The greatest attraction was the Vegeta “live cooking station”, where Podravka culinary promotor Mišel Tokić prepared a diversity of tasty dishes for visitors to try, and to the delight of many, Zlatko Dalić lent a hand in the preparation and presentation of dishes. The coach of the Croatian National Football Team, and Podravka’s ambassador, signed Vegeta t-shirts and carefully selected Vegeta recipes for the numerous fans who waited in line for up to two hours to meet and have their photo taken with one of the world’s best football coaches. At the Carrefour hypermarket, the retail chain that is the absolute leader on the UAE market, Zlatko Dalić joined shoppers at the shelves carrying the Podravka brands, to spend time with customers and promote the products that are gaining popularity on the Middle Eastern markets.

At the fair, meetings were set up between manufacturers, exporters, distributors and representatives of the largest retail chains, while the numerous visitors to the fair from all around the world recognised the quality and tradition of Podravka and its brands.

Participation in the fair also brought the opportunity to hold a number of meetings with distributors from the MENA region, with which Podravka already has strong cooperation. Meetings were aimed at analysing current cooperation and defining next steps for further growth and development of the company on this highly demanding market.

In 1995, the French retail chain Carrefour, whose strategy is based on customer loyalty and quality, opened its first store in the United Arab Emirates, and the hypermarket in Dubai is among the world leaders in daily sales. As in many other retail chains, numerous Podravka products are also present on the shelves of that store and chain.

Podravka has been successfully operating on the Middle East market for years, and its beloved brands and products can be found on the shelves of many of the largest shops in UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries.