TL;DR
Watch our video recap here:
My most lasting impression of Gulfood this year was simple: the GCC is where the money’s at.
I know, I know. Admiral Du-uhhh.
But after a couple of years of everyone talking about affordability, cost-of-living pressures, and food inflation, I assumed Gulfood 2026 would be packed with more “value” messaging: more economy packs, more price-per-kg math, more “we’re helping families cope”. Instead, I walked into something else entirely.
It was all about value-added rather than just value. I know the region is slick with black gold (and regular gold), but this time it really stood out. It felt… hopeful. I’m going to need a positivity detox after this. This feeling is unfamiliar and unsettling.
And nowhere did that “we’re upgrading” energy hit harder than in beverages, especially functional drinks that promised everything from gut harmony to calm nerves to glowing skin. Some of it is science-led. Some of it is vibes-led. But it’s absolutely where the momentum was.
Why beverages, and why here?
Well, it kind of makes sense. The GCC is a dream market for drinks. It’s hot, young, tech-savvy, and constantly on the move. Over half the population across the region is under the age of 25. For them, convenience matters. But so does staying current. Social media makes sure every micro-trend’s dispersion is only limited by internet speed.
Underneath all of this is a very real health context. The UAE’s National Health and Nutrition Survey (2024–2025), covering 20,000 households, is blunt about lifestyle risk:
22.4% of adults are obese
25.9% have high blood pressure
56.1% exceed recommended fat intake
27.3% consume too much sugar
27.4% drink sugar-sweetened beverages daily
Consumers are feeling the pressure to do better, but they still want it to look like a lifestyle choice, not a diagnosis. So brands are responding in the most brand-like way possible: make wellness easy, tasty, portable, and Instagrammable.
Gut health goes full fiber nerd
There was a time not too long ago when beverages for gut health meant Yakult and probiotics. We’ve come a long way from that now. There’s a growing understanding that while probiotics are great, there’s the little issue of stomach acids killing off many even before they reach the gut.
The gut-health scene at Gulfood has clearly shifted from probiotics-only to a more complete toolkit: prebiotics (to feed the good bacteria), probiotics (adding beneficial strains), and even postbiotics (byproducts linked to gut and immune function). The product goals weren’t just “add more fiber”. It was fiber diversity.
Consumers are learning that not all fibers behave the same way, and brands are responding with blends positioned for microbiome support, digestion, satiety, and weight management.
Take Dubai-based Halapop Prebiotic Soda, which incorporates a blend of 4 different prebiotics: cassava fiber, topinambur powder (Jerusalem artichoke powder), baobab fruit pulp, and moringa extract. This gives the 250ml drink 6g of prebiotics.
This is a great new translation of gut health into a modern soda ritual.
UK-based Fibe’s gut health blend includes 5g of fiber and a supporting cast of calcium and Vit C. The fiber is standard inulin and the other 2 ingredients have prebiotic-like effects. Vitamin C acts as a modulator of the gut microbiota, promoting the growth of a few specific strains of beneficial bacteria and improving gut immunity. Calcium lactate also acts as a modulator but also improves calcium absorption and reduces intestinal inflammation (as prebiotics do).
The template appears to be fiber first, then helpers, then a clean, drinkable format.
South Korean beverage major OKF Corporation launched a gut line that combines 1,400 mg of prebiotic fiber with 20 billion units of probiotics and postbiotics. Postbiotics are byproducts of probiotics that may have benefits in terms of immune function, reducing inflammation, and maintaining a healthy gut lining.
This is pretty ambitious and on-trend even though postbiotics sit in a “regulation and evidence are still evolving” zone, depending on the market.
The takeaway: Gut health is being built into mainstream beverages using “blends” as a way to look more credible and more premium.
A mushrooming of wellness claims
I knew adaptogenic mushrooms were having a moment. I just didn’t realize they were having a Gulfood-level moment (see what I did there? 😜).
Reishi, lion’s mane, cordyceps, chaga – these are no longer confined to upmarket Western wellness brands or traditional Chinese medicine framing. They were everywhere, across RTDs, coffee, sparkling drinks, driven by the demand for immune-boosting, cognitive, and stress-reducing functional benefits.
The market for such mushrooms is still really small in the UAE, but is projected to grow fast. The market was worth US$36.8 million as of 2022 (the latest number I could find), accounting for 0.3% of the global adaptogenic mushrooms market, and expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.4% till 2030.
US-based Melting Forest has a range of drinks featuring mushrooms. Its coffee has the extract of 7 different mushrooms – Chaga, Lion's Mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, Maitake, Shiitake, and Turkey Tail – as well as fairtrade arabica coffee.
The company also has a range of sparkling functional RTDs mapped to different benefits for different dayparts: for morning energy, afternoon destress, and evening unwinding. The daypart aspect makes this range feel a lot more practical than woo-woo mystical.
Irish brand Blynk+ also has a sparkling RTD range that uses “high-quality, organic mushroom extracts” along with various vitamins and botanicals. Lion’s mane is linked to focus, reishi to calm, and cordyceps to energy. These guys are selling the mood!
The takeaway: Mushrooms are becoming a shorthand for functional, even when the benefits are broad and the evidence varies by compound, dose, and claim.
Beauty is in the eye of the drinker
The number of beauty drinks aimed at women was breathtaking, and shouting that we may need all the help we can get… though I may just be projecting.
Beauty-from-within has been around for years, and these clearly aren’t a cheaper alternative to cosmetic surgery. The promise here is healthier skin, nails, and hair, delivered in a beverage with a host of ingredients having strong links to these traits.
Two ingredient clusters stood out to me:
The gut-skin axis positioning, which included pre and probiotics framed as supporting shin health
Classic beauty actives like collagen and hyaluronic acid
Swedish brand FRÖYJA has an encapsulated probiotic blend, inulin, magnesium, zinc, biotin, pantothenic acid, vitamins B12 and C, coenzyme Q10, and piperine. There’s a growing body of research showing that improving gut health can have a number of other benefits, including improving skin health.
Collagen and hyaluronic acid also featured as popular ingredients in beauty drinks. Beauty drinks are evolving into drinkable supplement routines, with packaging and formulations that borrow heavily from vitamins, while keeping the vibe lifestyle-first, not medical.
Another thing that struck me was how no one was claiming that these products would immediately solve all your H&W problems. The messaging was around consistent long-term use to see the functional benefit in action. Not to mention the financial benefit for the companies.
Win-win.
When the going gets tough
I was only half joking when I said freeze-dried food fit the apocalypse aesthetic, but with better branding.
Emergency-friendly, long-shelf-life products showed up with a surprising amount of confidence, positioned not as panic buying, but as smart preparedness. I can’t argue with the need for these. After all, we live in interesting times.
The UAE-based Red Planet makes specialized freeze-dried meals designed for emergencies and extreme environments. The meals have a 25-year shelf life and include Halal options featuring recipes based on cuisines from the regions.
Canada-based Yes We Can Drinks, which makes flavored sparkling water, has a product even I can’t complain about. They make canned water meant to be stored for emergencies that can last for 100 years. The aluminum used is reinforced and the can is hermetically sealed to ensure the water lasts longer. It’s an upgraded version of the US government’s version (the image you see here is from the ’70s, I think). Each can only costs CA$0.99. “Lasts forever” is a great way to make water exciting.
The takeaway: Preparedness is becoming a consumer-friendly proposition, making convenience, security, and shelf life into a successful throuple.
The “things I couldn’t fit anywhere else” cohort
Fermented birch sap
The growing no-alcohol trend has seen so many new products come out of the woodwork, this one quite literally. Lithuanian company Sip Sap, the largest organic birch sap/water producer in Europe, has launched a “birch cuvée”, a fermented (but not alcoholic) version of birch water.
Protein soup
Soup doesn’t get a lot of innovation attention, but it does seem like a category where adding protein is a natural fit. From a UAE-based startup, this range is plant-based, gluten-free, and clean label.
Digestion friendly meals
No Bloat is a range of ready meals for very specific needs – people with sensitive digestive systems and those on the low FODMAP diet. These meals are shelf stable and are ready in 8 minutes with hot water.
Egg collagen
Latvian company Alūksnes Poultry Farm has introduced a line called Fiteg2 sourced from cage-free eggs that includes protein powders made from albumin, protein bars, and collagen extracted from the egg membrane. The collagen really threw me. Is extracting collagen from the egg membrane cost effective, considering that it’s only about 1% of the weight of an egg?
Pro Men…
As a big believer in diversity and inclusion, I don’t want to make the gents feel left out, so here’s one just for you, courtesy Polish dairy brand Bakoma. It caught my attention – as it was intended to!
Beyond wellness is trending, what does this all mean?
I’ve clearly drunk from the functional Kool-aid at this point, and so I have to say that functional beverages aren’t some kitschy little niche anymore. But brands will have to answer 3 major questions if they want to make a lasting impression:
What problem are you solving specifically?
Why should anyone believe you? (ingredients/dose/credibility)
How does your fit into the day without friction? (format/taste)
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