JUST DRINKS PRESENTS: THE SPIRITS STRATEGIES AND INNOVATION CONFERENCE 2022
The Waldorf Hilton, London
18th-19th October, 2022
JUST DRINKS PRESENTS: THE SPIRITS STRATEGIES AND INNOVATION CONFERENCE 2022
DAY 1|18th October 2022
DAY 2|19th October 2022
8:50 am Chair’s opening remarks

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
9:00 am Keynote: Jack Daniels - The next generation of ready to drink (RTD) beverages
- Developing a portfolio of RTD beverages with consumers in mind
- The inspiration behind the ready-to-drink Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola
- Our RTD growth strategy

Sophia Angelis
SVP Managing Director, Jack Daniel's Brands
Brown-Forman
9:30 am Case study: New technologies helping advance premiumisation of spirits
10:00 am Panel discussion: Retailer’s insights - our view on what’s hot
- Spirits on shelves – what’s hot?
- Lessons learnt from pre and post Covid-19 sales
- Identifying consumer trends and preferences
- Ready to drink spirit sales and performance
- Non-alcohol and low alcohol spirit sales and performance
- Understanding the importance of sustainable packaging
10:40 am Morning refreshments and networking
11:20 am The Spirits Category – what is the state of play?
- How is the Spirits category performing and what does the future hold?
- How has the consumer purchasing habits evolved?
– On vs Off Trade
– Importance of ecommerce - What are the new sub-trends influencing consumers of Spirits?
- How social media learnings are becoming increasingly important to understand future developments in the Spirits category

Simon Puckey
Director of Consulting - Consumer
GlobalData
11:50 am Upcycling and creative reuse in the closure industry: how to transform waste materials into new products and solutions
- Transforming waste materials, useless and unwanted products into new products and solutions
- Creating new products that are environmentally friendly and have greater aesthetical value
- Upcycling as a key sustainability driver in the beverage industry
- Waste materials: which are the best elements that can be reused to create new closure solutions
- End-of-life products: how bottle packaging can be reused in many creative ways

Barry Hamilton
Sales Director, Scotland & Ireland
Tapi Group
12:20 pm Panel discussion: How brands are dealing with key market challenges and risks
- Inflation – impact on spirit sales
- Availability of core materials required for manufacturing spirits
- What does premiumisation look like during a cost of living crisis?
- Supply chain and logistics challenges – ensuring delivery domestically and abroad
- Competition – how can smaller brands compete with market leaders?

Dominic Limbrey
Managing Director
D.J. Limbrey Distilling Company Limited
12:50 pm Lunch and networking
2:00 pm Panel discussion: Key categories analysed – what’s new and interesting?
- Gin
- Vodka
- Rum
- Liqueurs and Bitters
2:40 pm Make your brand stand out through best practices for innovation
• In 2022, your brand’s main challenge is to stand out first and foremost
• The best way to stand out is through innovation
• You can use innovation to grab the consumer’s attention through product, pricing, personalization & media
• We will show a rich variety of case studies, insights and key takeaways in all of these categories

Yossi Meshulam
Co-Founder and CEO
Ripples
3:10 pm Panel discussion: The latest in ‘New World Whiskies’ and what makes them unique
- How do New World Whiskies differentiate themselves?
- The potential of New World Whiskies to compete with the big brands
- The recent growth of New World Whiskey brands – is this market about to get saturated?

Simon Roffe
Business Development Director
Penderyn Distillery
3:40 pm Afternoon refreshments and networking
4:10 pm Innovation in glass packaging
- Meeting consumers demand for safe and healthy packaging
- Reducing carbon footprint in the manufacturing process
- Increasing recycled content without compromising premiumisation and design
Senior representative, O-I
4:40 pm Case study: Consumer insights – Utilising a digital strategy to connect with consumers
5:10 pm Chair’s summary and close of day one

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
5:20 pm Drinks reception – Sponsored by Ripples
8:15 am Registration and refreshments
8:50 am Chair’s opening remarks

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
9:00 am Keynote: Managing your carbon footprint and delivering a premium and sustainable product
- Can our industry reach net zero?
- How can we as an industry work together to deliver sustainable products
- Working with the supply chain to lower your carbon footprint
- The climate conscious consumer – understanding consumers expectations and how consumers will make buying choices in the future
- Preserving premiumisation and delivering a sustainable product
9:30 am Prevent counterfeiting and protect your brand
Senior representative, SICPA
10:00 am On-trade sustainability

Niall Gately
Global On-Trade & Portfolio Visibility Director
Pernod Ricard
10:30 am Morning refreshments and networking
11:10 am Roundtable 1: Inspiring Citrus
Interactive roundtable sessions offer a unique opportunity to come together with your peers to share best practice and develop solutions to critical challenges facing the industry as a whole. Hosted by industry experts and each focused on a single issue, roundtables are an exciting, interactive way to build your personal network and learn from the experience and expertise of others.
Each roundtable session lasts for 45 minutes and delegates may attend up to 2 roundtables.
Roundtable 1: Inspiring Citrus
• A discussion on why citrus flavours aren’t the simple choice and can inspire innovation with new twists and pairings.
• An overview of the differences and similarities between orange types and varietals – from the Brazilian orange through to Clementine and Italian chinotto. We will be tasting different types and discussing the profiles.
• Mapping orange profiles on a PCA biplot to visually see how you can select the right orange for your project depending on your desired flavour attributes.
• Using analytical methods to understand key aroma compounds in different spirits to help you select citrus profiles to pair analytically with your base – from tequila to dark rum and Sicilian lemon through to pink grapefruit.
• Using flavour pairing to layer and add twists with flavours which analytically pair with your chosen citrus profile. We will be tasting different citrus flavours in cocktails twisted with different flavours.
Vicky Berry, Senior European Business Development Manager, Synergy Flavours
Jill Ngo, Sweet Good Applications Manager, Synergy Flavours
Lea Lorenzi, Flavourist and Applications, Synergy Flavours

Vicky Berry
Senior European Business Development Manager
Synergy Flavours

Jill Ngo
Sweet Good Applications Manager
Synergy Flavours

Lea Lorenzi
Flavourist and Applications
Synergy Flavours
11:10 am Roundtable 2: Eco-Packaging Innovations For A Sustainable Future
Interactive roundtable sessions offer a unique opportunity to come together with your peers to share best practice and develop solutions to critical challenges facing the industry as a whole. Hosted by industry experts and each focused on a single issue, roundtables are an exciting, interactive way to build your personal network and learn from the experience and expertise of others.
Each roundtable session lasts for 45 minutes and delegates may attend up to 2 roundtables.
Roundtable 2: Eco-Packaging Innovations For A Sustainable Future
Spirits brands are switching to more sustainable and eco-friendly packaging to ensure they meet consumer demand for sustainable products. Innovation in low carbon packaging is key to helping brands lower their carbon footprint. The challenge is presenting a premium product in a sustainable and eco-friendly way and with packaging that truly connects the brand to its user.
Learn about the latest innovations in eco-packaging, the future of sustainable packaging and the technologies that are helping brands make a positive and definitive change to its carbon footprint.
Your host: TBC
11:10 am Roundtable 3: Prevent counterfeiting and protect your brand
Interactive roundtable sessions offer a unique opportunity to come together with your peers to share best practice and develop solutions to critical challenges facing the industry as a whole. Hosted by industry experts and each focused on a single issue, roundtables are an exciting, interactive way to build your personal network and learn from the experience and expertise of others.
Each roundtable session lasts for 45 minutes and delegates may attend up to 2 roundtables.
Roundtable 3: Prevent counterfeiting and protect your brand
Counterfeiting is everywhere – even spirits! Learn how you can take proactive measures to make the counterfeiting of packaging increasingly difficult and protect your brand.
Your host: TBC
12:40 pm Lunch and networking
1:50 pm Spotlight: A peek into the world of fine and rare spirits at Christies
- How our specialists offer confidential valuations
- Dealing with a single bottle or an entire cellar
- Key trends in auctioning rare and collectible spirits
- Understanding what makes a spirit collectible and valuable over time
2:05 pm Spotlight: What’s new in tonic water and mixers?
- The latest in premium botanicals
- Exploring new applications for tonic water
- Consumer preferences for gin mixers
- Finding the perfect compliment for the key categories: Whiskey, Rum, Gin and Vodka
2:20 pm How distillers can use yeast to influence character in spirits
- Why yeast is the key to unlocking a spirit’s flavour
- Understanding how yeast can help distillers differentiate the flavour and complexity of spirits
- Breaking down how different spirit categories can take advantage of yeast to create unique flavours
- Efficiencies that can be derived from the use of commercial distilling yeasts
2:50 pm Growth of cocktails and how to deepen their on-trade penetration
3:20 pm Afternoon refreshments and networking
3:50 pm Panel discussion: Low and no alcohol spirits and CBD – new product developments
- The latest products in low and no alcohol spirits
- The role of the newly formed no alcohol association
- CBD – what does future growth look like?

Craig Hutchison
Founder and CEO
Mindful Brands

Laura Willoughby
Director
Club Soda

Paul Scanlon
Co-Founder/Managing Director
Mahala Botanical
4:40 pm Chair’s summary and close of day two

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
4:50 pm End of conference
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
To enquire about sponsorship opportunities for the conference, please contact:
Valentin Gerasimuk
Head of Sponsorship
T: +44 (0)207 936 6794
E: Valentin.Gerasimuk@arena-international.com
SPEAKER OPPORTUNITIES
The Spirits Strategies and Innovation programme is written in collaboration with industry, if you have a case study, idea or just a comment, please contact:
Alfred Mani
Senior Conference Producer
Arena International Events Group
T: +44 (0)20 4540 7582
E: alfred.mani@arena-international.com