Dubai Makes History as Gulfood Takes Over Two Mega Venues and Unveils the Expanded Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City
Dubai makes global exhibition history as Gulfood, the world’s largest annual food and beverage event, running from 26-30 January 2026, becomes the first show ever to operate simultaneously across two mega venues, the iconic Dubai World Trade Centre and the all-new, expanded Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai. In a single record-breaking year, Gulfood delivers an unprecedented 100% expansion, completely selling out over 280,000 square metres of event space at both venues, becoming the inaugural global event to unveil the $2.7 billion upgraded Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City. This landmark milestone cements Dubai’s position as the world’s leading hub for mega-scale business events and redefines the future of global food and beverage trade at phenomenal scale.
Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, CEO, KAOUN International Organiser of GULFOOD said: “This is a world-record moment for Gulfood, Dubai and the global food and beverage industry. In a single year, we have achieved 100% growth, delivering the world’s largest annual F&B event across two mega venues simultaneously, a first in global exhibition history. This milestone goes beyond scale to impact, redefining how giga-scale events are designed, delivered and experienced, and proving such ambition is fully achievable and transformative. By doubling business volumes and opportunity overnight, Gulfood and Dubai now stand as the indisputable nexus of the new global food trade.”
Expansion That Unlocks Greater Sourcing Power
As the global food and beverage market accelerates to $11.37 trillion by 2030 and the Middle East emerges as the world’s fastest-growing consumption and redistribution hub, Gulfood concentrates global supply and demand into a five-day trading window, uniting over 8,500 exhibitors showcasing 1.5 million products from 195 countries.
The 2026 edition records 40% first-time exhibitors, alongside the largest national participation to date from major producing markets including India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the USA. New countries include Luxembourg, Maldives, Rwanda, Slovakia, Sweden and Uganda further expanding Gulfood’s global trade footprint and unlocking new growth gateways.
