This year’s wine2wine Business Forum confirmed that diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are “good for business”, according to the organisers Vinitaly and Veronfiere.
One of the main takeaways from this year’s forum is that there are “real opportunities to be had by bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and having different voices in leadership and decision-making roles”. This certainly proved “invaluable” for the forum, which enjoyed unprecedented diversity among speakers and participants alike, according to the organisers.
This year’s virtual forum, which took place this week, united more than 140 speakers worldwide to discuss everything from allyship, to hacking the wine culture in Africa and social media in China.
FEMALE LEADERSHIP FUNDAMENTAL
The strongest theme to come out of this year’s event was during the Wine and Allyship: Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are Good for the Wine Business session, led by wine experts Julia Coney and Elaine Chukan Brown. “The overarching message from the session was the importance of female leadership; and how women can support each other to enact change across the industry at all levels,” according to Coney and Chukan Brown.
“You have to look for business partnerships that expand the conversation, expand the market, and who the market is connecting to,” commented Chukan Brown. “This demonstrates that diversity, inclusion and the support of women in the industry is fundamental, not simply as an ethical requirement, but as an astute commercial position.”
COVID-19 SILVER LINING
In a year where much of the wine industry has been forced to adopt digital solutions, there were many sessions on how the wine industry has adapted (or should adapt) to working in a more digital environment; as well as how the industry can learn from a year characterised by the Covid-19 crisis.
“A key silver lining of Covid-19 is that data show 4 million new consumers have entered the market,” commented Stephanie Gallo, Chief Marketing Officer of Gallo Wines. “The industry must adapt to meet these consumers, innovate, and capitalise on new opportunities.”
This year’s virtual event allowed speakers to come together from all over the globe, expanding the reach of the sessions, while boosting their relevance across more markets than ever before. In addition to exploring changes in the US and Chinese markets, the wine2wine Business Forum 2020 delved deeper into markets that represent real opportunities, which has been previously overlooked by the wine industry.
For example, Hacking the wine culture in Africa, presented by African wine expert Tinashe Nyamdoko, explored opportunities for Italian Wine in various African markets. Meanwhile, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) sponsored a session titled The Wine Market In India.
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