Food costs, access to investment and the demands of opening in new markets were central to the programme at this year’s Global Restaurant Investment Forum in Dubai. For restaurant founders, the questions were practical: how to protect margins, fund expansion and keep a growing business true to its original concept.
The Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) ran from 19 to 21 October 2026, bringing together restaurant founders, investors, developers and hospitality leaders to examine the opportunities and challenges facing the UAE’s dining sector.
Under the theme ‘THRIVE’, the programme focused on financial resilience, changing consumer behaviour and investment strategies, alongside the potential for UAE-born restaurant brands to expand internationally.
Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, part of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, joined as strategic partner, with the programme giving particular attention to the city’s home-grown restaurant concepts and their founders.
Across three days in Dubai
The three-day programme spanned several Dubai locations, with an opening lunch at Josette in ICD Brookfield Place. ICD Brookfield Place was also the central venue listed for day two, followed by the One Central area for the final day.
“GRIF 2026 is about honest conversations on where the industry is now and what it needs to do to build for the long term,” said Jennifer Pettinger-Haines, founder of The GRIF Collective.
“THRIVE is about looking beyond survival and focusing on the ideas, leadership and relationships that help businesses adapt and grow.”
The decisions behind restaurant expansion
Among the featured speakers was Natasha Sideris, founder and CEO of Tashas Group, the South African-born hospitality business that has expanded into the UAE and other international markets.
Her session, Permission to Grow, addressed when to scale a restaurant business and how to preserve the identity that made it successful.
A closer look at operating costs
The final-day programme included a presentation built around six months of anonymised purchasing data from 200 suppliers, covering 3,000 product lines and 143,000 price points.
It focused on foodservice supply-chain costs and the purchasing decisions operators face when protecting margins while maintaining the guest experience.
The forum was devoted to industry confidence, investment appetite, and emerging growth markets through the Industry Sentiment Report. The programme also featured the UAE Hospitality Barometer, drawing on feedback from operators representing more than 350 restaurants across the country.
Preparing a business to scale
Dedicated workshops covered ownership structures, governance and investor relationships, alongside the financial and operational foundations needed for expansion.
Restaurants and the places around them
The programme also examined how restaurants contribute to the places around them, with discussions on collaboration between hospitality operators, property developers and hotel groups.
Study tours formed another part of the programme, with a focus on emerging neighbourhoods, community-focused venues and Emirati food culture.
For UAE-born brands considering overseas expansion, the programme connected growth plans with the purchasing, governance and funding decisions needed to support them.
