Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) unveils high calibre programme

Bench Events, the organiser of The Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF), the exclusive conference focused on restaurant investment, taking place on 16-18 Feb in Dubai, UAE, has unveiled a thought-provoking programme and high calibre speaker line-up.

GRIF will once again be the business conference of the Dubai Food Festival 2015. Jonathan Worsley Chairman, Bench Events, said: "GRIF provides a unique platform which brings together key stakeholders in the restaurant investment community together in one place to share best practice, innovation, knowledge and address current issues that face the sector."

"It's a fast growing industry and promises great investment potential. At every step, the Restaurateur must provide investors with support throughout the whole investment life cycle". Says Three Michelin Starred Chef Heinz Beck who will address the GRIF audience in February.

The GRIF programme has been built on four key pillars as determined by the event Advisory Board:

• Creating successful concepts
• Generating growth through Franchising
• Internationalizing your business
• Innovation and inspiration to improve your existing operations

The three-day conference will start with a culinary tour around Dubai so attendees can view real estate options in the local market, see what's currently on the menu and assess the pipeline. The forum itself will begin with a presentation from Nicholas Lander, Author of 'The Art of the Restaurateur' (Phaidon) and FT Restaurant on lessons learnt from successful restaurateurs. This will be followed by a session on key market trends and an insight into what exciting innovations and trends are currently taking place around the globe.

There will also be a selection of round table discussions and focus groups to drill down into niche topics and introduce potential local partners in the hottest global markets. Additional sessions will explore challenges that are presented when taking your brand global with case studies from Hard Rock Café and Wagamama's and how to assess potential partners and opportunities and a Concept Showcase will look at some fresh concepts from the industry

Day Two opens with a discussion on building your Investment road map with Paul Campbell, Founder, Hill Capital Partners, Levent Veziroğlu, Chief Executive Officer, D.Ream, Sami Daud, Executive Chairman, Gourmet Gulf and Marc Blazer, Chairman & CEO, Overture Investment Partners; Chairman of the Board, Noma. The agenda then explores crowdfunding with Chilango and how to make hotels into dining destinations and identify what not to do in restaurant design. The afternoon finishes with breakout sessions covering franchising, retail F&B, bars and nightclubs and agreements.

For the full programme, please click here and for the full list of speakers, please click here.