Taking place online between the 31st May and 4th June, the event will encompass a number of key themes and issues facing the industry, including business consolidation, sustainability, the workforce of the future, and how culture can make or break a business. With a mixture of special guests, industry veterans and a few surprises along the way, you’ll find it hard not to be inspired. Just as important, there will also be ample opportunity to reconnect and renew friendships with other attendees, with interactive and networking sessions forming a major part of the agenda.
Each day will touch upon a different theme. Here is a flavour of what attendees can expect:
Day 1 (31st May) focuses on Association Matters, during which FINAT Managing Director Jules Lejeune will set the scene for the week ahead, reviewing trends and developments in the label market over the last year.
Day 2 (1st June) will dive into Business Strategy, starting with the view from ten thousand feet, as leading economist Prof Andrea Boltho will offer his take on the post-COVID recovery and the large structural forces that are shaping the current business environment. Then we will zero in on the label business, hearing from Nick Mockett (Moorgate Capital) and Norman Bremer (IK Investment Partners) with their take on the state of the industry, from the perspectives of M&A and Private Equity respectively.
Day 3 (2nd June) goes green as we turn to the threat of climate change, and The Circular Economy. We are going to hear from Mara Desgrées-Du Loȗ, the EU Directorate-General’s Environments Policy Officer on the future of packaging policy, and Europe’s ‘Green Deal’. An Vossen, technical manager at AIM, the European Brands Association will also feature, checking in on progress towards the so-called “Holy Grail” of digital watermarks, which could one day enable smarter recycling and sorting. Ophelie Gourdou, project manager of CELAB-Europe will update the label community about the industry consortium’s roadmap towards a circular business model for label materials. And, finally, a panel of four renowned brand-owners will discuss how they see their brands’ labels and packaging contributing to their circular ambitions.
Day 4 (3rd June) will turn to the Future Workforce, and will be led by a keynote from Markus Wörner from Einhorn PR, who will talk about alternative business models, the tricky business of attracting new talent to the industry, and his approach to what he calls ‘fairstainability’ (that is being fair and sustainable). Markus will discuss his views with current business leaders from the label industry. The day will conclude with an interactive webinar from Mind Gym, which will apply the latest in behaviour science research to the challenge of building an inclusive culture in your organisation.
And finally, on Day 5 (4th June), an opportunity to celebrate the Label Community. The day will begin with a special keynote from Pellegrino Riccardi on the power of cultural diversity and the differences that culture can make to business success. Then after this year’s all-important FINAT Label Awards Ceremony, Pellegrino will return to the virtual stage to host a Eurovision-style celebration of the label community, connecting with different hubs around Europe to identify the hidden strengths of different business cultures – and look at how you can use these techniques to improve your business.
Each day will conclude with an opportunity for everyone in attendance to pour their designated ‘cocktail of the day’ and get together to network, talk and catch-up, in virtual sessions with the other attendees and speakers. As the industry recovers, and as we look forward to next year in person, it is going to make for an unmissable chance to re-engage with the Label Community.
