Abu Dhabi calls Italian chefs

Abu Dhabi calls Italy, and our chefs especially. Giovanni Bozzetti, previous assessor in Milan and now founder and president at Efg Consulting, a company that guides the growth of Italian businesses in the Emirates, explains why to Identità Golose. A few days ago he organised the first Milano-Abu Dhabi Business Forum and invited Identità as well, because food is potentially an important part of the Italian business in the Gulf.

Bozzetti is the sole representative in Italy for the Chamber of Commerce of Abu Dhabi. He says: «Italy is a brand that works. We’ve noticed a marginal propensity to spending that favours made in Italy products, especially in the fashion, design, jewellery, precisions mechanics industries. And food». There are great opportunities that still haven’t been exploited.

These were also observed at the Forum by Efg Consulting. Efg, a strategic consultancy firm specialised in the internationalisation in the Middle East, offers Italian companies an opportunity to attract attention and open to the market of the Arabic Gulf with reciprocal investments.

In Milan, on top of Bozzetti, there were many economic leaders from the emirate as well as many Italian firms (from Boscolo and Bulgari Hotel, to Milanese pizzerias Spontini, to the prestigious delicatessen store Peck, Fratelli Rossetti, from Immobiliare Percassi to Banca Popolare di Sondrio and Fondo Quercus, from Chateau D’Ax to Uno Più, just to name a few).

Abu Dhabi is the greatest petrol entity in the Gulf. In 2014 the estimated value of the sector was 128 billion dollars, dropping by 8.5% compared to the 140 billions of 2013. The contribution of the petrol industry to the national economy has therefore moved from 55% in 2013 to 51% in 2014. «The United Arab Emirates, and the Abu Dhabi Emirate especially – explains Bozzetti – offer a context for the development of other sectors, also thanks to the fact they are the main logistic hub in the world. The “non-oil” economy is expected to grow between 6 and 8% in the next 20 years, reaching 65% in 2030».

«Italian products – he adds – have a very prestigious image across the country and Italian exporters can consider the Emirates as a springboard for their trade in other markets around the Gulf and in the Middle East, as well as in the Indian subcontinent».

Twenty-eight companies have already found their market thanks to Efg Consulting. Bozzetti: «There’s lots of space for Italian high quality. All the coolest restaurants in the world are already there, they’re full all year round, except Ramadan. Yet there’s little Italy: in Dubai Heinz Beck [we recently wrote about it here], Cipriani, Bice and few others come to my mind. There’s almost nothing in Abu Dhabi», yet it is here that one can find the greatest potential. The political power is here, this emirate occupies two thirds of the UAE and represents 90% of the petrol extraction. «Abu Dhabi is a little behind compared to Dubai in terms of restaurant offer. Hence it can only improve».

«The certainty of investing in Abu Dhabi especially – Bozzetti points out – is also given by the fact the emirate is the location of one of the main sovereign funds in the world: every year, around 70% of every state budget surplus is assigned to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the second largest sovereign fund in the world, with 773 billion assets starting from 2015 and diversified investments. Over the past 5 years direct foreign investments in Abu Dhabi have reached around 30 billion dollars».

In particular, Bozzetti indicates two food sectors that can be developed. Italian restaurants to open a location in the emirate, even as a franchising. And cooking schools. «We have received precise requests regarding this from the authorities in Abu Dhabi. The correct format is fine dining but not pretentious or complex, as one could say of French restaurants». An Italian seal is the only thing missing.