Joanna Price’s Post

To all my friends on the other side of the pond- if you are at London Quirks today check out this awesome discussion with Kevin H. and Pernod Ricard around Fueling Disruptive Innovation! +Dig Insights

Innovation. During the early 20th Century, Scotch Whisky was very innovative. It invented Blended Whisky, a whole new Category, which turned the entire Industry upside down. They had to 'vote' to allow it to be a 'thing'. As the Century grew to an end, it had become, fat, lazy, moribund and sleepy. In the 1980s, dozens of 'Scotch' Distilleries closed and it looked like it might be the end, for a Drink that had become 'traditional' and largely, boring. Now, in the 21st Century, Scotch Whisky badly needs more innovation but it would be better if a holistic, combined approach was taken. Protect, the Category, not just a select few of the behemoths, from the increasingly diverse, dozens of Scotch Whisky players. As we're now seeing, these huge Firms can make really nice Whisky anywhere. When they leave, we don't want to be picking over the bones of Scotch in a few years, reminiscing about the days when it was a word-leading category. #ScotchWhiskyTruths

Hey folks, here a BIG one. Great interview from our editor Malvika Patel with Diageo’s Chief Innovation Officer, Mark Sandys on "Insights on innovation and sustainability from Diageo’s leadership". I think this interview will being a lot of value to small and medium sized brands to understand where things are going next. The questions Malvika asks are: -MARK, YOUR ASCENT FROM A GRADUATE TRAINEE TO CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER AT DIAGEO REFLECTS A REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITHIN THE COMPANY. HOW HAS YOUR DEEP-ROOTED EXPERIENCE SHAPED YOUR APPROACH TO SPEARHEADING INNOVATION ACROSS DIAGEO’S DIVERSE PORTFOLIO? -CAN YOU SHARE A PROJECT AT DIAGEO THAT ENCOUNTERED UNEXPECTED CHALLENGES? HOW DID THE INSIGHTS GAINED FROM THAT EXPERIENCE SHAPE FUTURE SUCCESSFUL INNOVATIONS, AND WHAT STRATEGIES DOES DIAGEO EMPLOY TO FOSTER A CULTURE OF EXPERIMENTATION AND RESILIENCE, ENSURING THAT LESSONS FROM FAILURES ARE CONSTRUCTIVELY INTEGRATED INTO FUTURE PROJECTS? -DIAGEO’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY IS EVIDENT THROUGH INITIATIVES IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST PROMISING INNOVATIONS IN THESE AREAS, AND HOW ARE THEY BEING IMPLEMENTED ACROSS YOUR GLOBAL OPERATIONS? -HOW IS DIAGEO LEVERAGING ADVANCEMENTS IN AI AND DATA ANALYTICS TO ANTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO EMERGING CONSUMER TRENDS, AND WHICH UPCOMING TRENDS DO YOU FIND MOST PROMISING FOR THE INDUSTRY? -HOW DOES DIAGEO APPROACH THE NO/LOW-ALCOHOL MARKET, PARTICULARLY WITH EXTENSIONS OF ESTABLISHED BRANDS? WHAT STRATEGIES ARE EMPLOYED TO APPEAL TO YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHICS LIKE GEN Z AND MILLENNIALS, AND HOW DO YOU INNOVATE IN THIS SPACE WITH THE RISING POPULARITY OF AGAVE ALTERNATIVES, ALCOHOL ADJACENTS, AND CRAFT BEVERAGES? IN LIGHT OF FORECASTED GROWTH, HOW DOES DIAGEO PLAN TO EXPAND ITS PRESENCE AND OFFERINGS IN THIS MARKET, AND ARE THERE SPECIFIC REGIONS OR DEMOGRAPHICS BEING TARGETED? and a lot more...check it out below. Bartender Spirits Awards Diageo Beverage Trade Network Bartenders Business

Why Is Diageo Trialing Baileys in a Paper Bottle? Discover the Sustainable Innovation. #Diageo #Baileys #PaperBottle #SustainablePackaging #DrinkInnovation #EcoFriendly #BeverageIndustry #MarketTrends #Sustainability #IndustryInsights

Notice how this article doesn’t mention anything about actually, y’know, creating liquor brands - like Arthur Guinness and Johnny Walker did? Fundamentally, all large drinks firms - not just Diageo, as much stick as I regularly give them - cannot innovate. They are MBA cultures, no-one wants to derail their career by running R&D, and middle management ensures any good idea suffers death by a thousand arse-covering cuts before it ever sees the light of day. They can take Brand X from 170,000 cases to a million or more - step forward, Casamigos - but they can’t take a brand from 0 to 1, 000 cases. Yet, only three (three!) of the 148 or so spirits brands that sell 1m 9LEs or more annually were created in-house by a big firm in the last fifty years, and they were created in 1971 (Baileys), 1978 (Malibu, same team as Baileys) and Woodford Reserve (1996). So…nothing for the last 27 years. https://lnkd.in/ehAqCWj9

Innovation helps drive growth at Nestlé

Innovating a spirits brand to 1m 9L in 20 years is unbelievably hard. It took at least 37 years for Johnnie Walker to sell 50k 9L of whisky. 90% failure rate in CPG and over 50% of small businesses failing within four years in the UK show how tough it is. It's tougher in spirits, low frequency, high relative price, and the need for On Trade seeding. When I was there, the mantra at Diageo was it took 20 years to build a spirits brand. Success in spirits innovation requires a blend of money, passionate people, and focus. While big businesses might have the first two, small businesses often have the latter. Celebrity partnerships, like Ciroc's P Diddy, and innovative models like Distill Ventures offer alternative paths. You are right – big companies are not great at developing new brands (if 1m 9L is the benchmark), but no one is. Is that a fair benchmark? Achieving 1m 9L in 20 years is, perhaps, a folly, as it requires a 26% CAGR from 10,000 9L cases or a 41% CAGR from 1,000 9L cases. Bonkers to expect that. Instead, metrics like Category Average Cash Unit Rate of Sale could redefine success in spirits innovation, making it clearer to see the long-term return and, therefore, easier to manage the risk of failure.

Diageo are making a bold step. They are introducing a new breakthrough innovation team. Their remit will be to look beyond the core, to create new disruptive platforms and business models. This is a great move. They are investing in building this capability and therefore setting themselves up to drive competitive advantage and long term growth. Innovation is inherently risky and can come at a cost in terms of time and investment. But it is becoming even more critical for businesses to survive, let alone thrive into the future. #innovation #competitiveadvantage

🚀 How can packaging innovation reshape the future of beverages?   The profound impact of packaging design on consumer perceptions and purchasing decisions is undisputed. It's not just about how a product looks, but also how it feels and the message it conveys. While innovation has been rampant in various sectors, the beverages industry has somewhat lagged behind – until recently. 🔍 Carlsberg Group's groundbreaking initiative involving the testing of 8,000 beers in paper fiber bottles is truly exciting. These eco-friendly bottles not only promise to retain carbonation, taste, and insulate better than traditional glass but also offer the potential for substantial carbon and energy savings, along with reduced distribution costs. However, the practicality and consumer acceptance of this concept remain to be seen. I eagerly anticipate the results of Carlsberg's sustainable packaging solutions, as they have the potential to revolutionize the industry's landscape. It's an exciting time for innovation in the beverage industry. 👉 Check out the full article for detailed insights and share your thoughts in the comments: https://lnkd.in/eTavRfBM  ✉️ You want to #StayOnTheBeatWithMe? Subscribe my Newsletter for weekly thought-provoking articles: https://lnkd.in/gQJSX3nV #InsightfulInterludes #PackagingInnovation #Sustainability #Carlsberg #BeverageIndustry