What’s your company promoting at Gulfood this year?
Monviso Trading will be taking this opportunity to showcase an array of high quality products, dedicated to the HORECA and HOSPITALITY industries, which include: MonViso Italian Mineral Water, Demetra olives, Cavanna Olive Oil, Hey Hah Fruit Chips, Coffee Cream Italia, Curtiriso Rice, Monviso Bruschetta, Gravina Tomatoes, Paoletti soft drinks, Topshape Vitamin Water, Paluani Pastry, Granluce Pasta, and MyQandC Fruits & Vegetables. Distributed brands respect rigorous production processes and enhance the flavours of prepared dishes.

Tell us more about any exciting upcoming product launches.
The most recent brand acquisition in our distribution line for the UAE is Curtiriso Rice, a well-established brand in Italy that caters only to the HORECA and hospitality markets. The focus of Curtiriso is to continuously increase quality at every level of the product and in all phases of the production chain. The final product is a result of the careful selection of paddy rice, control of the production process, and cutting-edge industrial technologies.

What’s in the pipeline for your company?
Monviso Trading is committed to leading a responsible business, especially through our flagship brand – MonViso Italian Mineral Water. At first, it was our CR programme in partnership with Al Jalila Foundation, “Take Water. Give Life”, raising AED 614,437 to date, contributing to advancing medical research, education and treatment.

We then realised that we can do more, and started to collect emptied plastic bottles from our customers’ doorsteps, preventing an increase in the amounts of plastic reaching landfills. Partnering with a local company, we transformed the plastic into eco-friendly t-shirts and caps.

In 2020, we will build on the foundation of our company’s 360-degree sustainability strategy set last year, “Deeply Rooted Value”, underpinned by Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to embed sustainability across all our functions and fully embrace the SDGs, and we’re committed to maximising our positive impact by steering our business strategy in the right direction.

What are some of the biggest trends and innovations in your market?
One of the biggest trends currently is focusing on healthy snacks and food, and consequently leading a healthy lifestyle. For new brands nowadays, it seems to be essential to have a low sugar intake, low sodium and to avoid the use of GMOs and oils the production process as much as possible. Reputable brands focus on developing new products to be in line with international trends.