IWSC Group announces joint-venture with Atlanta Food & Wine
Dominique Love and Elizabeth Feichter of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival (AF&WF/Nicole Love Photography)
IWSC Group, Ltd , an events company whose portfolio includes the International Wine & Spirit Competition and the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition, has announced the creation of a joint-venture with the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival .
Here's more from the press release:
Created in Atlanta, GA in 2010 by entrepreneurs, Elizabeth Feichter and Dominique Love, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is designed to immerse consumers in the rich food and drink traditions of the South from Texas to the District of Columbia. Part epicurean conference, part outdoor party, the Festival draws close to 10,000 people to the Midtown neighborhood of Atlanta each May to eat, drink and explore the best flavors of the South.
Originating in 1969, the IWSC Group has operated a broad portfolio of wine and spirit events across the globe and during the past 4 years has begun expanding into North America with the acquisition of Whiskies of the World®, a San Francisco whisky expo; Spirits of Mexico, the oldest and largest festival for agave and other Mexican spirits in North America; and the foundation of Spirits of the Americas, a new competition and event to celebrate the diversity and innovation of the distilling industry in the Americas.
“The IWSC Group’s partnership with the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is an important step in broadening our North American event portfolio to include culinary as well as wine and spirit events,” says Allen Gibbons, President, IWSC Group. “We were attracted to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival because of its carefully-curated programming and focus on creating unique guest experiences. In five short years, the Festival has received rave reviews from industry leaders and media with some calling it the ‘only indispensable’ food event in the country,” added Gibbons.
In addition to entering into a joint-venture with the Festival, the IWSC Group has also acquired the operations of Corporate Community Outsourcing, a consultancy created by Feichter and Love in 2003. The acquisition will enable the IWSC Group to establish a base of operations in North America, which will be led by Feichter and Love.
“We were inspired by Feichter and Love’s visionary leadership and their ability to build interesting and consumer- focused programs. We see the duo as the foundation for our further expansion in North America.”
Effective immediately, Feichter will assume the role as Chief Operating Officer, and Love will assume the role as Chief Executive Officer.
“We are honored to join the IWSC Group team and to lead the organization’s growth in North America. We established the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival with the goal of shining an international spotlight on the rich food and beverage traditions of our region. Partnering with IWSC Group will broaden the Festival’s international reach and will also allow us to apply our experience-driven event model to other properties as we grow IWSC Group’s portfolio,” said Feichter and Love.
The 2015 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival takes place May 28 – 31 in Midtown.
