Successful premiere at the Dubai confectionery fair
Naturally, we’ve prepared for the trip at length and so we’re aware that we’ll be landing in a different world, so to speak. But it’s not until we step out of the air-conditioned airport terminal that it actually hits us: We are absolute Dubai novices. Everything seems so huge, luxurious, wow - and above all: hot!
Our hotel is situated on a six-lane highway. But the road’s closed today for a cycling event. Well, why not? No problem here. Doesn’t bother anyone. No cursing about detours, no honking horns, no protesting residents. Our cab driver keeps his cool too and fills us in a bit on Dubai. He speaks good English, as do all the cab drivers we meet over the course of the next few days. No wonder: Of Dubai's nearly three million inhabitants, almost 90% are foreigners; English is often their lowest common denominator when it comes to communicating.
First up: check out the supermarkets
We’re candy professionals. In the same way that soccer players check out the stadium and its turf when they go to an away game, we head straight to the supermarkets. A surreal experience right now, to say the least. Let’s just bear in mind: We’re in Dubai with temperatures over 30 degrees and the desert just a few kilometers away. But go into one of the large, international supermarkets, and you’re surrounded by sprigs of fir, glowing candles, and gingerbread-flavored chocolate. Welcome to the Christmas Oasis!
The fact that we actually do feel a bit Christmassy is not so much due to the decoration of the store. It’s more down to the air conditioning, which feels like it’s on snowflake setting. We wouldn't be surprised to hear “Jingle Bells” blaring out the speakers any minute now.
What’s interesting, though, is that Christmas is mainly geared to the foreigners here. While the international chains pull out all the stops, in the small supermarkets in the side streets there’s nothing. The Christian festival tends to leave their mostly Muslim clientele cold, even in all the heat.
The sheikh in attendance!
Tuesday is the first day of the fair and our booth is a real eye-catcher! Yet up to noon, there’s nothing going on. It looks like everyone’s crowding into the front halls of the fair, where the sheikh is paying a visit. Once he’s gone, though, it’s as if someone’s pulled the plug on the front halls: Swarms of visitors stream towards us.
It’s the start of three busy days making countless contacts, meeting interesting people, and getting to know great colleagues. A filmmaker visits us and shoots a report about our booth; our colleague Ulf reveals qualities worthy of a talk show host.
At the booth opposite, the "Candyman" makes fresh candy several times a day. A real visitor magnet that also benefits us.
The evenings are devoted to networking. One evening we have dinner in the Dubai Mall, one of the largest malls in the world with 1500 stores. Huge glass fronts, myriads of lights, water features - all gently cooled down to below 20 degrees courtesy of air conditioning. Climate crisis? What was that again?
Where’s the stapler?
The last day of the fair - time to get cleared up. And that’s done unusually thoroughly: Anything we don't hold on to gets taken away. Even our stapler disappears under unexplained circumstances. But the colleagues from the neighboring booth give us some samples of their Iranian products. The exotic design and unaccustomed flavor more than compensate for the stapler incident.
And then it’s time to fly home. But before we board the plane, we indulge our sweet vice one last time: Store check in the duty free zone! We ignore the typical Christmas candy. This time, it’s something out of the ordinary for our loved ones back home: Chocolate covered dates, nuts, and of course chocolate - true to style in the shape of a camel.