3rd Food and Beverage Industry Summit: Growth, Responsibility, and Business Strategy

On February 16, IPADE welcomed leaders from the food and beverage industry to the IPADE Mexico City campus for the Third Food and Beverage Industry Summit. Hosted in partnership with IESE Business School, the theme of the 2017 Summit was “Growth, Responsibility, and Business Strategy.” The single-day event was targeted to high-level decision makers in the food and beverage industry, and the event encouraged attendees to engage with the speakers and with other attendees, using the event as an opportunity to share lessons learned and discuss and reflect on the opportunities and challenges currently facing the industry.

IPADE Dean, Rafael Gómez Nava, opened the event welcoming attendees and inviting them to approach the day as an opportunity for dialogue.

“I hope that today will be a highly relevant and productive day for you, and for your companies,” said Dean Gómez Nava.

Dean Gómez Nava was joined on the opening roundtable by Flor Argumedo, President of GS1, Professor Jaume Llopis from IESE, and Professor Eugenio Gómez from IPADE. Setting the stage for the rest of the day, the participants of the first session provided event attendees with a broad overview of the current environment facing the food and beverage industry.

In his session, titled “Mexico’s Economic Perspectives,” Roberto Manríquez, Professor of Economic Environment at IPADE, provided attendees with an overview of the economic situation in Mexico that will impact the food and beverage industry over the course of the coming year.

“The Mexican economy has felt the impact over the past few years of a difficult economic environment,” said Professor Manríquez. “Obviously the United States is a key factor for the Mexican agricultural sector.”

The “International Strategy” session focused on the partnership between the Spanish department store El Corte Inglés and the Mexican grocery chain Soriana that will allow Mexican consumers to purchase El Corte Inglés branded merchandise from Soriana stores. The session featured Manuel Domínguez Cuadrado, Director of the International Consumer Sector Department of El Corte Inglés, and Luis Ignacio Dávila, Grocery Director at Soriana. As Mr. Ignacio Dávila stated, “The partnership between El Corte Inglés and Soriana is easy because we don’t compete within the same sector or the same market. Soon you’ll be able to find the best products from Spain on the shelves at Soriana.”

The following panel, titled “Understanding the New Generations to Encourage Growth,” was moderated by Gema Moreno Vega, Talent Leader at Deloitte and featured María del Carmen Bernal, Director of the CIMAD at IPADE; Mónica Flores, President of ManpowerGroup Latin America; and Olga González, Sustainability Manager at the Pepsico México Foundation. The panelists agreed that currently, three different generations are interacting in the workplace environment, and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. “We want all of our employees to be brand ambassadors, not just employees,” said Mónica Flores.

The afternoon sessions featured participants from Mondelez, Bitácora Social, MOVISA, La Norteñita, and Miel Mexicana. The closing roundtable was focused on innovation and growth, and featured participants from Cascajares, Vips, and OXXO sharing their company’s experiences with rapid growth within the Mexican market.

After a full day of productive discussion, Professor Llopis thanked attendees for their participation, and invited them to pick up a copy of the “Vademecum on Food and Beverage Markets.” This research document, produced by IESE in partnership with Deloitte, measures countries’ attractiveness and potential according to six weighted indicators: food and beverage import volumes, population, legal framework and security, the number of middle class households, food and beverage consumer spending per capita, and GDP per capita.

“Let’s grow innovatively with a clear understanding of the trends in the food and beverage industry,” said Professor Llopis in closing.

The food and beverage industry represents a major growth opportunity in the coming decades. IPADE seeks to support the development of the industry by providing cutting-edge research, as well as events that provide participants with an international perspective and practical applications.