Sweden sets sight on ME

Expansion to the Middle East is in sight for the Swedish food brands. A business sector programme, 'Food from Sweden', has been launched to make the most of the strong environmental commitment and beautiful nature associated with the country's cuisine and food culture The Council participated for the first time in the recent Gulfood, the region's largest food and beverage exhibition.
"We are participating in a lot of exhibitions in Europe, but this was our first time in this part of the world. We brought a group of companies to Gulfood with new products and ingredients as well. Our vision is to project Sweden as the new culinary nation offering products with high quality and sustainable prices," said Mona Hedenskog, member of the Swedish Trade Council and project manager, Global Exhibition Management.
The companies that exhibited not only cover a large spectrum of food products that Sweden has to offer, but are now also looking to develop their businesses in the region.

? Abba Seafood (www.abbaseafood. se) is a leading producer and distributor of seafood products, such as marinated herring, caviar and spreads, with well-known brands such as Abba, Kalles and Grebbestad. The company exports a range of its products to some 30 countries around the world to key clients such as IKEA Food Stores and has an annual turnover of €140 million.
? Salinity Food AB (www.falksalt.com) has been trading and manufacturing all kinds of salt around Europe since 1830. Amongst these are the Falksalt brand flavoured sea salt flakes harvested by hand from the Mediterranean.
? Aromatic (www.aromatic.se), the Swedish Food Exporter of the Year in 2010, has a strong global presence with their cake and bread emulsifiers, cake improvers and concentrates, shelf life improvers, releasing agents, flavours and colours.
? Findus Sverige (www.findus.ae), part of the Findus Group with its €1.2 bn turnover, covers all of Europe with premium seafood, vegetables, ready to eat meals and culinary items such as sauces, mayonnaises and bakery.
? Lantm?nnen Cerealia AB (www. lantmannen.se), amongst the larger groups in the Nordic food service sector, with a turnover of €455 mn, showcased muesli, granola, frozen pancakes, porridge, meatballs, cake mixes and pasta.
? K?llbergs Industri (www.kallbergs.se) is the largest Nordic producer of egg-based ingredients and egg powder for products such as mayonnaise, bakery and infant food. The company is also known as the world leader within choux pastry mixes.