This year’s 17th Global Water Drinks Congress on 20-22 October 2020 has two major differences from previous events. The first is that it is now online. The second is its ‘Beyond the Bottle’ theme, with a focus on wider product and packaging opportunities.
“What hasn’t changed is the extremely high calibre of speakers, networking and discussion,” commented Richard Hall, chairman of event organisers Zenith Global, the food and drink experts.
As the highest level and most influential event for the global water drinks industry, the Congress typically attracts 150-200 participants from all over the world. The event aims to provide industry leaders, entrepreneurs, suppliers, customers and advisers with a complete overview of the water drinks market and developments.
“We are delighted to open our virtual doors to attendees from around the globe later this month,” said Hall.
“We have speakers from all five leading international producers – Coca-Cola, Danone, Nestlé, Niagara and PepsiCo. They are joined by other market leaders, from Bisleri in India to Grupo Edson de Quieroz in Brazil; innovators ACTIPH, B-Better (Unilever), Kirin and Voss; as well as key representatives from the Alliance for Water Stewardship, Kantar, KPMG and TerraCycle.
“We also have five top industry suppliers as sponsors – Platinum Sponsor Ball plus Gold Sponsors Bericap, Guitig, Sidel and Tetra Pak – along with additional support from CCL and Water.io.”
The 2020 Congress will deliver valuable insights through presentations, interactive panel discussions and workshops alongside group networking receptions, as well as dedicated breaks to ensure attendees have ample opportunity to connect with their industry peers. Delegates will have access to the platform ahead of the event to begin networking and planning their time, and can continue to log in for up to 12 months after to view content on-demand.
Hall added: “Having already held three virtual events this autumn, we’ve found they can generate even better networking and debate because it’s so easy to contact other delegates, hold individual discussions, join round tables and engage in social conversation as well as ask questions and take part in polls. The other advantages are reduced costs, no travel time and the ability to revisit sessions as they are all recorded.
“The Beyond the Bottle theme is particularly relevant this year, because of the continuing debate about plastic. We no longer talk about bottled water, since there are many packaging alternatives. There are also many product alternatives in added flavours and functions. And now companies are exploring opportunities beyond drink packaging in capsules and dispense.”
Another highlight of the Global Water Drinks Congress is the Global Water Drinks Awards that will be presented on 21 October, for which there were 160 entries across 16 categories from 27 countries.
For full details of the 2020 Congress, visit www.zenithglobal.com/events/gwdc2020
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