NESTLE DISCOVERY CENTRE
While drinking Nescafe, enjoying a break with KitKat or spicing your life with Maggie, have you ever thought about the times when it all started and about the people who were the first to introduce extraordinary innovations to our everyday life.
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If you still don't feel the catch, we'll give you a hint that all the mentioned and dozen more products come from the same family of Nestlé once established in Vevey, Switzerland. Now it is not only the headquarters of the global company but also one of the most high-tech and simultaneously one of the coziest museums we've ever seen.
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Nestlé Discovery centre is situated just behind the main train station in Vevey, in the building that doesn't match any conception of a traditional museum. It's a modern loft with extravagant interior design, which greets you already at the lobby. However, this extravaganza won't disturb you at all. On the contrary, it makes you feel at home, surrounded by pieces of modern art, high ceilings and aroma of fresh coffee.
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.However tempting is to rest on a cozy chair, you'd better pick up an audio guide from the ticket desk and start your journey. By the way, don't treat your audio guide as a worthless stuff hanging on your neck - it's a new generation audio guide where you're not obliged to punch in numbers - it's all in the air now!
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The exhibition is divided into 2 parts. And you'll start with the Foundation. This part is an exemplary demonstration how to engage your audience and tell the story to everyone with no option left to skip listening. If you're a bit claustrophobic, be prepared for closed spaces, some of them even dark! Because you'll be travelling from room to room, hearing and seeing a bit of history in each of them. But you won't be allowed to enter or exit the room on your own: the door will open for you to enter and will remain shut till the end of interactive demonstration. Then the other door will open to lead you to the next room and close before the story-telling starts.
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While walking from room to room, from one piece of Nestlé foundation history to another, you'll admire how modern technologies might be turned to account to engage the visitors. And be prepared for an unexpected surprise in the end of your journey!
The second part of exhibition leads you to the history of Nestlé marketing, to a special Forum area and to the future, which is available right now. In the first hall you may experience development of the company products from the first patent and company shares, to a mix of marketing material from the first days of Nestlé operation. You just have to scan you audio guide at certain points to get more explicit information.
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Then you are welcome to a special Forum under the title of “What moves you, moves us too”. There you may sit down and explore the subject in more detail by using your audio guide scan and multiple glass figures circling you on a large round table. Of course, there's a touch screen for your disposition, too.
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The last hall is a total reflection what a future museum will look like. Nestlé has its own corporate vision and puts it on display in line with all innovation and research to demonstrate a relationship between nutrition, health and wellness. There's where a virtual reality steps in mingled with cosmic design and a very down-to-earth exhibition manager giving away KitKats to every visitor. This is where the time stops and you are drawn into the topic at least...forever.
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The last but not the least attraction awaits you in the lobby. You can take a photo of yourself and place it into one of several ad designs, which then appear on a big screen on a back wall. If you like your advertising piece you can also email it to yourself to remember. It's such an engaging activity that you might continue till you try all designs and then... try once again.
After the whole round you deserve a break in a wonderful Café Henri. A wide variety of coffees and pastries as well as inspiring atmosphere will certainly stop you for recollections of the day.
