In Costa Rica’s sixth participation in the Gulfood Dubai food fair, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Central American country is standing out for its talent and added value by rewarding one of the participating companies of the Costa Rican delegation, as the winner of the Gulfood Innovation Awards.
These awards recognize the most innovative products in the world, through 11 different categories, four finalists and one winner for each of them. The Costa Rican company Tertulia Brugge with its brand El Gusto Foods was the winner in the category The Most Innovative Beverage (most innovative drink) for its product Monk Fruit Chocolate Powder. This is the first time that a Costa Rican company has won this award.
Team work effort
“This award not only represents for us the effort of an entire work team in the commitment to better food quality, for increasingly innovative, healthy and exquisite products. Beyond that, it represents and inspires all those small and medium-sized companies, those ventures that are just taking their first steps, to believe that, with effort, perseverance and dedication, everything is possible. Costa Rica has capable, professional and creative human capital, and this award is an example of that ”, stated Eugenia Sánchez, Commercial Director of Tertulia Brugge.
This company exports to the United States, the United Kingdom, Estonia and Russia. Its product portfolio is made up of roasted coffee, coffee drips, cocoa (unsweetened beverage powder with antioxidants), and beverages with coffee-based preparations. He has actively participated with PROCOMER in other international fairs such as Anuga (Germany), Fancy Food Show (United States), Sial Paris (France) and BTM (Costa Rica).
From Costa Rica to the Middle East
Gulfood Dubai takes place from February 21 to 25 and, in addition to Tertulia Brugge, other Costa Rican companies are showing the best of their differentiated food offerings in the Middle East, for example, Thompson Coffe, Paradise Ingredients, Azucarera El Viejo, Ingenio Taboga , among other.
The national products that are being promoted are the already very famous Monk Fruit Chocolate Powder; as well as specialty coffee; Banana puree for industrial use; mixers and drinks; raw, white, organic and demerara sugar; and dried fruits.
PROCOMER Highlighted
“We congratulate Tertulia Brugge for its innovation and resilience, since like many companies in the country, it has faced the challenge of the Pandemic and has managed to get ahead, so much so that it put the name of Costa Rica in the major leagues of the industry world food. Additionally, I want to acknowledge the efforts of all the companies participating in this fair, because we are sending a strong message to the world: despite the crisis, we will continue to supply quality products, safely, with innovation and with added value”, said Pedro Beirute Prada, General Manager of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER), an entity that promoted the participation of the national delegation in the fair.
Gulfood is a specialized food fair that brings together more than 90,000 visitors, 5,000 exhibitors from 120 countries and whose focus is on developing business in the Middle East and North Africa. It should be noted that this fair allows contact with clients from other countries such as Iraq and Iran and even Oceania, who on many occasions do not have the possibility of traveling to European fairs.
This is the first time -after the Pandemic- that a Costa Rican delegation attends an export promotion event promoted by PROCOMER in person, and where the objectives pursued are to consolidate the presence of Costa Rica in the market and position the Costa Rican exporters as a business alternative in the Middle East. In addition, promote the name of the country as a provider of certified and high-quality products in the world.
After five previous participations in Gulfood, Costa Rican companies have managed to export dehydrated pineapple and hot sauces to the UAE, concentrated juice to the United States and Canada, banana puree to New Zealand and French Polynesia, sugar-free products to Saudi Arabia , among others.
In 2020, Costa Rica exported $ 51 million to the Middle East, with agriculture ($ 43.9 million), precision and medical equipment ($ 3.1 million) and food ($ 1.7 million) being the most important.
