By Mehreen Shahid

Copyright brecorder

Sweet treats made of sugar and spice and all things nice took over Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) for a three-day snacks exhibition.

The region’s largest confectionary trade show, ISM Middle East took place from September 15 – 17, featuring over 700 exhibitors from around the world, with 86% international exhibitor participation. Pakistan was represented by 15 exhibitors, who were looking to expand their market reach.

Dubai is the hub of such activity, said Lovina Khan, export manager at Danpak Food Industries Pvt. Ltd.

“We have an opportunity to meet a lot of new people across the globe, from different regions and countries, and existing customers as well,” she said, talking to Business Recorder on the last day of the event.

“This event is important for us because we are focusing on exports only,” said Omar Ali Mansoor, managing director, Kayo Global, which launched in 2024 and exports to the GCC, as well as the UK, US and Africa.

“We started in a couple of markets, and we are now looking for geographic expansion,” he added.

Mansoor said ISM was very lucrative for Kayo, which has factories in Karachi and Lahore.

“It’s very busy and a lot of serious customers came in,” he said, adding the company is focusing on getting a deeper reach into the US, European, and African markets. “We met a couple of suppliers because we will be outsourcing some products from Turkey.”

Most of the customer queries were for Kayo’s marshmallows, jelly beans, and cookies.

The company, Mansoor said, is constantly developing competitive products, such as salted biscuits and crunchy candy, that can compete with popular global brands.

Salman Aftab, senior manager export marketing and logistics for Karachi-based Pearl Confectionary, said of the event: “We got some good potential leads.”

Pearl currently exports to more than 30 countries. The show has helped the company get leads into the Saudi and North African markets.

Meanwhile, big players were happy to be at the premium event.

“Our products are doing well in the market,” said Muhammad Mohsin, head of international business for Hilal Foods. “We need good opportunities to enhance our taste in terms of customer profile for different types of customers.”

The brand exports to more than 40 companies around the world and is looking to expand into West and North Africa.

Impact of floods

Participants also spoke about the availability of raw materials, which they said will be negatively impacted by the recent floods Pakistan has experienced.

According to the United Nations, this year’s monsoon deluge has inundated large parts of Punjab province, which is considered the country’s food basket.

“It is definitely impacting (raw material) prices, which is already a global challenge for a venture like Hilal Foods,” said Mohsin.

“The prices of flour and sugar will be hit for sure.

“But we’ll manage at our end,” he added, “we can’t lose our customers, so we’ll see how we can accommodate them.”

Others are also prepared to deal with the impending raw materials price increase.

“Sugar is, of course, the main raw material for confectionery,” said Mansoor. “But so far we haven’t experienced any shortage, and the rates have also been stable.”

“We do foresee some price volatility in the next five, six months,” he acknowledged. “We procure six months in advance, so hopefully by that time the rates would stabilize.”

Others may not have the ability to absorb the higher costs.

“Right now, prices are up; this has a big impact on our products,” said Aftab, adding the company will have to pass the cost along to its customers instead of absorbing it. “We are hoping that it will settle down in two to three months.”

With global consumption of sweets and snacks on the rise, Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) are emerging as the world’s fastest-growing markets, according to a statement released by ISM Middle East.

By the end of 2025, confectionery and snack sales across these markets are projected to reach nearly $389.8 billion, outpacing the growth rates of Europe and North America, it noted.

Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, DWTC, said, “the momentum in sweets and snacks consumption across APMEA is extraordinary, with growth in these regions now outpacing all other global markets, signalling a pivotal shift in the industry.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025