The 5th edition of The India Nightlife Convention & Awards (INCA), an initiative by Kickstart Entertainment & National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), will be held in Goa for the first time. Heineken is the presenting sponsor with Pernod Ricard – Chivas as the co-promoting brand on this convention. Hotelier India is the media partner of this event, which encourages partnership amongst stakeholders in the hospitality sector, entrepreneurs and specialists.
This year, the convention will encapsulate faced by these industry players in recent times, their learnings and how they used it to adapt to the new normal. Some key participants at the event include restauranteurs like Joy Singh, Founder of RAASTA; Priyank Sukhija, MD of First Fiddle Restaurants; Zorawar Kalra, Founder of Massive Restaurants; AD Singh. MD of Olive Group of Restaurants; Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality and president of NRAI; Gauri Devidayal, Co-Founder of The Table. Music producer and DJ, NUCLEYA, will be part of the opening panel discussion where he will talk about new partnerships post the pandemic and his new role with RAASTA, the bar chain.
The other panels will cover topics like ‘What we learned from the pandemic’ and ‘Brands & industry partnerships’, ‘How the pandemic carved a new path for the entire F&B industry’, ‘How brands have helped and can help build the industry back to what it was’, ‘How India bounced back faster than other natuions in re-employment and kickstarting the F&B industry.’ The convention’s objective is to #reINCArnate2021 the hospitality industry by leveraging on some new learnings.
The convention will be followed by a felicitation ceremony to recognise people from the industry who supported one another and the society during the pandemic.
Aman Anand, Director, Kickstart Entertainment said, “Last year was a challenging one for industry players across sectors. From witnessing a lifestyle change to adapting to the new normal, we underwent a historic time that aspire future generations. Hence, we have changed the tone ofINCA this year’ instead of awards and jury votes, we pictoed towards contributions during the pandemic.”
Anurag Katriar, President of NRAI, remarked, “With INCA 2021, we aim to celebrate the hard work put in by each and every hospitality player and continue helping each other through the difficult times. The industry bounced back from a shock no one ever thought we would witness. We consider INCA 2021 to be the perfect opportunity to keep up the spirits of our industry players.”
Gurpreet Singh, Head Marketing, United Breweries noted, “The F&B industry witnessed unprecedented challenges over the last year. It was heartening to see NRAI, INCA and companies including United Breweries come together and support the industry through these troubled times. While this is Heineken’s 2nd year of association with INCA, this year is special in what it represents – a triumph and celebration of the human spirit and the hospitality industry, and the pride it takes in its work.”
Ranjeet Oak, Chief Commercial Officer of Pernod Ricard India added, “2020 was a remarkable year and can be called the year of ‘The Great Pause’, which brought out an onslaught of suffering from a pandemic and uncertainties that impact 190+ countries, billions of people, and millions of enterprises. However, it also represented the year of compassion, care, generosity and innovation. Tough times often bring out the best in all of us. Pernod Ricard India’s onward growth march has been undaunted by the ensuing crisis and we continue to ‘Leave No One Behind’ in our commitment to support our stakeholders and communities to tackle the pandemic. INCA 2021 provides a platform to rebound from the standstill and usher in a new era for the hospitality industry.”
Riyaaz Amlani summed it up, “Along with honoring hard work put by one and all for the revival of the industry, the 5th edition of INCA represents celebrating the hospitality industry players, big wins. This year the convention aims to promote what changing attitudes of brands can do to build the industry back breaking the shackles on the market and shape their businesses in a way to shape the curve towards the growing axis.
The convention & award ceremony is presided by a number of events:
● Heineken INCA Bar Takeovers across 7 cities on 27th February 2021
o The Daily in Mumbai with DJ Tem10
o Fenicia in Kolkata with Vikrant & Axl Stace
o Raasta in Delhi with Leon Russel, Murklin & Elm
o Titlie in Goa with M.E.L and DJ Aman & beyond
o Sector 7 Social in Chandigarh with DJ M3LD
o Fat Pigeon in Hyderabad with Julia Bliss
o Raahi in Bangalore with DJ Clement, Shine & DJ Shab
