By Debbie Too
BRUNEI Wafirah Holdings Sdn Bhd and its trading arm, Ghanim International Food Corp, recently introduced made-in-Brunei microwaveable Halal-labelled products at the THAIFEX World of Food Asia 2013 annual expo held in Bangkok, Thailand.
THAIFEX World of Food Asia is an annual international trade fair covering food and beverage (F&B), food catering, food technology, hospitality services and retail and franchise.
It is the leading trade platform for the F&B industry in Southeast Asia.
This year, THAIFEX was held from May 22-26 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Centre in Thailand.
For Brunei Wafirah and Ghanim, their participation at the expo was the third time, but it was the first for them to introduce microwaveable halal products.
Both companies also showcased the latest products available from the Brunei Halal brand.
A representative from the Brunei Halal brand explained that this is the third year that the brand has put up its own booth in THAIFEX, together with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR).
“The exhibition is one of the main platforms where Brunei Wafirah and Ghanim do business-to-business interactions to gauge responses from potential distributors and also search for appropriate manufacturers of products that can carry the Brunei Halal brand,”said the company in a press release.
It added that “the outcome has typically been successful, where most of Brunei Halal’s products have been sourced from the Asian region”.
Michael Dreyer, vice-president of Asia Pacific of Koelnmesse, the event organiser, said,”The success of THAIFEX is driven by the confidence of our exhibitors, 80 per cent of whom are repeat exhibitors”.
“For food importers, wholesalers, distributors and hotel and restaurant professionals from Asia, THAIFEX is the place to meet and do business, as it offers 1,200 exhibitors from 30 countries,” stated a recent press release from Koelnmesse.
The expo attracted some 27,000 trade visitors, a 10 per cent increase over last year.
Meanwhile, Brunei Wafirah said this year, the range of products showcased at THAIFEX include snacks, confectionaries, drinks and their “heavyweight” line-up of microwaveable rice, sauces and ready meals.
Last month, the company announced the release of 23 new products to complement its range of light snacks and beverages.
“The new products will consist of Brunei Halal-labelled microwaveable rice, cooking sauce and other on-the-go products,” it said.
According to Brunei Wafirah, previously, the Brunei Halal brand did not carry “convenient, microwaveable meals” — which target people on the go in the UK.
Brunei Wafirah brand marketing executive, Melline Jaini, explained that the new meal range is essentially meant for the UK and European markets, but added that the group was confident that these would be well-received in Brunei as well.
“We wanted to try and introduce the same things here in Brunei,” Melline said, in a previous report, adding that the Sultanate should be seeing more of the brand in the coming months.
With the addition of the new food range, Brunei Halal now has over 50 products under its label.
The Brunei Times