The first 2023 edition of the Meet BBLF Success initiative was held yesterday attracting most of the specially invited guests from BBLF member companies. We are grateful to METRO Bulgaria and METRO Academy for their hospitality, and to all the attendees representing 18 companies from different sectors.
The event was hosted by METRO Bulgaria - the largest wholesale company in the Bulgarian marketthat serves professional HoReCa, traders and other small and medium-sized business customers. The meeting was held at METRO Academy, which has been enriching the culinary culture in Bulgaria by training professional chefs and amateur cooksfor more than 10 years now.
At the opening BBLF ChairLevon Hampartzoumian said the Forum offers its members various formats meant to enable the sharing of useful knowledge, practical experience and inspiring good ideas. This time, the Meet BBLF Success event was in an exclusive high-level format to foster personal contacts and facilitate business collaborations in our community, he pointed out.
"METRO Bulgaria is delighted to host this wonderful initiative, which provides an insider’s look into the business development and achievements of member companies. We are happy to share best practices about our business, people and responsibility as an integral part of being a wholesaler," CEO Nicolas Gautheron said in his opening address.
"METRO is a wholesaler so the major focus of our strategic framework is HoReCa and traditional trade customers. However, it is also important for us to be attractive to the wider audience who recognise the convenience of shopping in our outlets. Our main goal is to keep customers happy - to offer them the products they are looking for and to make sure they are at the best possible price. We will continue, as we have done in the past, to be a reliable partner for local producers so that their products can reach our stores, and so that we can meet the growing demand for regional goods.
Our results for 2022 show that this is the right way to go - we have seen a significant increase in sales, and our share in the B2B market is growing and will continue to expand in the future", Nicolas Gautheron said in his presentation.
Other speakers from METRO included Maria Angelova, Human Resources Director who presented the policies of responsibility towards employees, and Iva Tafradhzhiyska, Corporate Communications Manager, who focused on the corporate ESG strategy and its three main pillars: climate and carbon footprint; business ethics and trust; and equality, inclusion and wellbeing.
Marina Marinova, Head of METRO Academy, told participants more about the activities and opportunities that the Academy offers to professional chefs and amateur cooks, while sommelier Georgi Varbanov offered a crash course on food and wine pairing.
The meeting was attended by CEOs and senior managers from 18 member companies, including members of the BBLF Board.
For more pictures please have a look at the gallery below.
Stay tuned for the next edition of Meet the BBLF Success!
