GL Exhibitions, organizers of the Middle East Organic and Natural Products Expo, announced the launch of Organic & Natural Digital Trade Week, a focused trade activity purposed towards connecting buyers and suppliers online. Each trade week will focus on specific product segments ranging from natural ingredients and free-form products to superfoods and alternate medicine, through the months of May to September 2020.

Every week entails dedicated campaigns to over 35,000 industry stakeholders, connecting both overseas suppliers of organic and natural products to regional buyers, thus creating a novel platform for conducting trade and business online. Trade weeks will feature live webinar sessions – including new product introductions, insights from trade buyers on current trends and opportunities, and one-to-one online meetings, connecting suppliers and buyers. Each session is expected to cross 1,000 real-time visitors from the GCC and the Middle East.

The Organic & Natural Digital Trade Week will be the first of its kind, using game-changing in-house technology. Due to recent times, trade events have been on a hiatus, and online is the ideal avenue to carry forward business. Moreover, while activities will be conducted online, the week offers practical and effective transition toward offline success in the form of targeted leads for suppliers, as well as, enquiries and RFQs from buyers.

The Organic and Natural Product’s Expo also hosts an effective online to offline service known as the O2O platform, wherein suppliers and buyers pre-schedule meetings and meet at the event held from 6-8 December in Dubai World Trade Centre. Each supplier is matched with five precisely buyers every month, offering a new avenue for trade.

Moreover, GL Exhibitions supports continued business through ArabianOrganics.com, the sole online wholesale trade portal in the region exclusively for organic products in the Middle East. With over 35,000 trade buyers registered on its database, the service comprises marketing products to increase online transactions, lead generations, product pickup, storage, and delivery. Furthermore, exporters and buyers in the region from the UAE and the Middle East are taking full advantage of this online medium during the lockdown period.

The Organic & Natural Digital Trade Week is a welcome extension to O2O and ArabianOrganics platforms, leveraging the technology of the two to market products and connect businesses in the region in real-time.

Shinu Pillai, Director of GL Exhibitions adds “We have been developing the online community for over three years now and our customers have been benefiting from these platforms to conduct business beyond the three days of the annual face to face event in Dubai.  We are witnessing a shift in the mindset of both buyers and sellers towards online,with no scope to conduct face to face business at least for next few more months and the evidence is in the 200% increase in orders on ArabianOrganics.com.  We continue to invest in our online assets and the launch of Digital Trade Week further enhances our ability to connect the industry to continue trade in these challenging times”.

“We used the expo’s O2O Platform to connect with about 11 buyers online and pre-scheduled meetings with them. There are a lot of business owners and key decision makers registered on the web portal. I am looking forward to connecting with them and doing business” adds Christopher K Tetteh from Shea Butter Central, Ghana who exhibited at the Organic & Natural Products Expo last year.

The Middle East Organic and Natural Product Expo Dubai is the Middle East’s sole business event that focuses on organic and natural products. It has been connecting suppliers with buyers for 17 years and is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment UAE and supported by International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). 18^th edition of the event will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 6-8 December 2020.