he global baby market

Spanning over 14,000sqm, NAC Fairs Events’ The Baby Expo Dubai event is set to attract 15,000 visitors, 250 brands and 150 expert speakers when it returns for a second edition to the Dubai World Trade Centre( DWTC), 16-17 May.

The Baby Expo presented by Blaura, a holistic wellness space where mothers can focus on their wellbeing, while their little ones are cared for, is the Middle East’ s largest international event for maternity, baby and toddler brands.

Doubling in size, the 2025 Dubai show will see 100 new brands join, with 44 countries represented.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, and India lead the B2B visitor markets. New for 2025, The Baby Expo introduces the NextGen: Industry Leaders Summit on 16 May, set to bring together top executives from the maternity, baby and toddler industry to explore emerging trends and opportunities. Also new, will be The Mother, Baby and Child Awards & Gala Dinner – celebrating excellence in the Middle East’ s maternity, baby and children’ s industry.

In 2024, 83 % of exhibitors said the event helped them achieve

their objectives. The show hosted 450 business-to-business( B2B) matchmaking meetings in its inaugural year and this year has 700 B2B meetings scheduled.

Irfan Porbanderwalla, CEO of Cybex in India, Middle East and Africa said his company returns as Safety Partner and, together with RTA, organisers are introducing a dedicated Safety Zone, focusing on child road safety, featuring live demonstrations and expert advice on secure travel solutions for little ones.

EW caught up with Ashleigh Lloyd, co-founder of The Baby Expo, who tells us:“ We are thrilled to bring back The Baby Expo after a successful debut. We created this exclusive and first platform in the Middle East to help brands elevate their visibility, connect directly with customers and showcase their innovation.”

We asked her to explain a bit more about the show and its strategy:

As you build up to this second edition of Baby Expo, tell us about the origins of the project and how you came to be involved? The idea for The Baby Expo, came from my own personal experience. Being a mum of two young children, I know how overwhelming it can be to prepare for your baby’ s arrival,

“ The idea for The Baby Expo came from my own personal experience. I know how overwhelming it can be to prepare for your baby’ s arrival but then to prepare for all the various stages of parenthood.”

but then to prepare for all the various stages of parenthood.

I wanted to create a one-stopshop for all things mother, baby and toddler – bringing together everything mums and dads need to support their parenthood journey – from leading global brands and the best education, to the latest products and innovations – all under one roof.

After realising the gap in the market, I joined forces with Craig Hartley and Nick Blair, to found The Baby Expo. They had a proven track record of managing largescale, successful exhibitions, having founded Dubai Muscle Show, Dubai Active and Dubai Active Industry which were acquired by Italian Exhibition Group in 2021.

The success of the first edition validated our belief that there was a real need for this kind of event in the region, and we’ re even more excited to expand and refine the experience for the industry and our visitors this year.

Did you achieve the goals you set for that inaugural edition? The Middle East’ s first-ever Baby Expo spanned 6,500sqm of DWTC, attracting 11,000 + attendees and featuring 165 exhibiting brands from 28 countries.

Launching a new exhibition is