Stuart Forster (SF): Why is attending WTCE attractive to you? 

Tone Cresswell (TC): WTCE is one of the very few platforms where catering and related businesses and vendors can come together and showcase their products and services. And I think what is also important for WTCE attendance, it is also a very good place to get the majority of our customers – or customers to be – together and we can provide a uniform approach and message to them.   

Also, of course, there is the social part. We are, I feel, still somewhat in the reconnection phase after the pandemic. WTCE is an important place for us to be in order to continue building relationships with our customers. Of course, WTCE is not only the trade show; it’s also what is happening in the background with the committees and the forums.

The collaboration that is happening throughout the year otherwise is also a very important part for us and important for us to participate in. For me, WTCE is really something like getting together at our home, where we can show our customers who we are in one spot – not just showing bits and pieces of us.

SF: Is LSG group’s strategy going to be impacted by the sale?  

TC: The strategic path that we are on now is a strategy that was cemented a couple of years ago and has now been sharpened as the three-pillar-strategy.

We are executing a long-term business plan which was also the foundation for the sale process, which Lufthansa has signed with Aurelius. 

It will certainly not change our strategy and not change our approach at the WTCE. To the contrary, we have Aurelius’ full buy-in to our three-pillar-strategy. Our products and offerings and our marketing approach will remain the same.

SF: Will LSG Group be involved in the Taste of Travel sessions at WTCE in 2023?  

TC: Members of LSG will be participating in Is Sustainability Increasingly Relevant in Recruiting and Retaining Talent?  

Sinje Wojahn, Head of Global HR Management & People Development, LSG Group and Phyllis Fercho, Sustainability Manager, LSG Group, will be at the Taste of Travel Theatre, Hall A1 at 14:45 – 15:30 on June 7.

SF: What would be your ideal takeaway from 2023’s WTCE?  

TC: We’re looking to create even more awareness of what we can be.

Ultimately, we want to entice our customers through the products and services that we are offering. We want them to be able to see the value-add that can drive for them.

We will follow up with the customers after WTCE because this is not only about once a year. We don’t just showcase our products and services and then wait another year until we engage again. So this, for me, is a starting point to continue discussions, so ultimately we also want to join forces with them.

We have already started to look at how we can continue to drive value with our customers, for example in co-creation workshops based on our innovation program ‘next’. 

Also, some of their products and services have still not reached their full maturity. I want to do that together with our customers; I want to engage them, in order to get their input on what we can offer in order to continue to develop them in a targeted manner – so that it maximises value for them.

Meet with LSG Group at WTCE

Discover more about the company that Tone Cresswell is part of by visiting the LSG Group website.

LSG Group will be at stand 1E20 during the 2023 WTCE. You can add LSG Group to your plan by clicking on the ‘Add to Plan’ button on the WTCE exhibitor directory.

Secure a meeting with a representative of LSG Group using the WTCE Connect tool.