Nestlé's Quest was a unique event co-organized through a mutual partnership between WBEC-West and Nestlé in their aim to help women business owners get their foot in the door to start doing business with large corporations like Nestlé and connecting with their prime suppliers.
The event was held at the WBENC National Conference & Business Fair on June 21-22, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida and involved participants solving clues in the form of a scavenger hunt and an online game, completing tasks to help suppliers understand where they fit into the Nestlé Supply Chain.
Extremely pleased with the response and outcome of the game, Karen Blackwell, Manager, Supplier Diversity and Development at Nestlé stated, "We are thrilled by the response we received from the women business owners and our 1st Tier Suppliers who participated in the 2016 Nestlé Quest. Using the game concept helped us connect WBEs with our suppliers who were at the trade show and those who were not! By increasing visibility to our brands like Nesquik and to our supply chain, WBEs increased their knowledge and their opportunities and our Primes tell us that the WBEs that approached them were informed and engaged.
We are in the final phases of collecting data from our after event surveys and plan to use this information to improve our outreach events and to encourage our primes to be more involved with WBEC-West and WBENC. Stay tuned in 2017 as we continue to use technology to improve our Supplier Diversity program and to connect more diverse suppliers to opportunity and information."
Dr. Pamela Williamson, President of WBEC-West, extremely pleased with how the event turned out responded by saying, "It was an honor to work with Nestlé on such an impactful event. Our goal at WBEC-West is to connect the dots between WBEs and procurement opportunities. The Nestlé quest event did just that and we're very pleased with the overwhelming response we had and the outcome of the event."
Lisa Michele Chretien, President and CEO at EventMover added that the event was, “...A fun way to break the ice with Nestlé’s Primes and a great way to connect with other WBEs. We [Attendees] love sharing moments from the WBENC Conference with our online communities and Nestlé really tapped into that by actively engaging us throughout the event.”
Certified WBE, Dr. Emilia Rico, CEO, BCN Research Laboratories, Inc., Rockford, TN, emphasized the benefits of being certified and stated, "Being certified has single-handedly opened the doors for us to do business with many food and beverage corporations looking for diverse suppliers. The Nestlé Quest program at the WBENC National Meeting was not only fun but also helped us interact with many other women business owners and learn more about Nestlé prime vendors. Companies such as Nestlé make a big difference for women-owned companies!"
Susan Munro, Certified WBE and Managing Director at Hybrid shared the importance of women-owned businesses connecting and stated, "The Nestlé Quest Program was a great way to connect not only Primes in a unique innovative way but also with other Women-Owned Businesses. As a Quest Team lead, I had another WBE from the east coast join my team based on the fact that both our companies worked in the Marketing field and used this opportunity to make an introduction to me and my company. We both plan on following up this month to further discuss if there are opportunities to team together on future projects. As part of the WBEC West Los Angeles Forum one of our major goals is to encourage WBE to WBE connections so it was great to see that the Nestlé Quest program made that happen."
About Women's Business Enterprise Council West (WBEC-West)
WBEC-West, a regional partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), implements the certification standards of WBENC all across the west including, Arizona, Colorado, Southern California, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam. WBENC certification is recognized all over America and honored by 10,000+ major corporations. They also support corporations in their efforts to include WBENC Certified WBE's in their supplier diversity programs.
Learn more about WBENC certification and get certified today to start doing business with large corporations.
To create a network of informed, prepared, and engaged Women Business Enterprises and corporations through certification, education, and targeted networking events.
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January 23, 2024 – WBEC-West Announces and Welcomes Distinguished Leaders to its 2023-2025 Board of Directors
July 08, 2019 – Uncover the Clues for Success at theWomen's Business Enterprise Council (WBEC)-West's 16th Annual Strategic Procurement Opportunity Conference
August 10, 2018 – Build Sustainable Relationships at the Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBEC)-West's 15th Annual Strategic Procurement Opportunity Conference
March 22, 2018 – Dr. Pamela Williamson Inducted into the Nevada Women's Hall of Fame with Minority Lifetime Achievement Award
March 01, 2018 – Dr. Pamela Williamson Selected for the 2018 Positively Powerful Woman Visionary Leadership Award
June 12, 2017 – Corporate Branding Company Owner Joins WBENC’s National Conference & Business Fair Host Committee
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May 25, 2017 – Los Angeles Interior Design Professional is Part of WBENC’s National Conference & Business Fair Host Committee
May 11, 2017 – Kaygen, Data Visionary and Corporate Solutions Partner, Joins WBENC National Conference & Business Fair Host Committee
