Global CEO attends opening ceremony
Today, Paul Bulcke, Nestlé SA Chief Executive Officer attended the opening ceremony in York to officially open a £1 million extension to Nestlé UK’s Insight and Learning Centre.
Mr Bulcke was joined by Laurent Freixe, Nestlé Executive Vice President, and Zone Director for Europe, and Paul Grimwood, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Nestlé UK & Ireland.
Paul Bulcke, CEO Nestlé SA said: “I am pleased to be back in York visiting our operations here and at the same time to open the new Nestlé Insight Centre. This world-class facility is an important addition to the Nestlé York structure and builds further on the centre of excellence for Nestlé globally.”
The Insight and Learning Centre is one of a worldwide series of centres established by the Nestlé to provide retailers with the strategic insight to maximise their sales while growing Nestlé’s range of products in stores.
Combining leading consumer and shopper research with cutting edge digital technology, the centres are used to demonstrate how people behave when shopping and when using Nestlé products at home.
The York centre, which was originally built in 2008 for confectionery products, has now trebled in size to cover Nestlé UK’s entire product range including coffee, cereals, pet food and waters. The new extension features an Imax cinema, replica living room and working kitchen, full size convenience store, and digital media area.
Mr Grimwood explained why the centre sets Nestlé apart from its competitors.
He said: “We are the only company in the United Kingdom to offer our retail customers strategic insight in such a state-of-the art learning environment.
“In the centre’s first 18 months, we hosted 355 retail customer visits and generated more than GBP 20 million in incremental sales, which is why we chose to expand to incorporate Nestlé’s wide range of products.
“The results from the initial visits we have hosted in the new extension have already covered its cost. For us, the return on investment is clear.”
For further information, please contact Nestlé Press Office 020 8667 6005 or email [email protected]