On the 2nd of April, a few of us met online, again, to tackle the most pressing issues caused by COVID-19 on the food and drinks industry. Discover what we talked about, and watch or listen to the recorded conversation.
Our attendees and agenda
Here you can find the handbook I had prepared for the meet-up.
Our attendees, in short:
- Florian Schuhmann-Irschik, Quantum Winery, Dinking Against Sinking, Austria
- Gilles Reuter, Die Parfümerie bar, Dodo Coffee, Wolfgang Coffee, Die Parfümerie catering, Austria
- Raluca Hritcu, Country Manager at Gault&Millau, Romania
- Alex Ciomartan, Fix me a Drink cocktail bar, Artichoke coffee, Romania
- Claire Yuan, Vinifero Naturweine, Austria
- Gabriela Negulescu, EventStuff, Romania
- Alex Dumitru, Anika restaurant, Gault&Millau chef of the year in 2019, Romania
We started the discussion with brief introductions, then brainstormed and listed the issues that the food and drinks industry faces during and post corona. After the brainstorming session, Florian Schuhmann-Irschik presented Drinking Against Sinking. The project aims to gather natural winemakers who, under the same label, support their distribution network and themselves during this period. Find out more about the project here.
Watch or listen to our discussion
My goal is to make progress as transparent as possible. This is why I have recorded the session and will continue doing the same for our next ones.
Some of the highlights of the discussion, illustrated
Conclusions from the meet-up
We came up with over 25 different problems, then voted for the most pressing ones, which we will tackle, one at a time, during the next series of meet-ups. Here are the questions we will be working on:
- How can businesses work together more, to support each other?
- Cashflow is a challenge, which puts pressure on customers, as well as suppliers and partners. Who will be there, once this crisis passes? How can meaningful connections be built at this stage? How can business models change and offering change?
- How can we create a new culture of spending money? How can we make consumers understand the importance of supporting local businesses right now, as well as immediately after the crisis?
- How can we support mental health and resilience in the industry, especially since no one was prepared for this situation, and no one had contingency plans in place.
- How can we influence local governments to make it easier for businesses to operate once the crisis is over by easing some of the restrictions that have existed in recent years?
Are you interested in joining us in our future meet-ups?
Would you like to participate in our future meet-ups? Register your interest here and I will be in touch.
Until then, stay safe!
Ioana
