Organisation of the Sorli Group's 100th anniversary celebrations
The Sorli Group is a family business with 100% Catalan capital, founded in Barcelona in 1923 in the Poblenou neighbourhood, when Francesc Sorli opened a grocery shop on Carrer Pere IV. Today, the brand has a chain of 105 supermarkets, 15 cafeterias, five Sorli Sport centres, three Sorli Go petrol stations, two restaurants and the Sorli Emocions shopping centre and hotel. Its essence, however, remains the same – a commitment to fresh, local products.
In 2023, the group celebrated its 100th anniversary – a historic milestone that it wanted to celebrate over the course of the year with a series of activities targeted at its community: customers, suppliers, employees, stakeholders, institutions, associations and the media.
With these needs in mind, Sorli contracted Intermèdia to organise the brand’s centenary event, with the aim of conceptualising and designing the entire strategy to achieve a memorable evening for all the guests. The aim of this celebration was to develop and strengthen the brand pillars by creating engagement with customers and suppliers, increasing the employees’ sense of belonging and bolstering relations with authorities and sectorial associations.
A team from Intermèdia Comunicació took charge of the conceptualisation, organisation and communication of the event.
From the outset, it was taken into account that the event had to exude the brand’s values and differential facets that have made it a leading chain in the quality food market. The brand’s values are based on a philosophy of continuous improvement, placing the consumer at the centre, with values such as quality, sustainability and the environment, proximity, local produce, social responsibility and equality between men and women in the business structure.
These values were conveyed at the anniversary event through different concepts and elements such as the use of environmentally friendly decorations featuring fresh fruit and vegetables, catering based on local produce, the creation of a book narrating the group’s hundred years of history... In short, the team was in charge of organising an event that reflected the brand’s values, creating an image and a positioning aligned with Sorli’s essence, with the ultimate aim of creating a positive experience and brand memory in the minds of all the guests.
- Conceptualisation of the event (philosophy, research of spaces, selection of suppliers, etc.)
- Management and coordination of the event’s different suppliers – space, technical equipment (sound, lighting, scenery, etc.), catering and furniture, floral decoration, presenter, artists, etc.
- Technical administration, guest management.
- Design, writing and sending of the save the dates and invitations.
- Drafting and sending of invitations to authorities.
- Event protocol – Coordination with the protocol teams of institutional representatives.
- Preparation of the event outline and script.
- Production of the different designs and materials.
- Preparation of the seating plan.
- Media management.
- Sending of photographic reports.
- Management of articles and reports on the 100 years of the company in the economic media.
On 28 September 2023, the Casa Llotja de Mar in Barcelona hosted the celebration of Sorli’s 100th anniversary. A historic event that the company commemorated alongside family members, workers, friends, entrepreneurs, institutions, associations and notable personalities.
The event was attended by nearly 400 guests, with representatives from more than 130 national and international companies from various sectors such as banking, food, cosmetics and consultancy. The companies present included Cacaolat, Estrella Damm, Unilever, L’Oreal, BBVA, CaixaBank, Casa Tarradellas, Aneto, Danone, Frit Ravich, Pepsico and Freixenet.
The event was also attended by several members of the Catalan Government, including the Minister of Business and Employment, Roger Torrent; the Director General of Trade, Jordi Torrades; and the Minister of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano.
