just like the Expo did in 2020.

The event was inaugurated with a keynote speechby Dr Ashraf Mahate, chief economist at Dubai Exports,“The world of organic and natural products is fast evolving with new trends and consumer behaviors that producers and distributors need to keep abreast of. The digital trade expo is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the sector and meet virtually with counterparts. Having seen firsthand the physical event, I can truly recommend participation to take your business to the next level.” he mentioned.

With 42 Live product demos over two days, 98% of exhibitors received product-specific enquiries, request for quotations and real-time chats, video meetings and calls from virtual visitors. Outside of the planned 2-day schedule, over 500+ face-to-face virtual meets were held between exhibitors and qualified buyers. 

Exhibitor Serene Cha, Business Director of Actspand Pte Ltd said, “Our participation in the Digital Expo has enabled us to get in contact with interested buyers for our Healthy Breakfast Products, especially through the Live Product Demos. We have had some successful face-to-face meetings with buyers across 3 countries and productive interactions with some matchmade buyers.”

Trends and innovative products like plant-based foods, clean beauty, healthy breakfast cereals, functional beverages, nutraceuticals, and products with sustainable and socially responsible attributes led the way at the event. Talks by industry leaders on topics ranging from the demand of ethical consumption to digital disruption in the clean beauty industry along with updates on organic trade were discussed as part of the conference at the virtual event.
“We are overwhelmed with the response, we identified the potential for virtual events last year and this time we’ve elevated our platform to enable exhibitors with interactive tools, live product demos and face-to-face meetings in real-time, that will help them make instant trade connections with relevant buyers,” commented Shinu Pillai, Exhibition Director.

The conference sessions, live stream demos will remain LIVE on the website until the next edition, which is due to take place on 29 – 30 June 2021. The Digital Expo is a chance for exhibitors to meet potential buyers before they meet them at the live, in-person eventin December 2021.

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