Lion has announced the launch of a new initiative to support the New Zealand food and beverage industry following the impact of COVID-19 over the past eight weeks, and going forward.
Cheers To Your Local is a social media campaign aimed at creating a sense of community and encouraging Kiwis to get out and support local venues.
The latest figures from Statistics New Zealand show that spending on food and beverage services – including cafes, restaurants and bars – has dropped 95% compared with April 2019, down $814 million in just one month.
“Our customers and the wider New Zealand hospitality industry are at the heart of what we do and we are proud to be playing a role in getting them up and running again post lockdown,” says Guy Blaikie, National Sales Director at Lion.
“We want to see the bar and restaurant scene recover as quickly as possible and uniting with businesses and Kiwi consumers is the first step in this process.”
Lion has also created a social media toolkit for customers and the wider industry to download and share on their own social sites, enabling them to market their business and gain further awareness through the campaign.
The Cheers to Your Local social media channels will profile New Zealand’s hospitality heroes by giving them a platform to share their passions, business insights and industry stories with the country.
The campaign will call upon Kiwi consumers to share Cheers to Your Local content across social media by inviting their friends and families to join them in restaurants, cafés and bars.
Hospitality New Zealand Wellington Branch President and owner of the Panhead outlet on Tory St in central Wellington, Matt McLaughlin, says New Zealand’s hospitality industry is world class but it is now suffering.
“Working together as one community, we have the power to help save our country’s great bars and restaurants,” he says.
To follow, download, share and engage with Cheers to Your Local, visit the Facebook or Instagram pages.
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