At the largest sweets and snacks exhibition in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, held in Dubai this September, Lithuanians triumphed: freeze-dried ice cream created in Panevėžys in three flavors was recognized as the best candy. This marks the first time in history that a Lithuanian-made product has received such a high honor, according to a press release.

“This exhibition brings together the world’s largest manufacturers: participants came from more than 60 countries, nearly 1,000 in total. Our products were compared with those of the most well-known international producers. In such a context, our competitive advantage lies in innovation: being smaller, we can boldly experiment, search for new flavors and textures, and overtake major manufacturers. That is exactly what happened this time,” says Laura Kaziukonienė, founder of the company Super Garden, which created the award-winning freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream.

Freeze-dried ice cream retains all its flavor qualities, but it is not cold, does not melt, and becomes solid in form. One of the most important aspects of this award for Lithuania was that a product developed in our country outperformed China’s confectionery giant Amos.

“The advantage of our region, which gives our ice cream an edge, is natural ingredients – in Lithuania, we still have the luxury of making ice cream from real milk and cream, real strawberries, and enjoying entirely natural flavors. This was an important reason for our victory,” says Kaziukonienė. The award for best candy is one of the most prestigious and competitive categories at ISM Middle East, attracting both global brands and innovative startups from around the world. The criteria include not only the balance of taste and texture, but also creativity, presentation design, and commercial potential – reflecting global confectionery market trends and consumer expectations.

“I hope that our achievements will encourage more Lithuanian businesses to step into the international arena and present their creations to the world. We have excellent natural products, which we can turn into new sweets, snacks, and meals that perfectly align with sustainability and health trends. We truly have something to show the international community,” she adds.

This is not the first time the Lithuanian company has stood out with innovative products: the company is also known for creating snacks with nine types of innovative proteins for European astronauts in collaboration with the European Space Agency. This autumn, the Panevėžys-based team also introduced perhaps the world’s first fully freeze-dried 24-hour meal kit, which, thanks to its preparation method, is extremely light yet nutritious.

According to Kaziukonienė, that alone was not enough: the company’s team worked closely with scientists to ensure that food designed for active leisure, battlefields, or survival backpacks would also be genuinely tasty.

ISM Middle East is the largest sweets and snacks exhibition in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, held September 15–17 in Dubai at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The prestigious event brought together more than 700 participants from 66 countries, including global leaders such as Mars, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Tim Hortons. Exhibitors showcased more than 60,000 products, ranging from chocolate and candies to snacks, ice cream, and traditional sweets.

ISM Middle East is the key platform for presenting the latest innovations in flavor and texture, reflecting changing consumer needs such as healthier snacks, plant-based products, and functional sweets.

Read more at 15min.lt