Alcohol and beverage company Lion are calling on Kiwis to support their local hospitality services and encouraging community as they begin to re-open their doors.

After several long weeks of being closed, cafes, bars and restaurants have now been given the green light to reopen to the public, of course following the Government’s safety rules. To help local businesses back on their feet, Lion has launched ‘Cheers to Your Local’, a social media campaign aiming to create a much needed sense of community.

Encouraging Kiwis to wine and dine locally, the social media channel will also profile New Zealand’s hospitality legends by providing them with a platform to share their business insights, passions and industry stories. Lion has also included a social media toolkit for customers and the wider industry to download and share, assisting them with marketing for their business.

Lion’s national sales director, Guy Blaikie, says Lion wants to see the hospitality scene recover as fast as possible.

“Our customers and the wider NZ hospitality industry are at the heart of what we do and we are proud to be playing a role in getting them up and running again post lockdown. Uniting with businesses and Kiwi consumers is the first step in this process.”

Since the country went into lockdown, figures from Stats NZ show that spending on food and beverage services dropped a drastic 95 percent. In comparison with April 2019, the industry was down by $814 million this April.

Cheers to Your Local is calling upon food loving Kiwis to share the content across social media by inviting their friends and families to join them in their favourite restaurants. Hospitality New Zealand Wellington Branch president , Matt McLaughlin, supports the campaign, expressing New Zealand’s hospitality as ‘world class’ but now suffering.

“Working together as one community, we have the power to help save our country’s great bars and restaurants.”

As well as supporting the local hospitality industry, the campaign will also encourage socialising responsibly as we move into level two. Blaikie says the campaign will help to reinforce the importance of the protocols that have been set.

“We’ll work hard with our customers and the wider industry to ensure safe social experiences that don’t hinder the gains Kiwis have made in the fight against COVID-19.”

Well known alcohol brands such as Steinlager and Speights will also be helping in spreading the message and bringing the campaign to life.