INTERNATIONAL. Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) has been named as a key Knowledge Hub Partner for the Virtual Travel Retail Expo 2021 (11-15 October). The travel retail division of Nestlé SA will sponsor the ‘Transform’ pillar within the programme. Each day of the Expo will feature sessions dedicated to the themes of Lead, Inspire and Transform, with speakers drawn from both inside and outside the travel retail community, as reported.
NITR’s partnership of the Transform element of the week further supports the aims of the Virtual Expo in providing the travel retail industry with an inspiring place in which anyone and everyone can meet to view presentations in the Knowledge Hub and get involved in conversations on relevant, interesting and engaging content and themes.
The event has attracted a growing number of brand and service companies as exhibitors, with the world’s leading travel retailers committed to attending with their management and buying teams.
NITR General Manager Stewart Dryburgh said: “The ongoing challenge of Covid-19 will result in many of our valued customers’ buying teams once again being unable to visit Cannes this year. As a result, it makes complete sense for Nestlé to again participate in the Virtual Travel Retail Expo. It will enable us to showcase our portfolio, including new product launches, in a sustainable and digitally enhanced environment.
“We are also delighted to become the exclusive sponsor of Transform, one of the three core themes of the Knowledge Hub this year. Nestlé continues to invest in ground breaking category thinking for our industry and the Knowledge Hub plays a vital role in facilitating discussion and supporting the understanding of future traveller dynamics.
“Whilst this crisis is taking much longer to resolve than most would have anticipated 15 months ago, we look forward with great enthusiasm to returning to a world post-Covid where everyone can safely travel, meet in person and rebuild our wonderful industry.”
The Knowledge Hub at the 2020 Virtual Expo received widespread praise for the depth and insight of its programme. It featured 42 Knowledge Hub sessions that attracted 30,051 views, and 32 Experience Hub sessions with 9,147 views.
The Virtual Travel Retail Expo 2021, a follow-up to the hugely successful 2020 event but with several critical enhancements (see below) is hosted by The Moodie Davitt Report with support partnership from FILTR.QINGWA. Under a unique Loyalty Scheme, returning exhibitors from 2020 receive a -10% discount on 2020 fees if they maintain the same stand tier as last year.
Recognising travel retail and food & beverage Superstars
The Moodie Davitt Report also recently announced the all-important awards categories for its Travel Retail Superstars Awards, a new initiative focused on the vital role of employees, which will take place on Friday 15 October during the Virtual Expo week.
The event will be hosted by The Moodie Davitt Report with support from FILTR.Qingwa, and organised in collaboration with a select advisory committee of human resource and training specialists. They include Marcus Griffin, Global Director of People & Culture at Flash Global Logistics in the US and from 2012 until 2020 SVP/Director – Human Resources, Americas & Caribbean at Dufry; and Heidi van Roon, President & Founder of the Spark Group of Companies, which provides a range of recruitment and staffing services for luxury & airport retailers and brands.
The Travel Retail Superstars Awards, covering employees across airport, airline, downtown store and cruise sectors, will shine the spotlight on the thousands of frontline and behind the scenes heroes and heroines who have helped keep the industry going throughout 2020 and into this year. Click here for more and to nominate an individual or team.
The FAB (Food & Beverage) Superstars Awards will also feature and will be conducted separately on Thursday 14 October.
As reported, profits from the Travel Retail Superstars Awards will go to charity, including Gavi – a global alliance that protects half the world’s children through vaccination. Since Gavi was established in 2000, its mission to save lives, reduce poverty and protect the world against the threat of epidemics has helped vaccinate more than 822 million children in 77 countries.
For more information about the Travel Retail Superstars Awards and/or the Virtual Travel Retail Expo 2021, please contact Irene Revilla, Publisher, The Moodie Davitt Report (Irene@moodiedavittreport.com) or Sarah Genest, Vice President Sales & Events (Sarah@MoodieDavittReport.com).
