Illy – a personal blend by Viki Geunes

This was the first time the W50BEST elections had taken place in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. There was an opportunity for a premium brand like illy to highlight its brand positioning to key opinion leaders and national and international media. This was in order to establish its credibility. In this episode, Viki Geunes, illy’s ambassador chef since 2010, is in the perfect position to explain the uniqueness of his partnership as a 3-star chef with a premium and sustainable coffee brand, illy, through the use of a proven brand advocacy format. As part of their collaboration with the University of Coffee, they came up with a PERSONAL BLEND that is in complete harmony with the chef’s high standards and preferences. This BLEND is only available for consumption at his restaurant.

In his totally renovated restaurant on top of a landmark with a spectacular view over Antwerp, Chef Viki and Illy welcomed a selected group of coffee lovers that were invited to taste the Personal Blend with a number of exceptionally well-matched side plates. 11 articles were published, of which two were cover stories as a result of the project.