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In this episode you'll learn how Diageo approaches innovation at a fundamental level and what the company's core strategy is to meeting the changing needs of consumers across categories, cultures and continents.

Host Will Keating sits down for an exclusive and in depth interview with Mark Sandys, the newly appointed Chief Innovation Officer for Diageo, undoubtedly the most exciting job in the largest drinks company in the world. Mark shares unique insights into his approach to the challenge of innovating in a company that has more to gain (and lose!) than anyone else from new thinking across drinks categories .
Mark gives frank assessments of category convergence in beer/seltzers/sodas, seemingly endless brand extensions/flavours, the opportunity of THC/Marijuana and his test and learn approach to the "metaverse" as well as many other invaluable glimpses of Diageo's vision for the future.

On our usual Desert Island Drink slot, we shift gears completely as Foxy talks to Jason Kidd founder of Blood Monkey Gin and Two Shores Rum about the challenges and opportunities of brining  bespoke brands to the world from a small island in the Atlantic.

Hey there new listeners! This podcast is for the curious and creative in the global drinks industry, from brewers to brand managers, from distillers to drinkers. If you enjoyed this episode how about you share the pod with somebody who will enjoy it?  Or take the time to give us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts/Spotify. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on... thanks.

For more high-lights and low-downs follow us on Twitter/Instagram: @BizBevPod (manned by Foxy), or LinkedIn/Facebook (manned by Will).

We're not sponsored or into selling ads to interrupt your day so to support the work we do, we would appreciate it if you could click here to buy us a coffee.

Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. Recorded at Hellfire Studios and in person.

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

Which drink was advertised by Ben Stiller's dad? Which hangover cure was made famous by the movie "Cocktail"?

As you'll hopefully have gathered by now, the Business of Beverages brings you drinks industry insights with makers, marketers and mischief every fortnight. However we thought that we would dial up the mischief with a short quiz/game played between Will and Foxy every other week (between the "serious" episodes).

A Shot Of... sees each of our hosts take turns trying to guess which beverage is being described in cryptic clues. The points on offer vary as the difficulty changes and competition heats up!  Play along and let us know if you think you can do better! And remember, it's only a bit of craic.

P.S. click the support the show button to buy us a coffee please!

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode you'll learn why linear thinking led to a "smack-down" for Hard Seltzer, why the US beer market is so complex and what the economic fundamentals tell us about the log term health of the category.

Lester Jones is the Chief Economist and VP of Analytics at the National Beer Wholesalers Association in the USA. With a deep love of beer, an astute economic mind and access to an unrivalled network of data, Lester is the foremost expert on the state of the beer market in the US. Recent years have seen the plateauing of Craft, the bedding in of the AB InBev mega merger and the boom /bust (?) of Hard Seltzer. On top of the impact of the pandemic, these events have led many to question the pre-eminence of Beer. Inflation and supply constraints are increasing short term concerns too but Lester has the insight into the real state of play. It's not all doom and gloom...

Hey - how about you share the pod with somebody  who will enjoy it? Thanks!

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

Which drink was said to cure "sickness at the stomach" and retching? Which drink was advertised as "a man's beer"?

Click here to see the ad Will mentioned in the quiz or here to get your Tee-shirt.

As you'll hopefully have gathered by now, the Business of Beverages brings you drinks industry insights with makers, marketers and mischief every fortnight. However we thought that we would dial up the mischief with a short quiz/game played between Will and Foxy every other week (between the "serious" episodes).

A Shot Of... sees each of our hosts take turns trying to guess which beverage is being described in cryptic clues. The points on offer vary as the difficulty changes and competition heats up!  Play along and let us know if you think you can do better! And remember, it's only a bit of craic

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode you'll learn how talent and determination can bring you all the way around the world and into a job you were born to do.

Will talks to Dhavall Gandhi a Whiskey Master Blender whose talent is only matched by his determination to follow his dreams and carve out a career in an "uber-niche" pursuit. Dhavall tells how from an early age his hypersensitive sense of smell was a source of frustration but how it led him to a profound career change and a long journey to pursuing the role "he was born to do".

Foxy brings his favourite teacher home from Virtual Beer School and drags her to our Desert Island. Natalya Watson take it all in her stride and explains why she started VBS and how it has spawned a global community of beer enthusiasts.

If you've bothered reading this far into the shownotes then you must be a fan or really bored. Either way, please help us keep the whole show on the road and click on the "Support the Show" link below to buys us a coffee...

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

Which drink was the first alcoholic brand advertised on UK TV? Which drink "moved" countries thanks to the Treaty of Turin?

As you'll hopefully have gathered by now, the Business of Beverages brings you drinks industry insights with makers, marketers and mischief every fortnight. However we thought that we would dial up the mischief with a short quiz/game played between Will and Foxy every other week (between the "serious" episodes).

A Shot Of... sees each of our hosts take turns trying to guess which beverage is being described in cryptic clues. The points on offer vary as the difficulty changes and competition heats up!  Play along and let us know if you think you can do better! And remember, it's only a bit of craic

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode you'll learn how the rapid progression of cutting edge technology is changing how people socialise and therefore how, what, where and when they drink.

Will and Foxy have plenty of opinions on this topic as they reflect on the "constant change" in our interactions with tech and drink, from the historical to the next wave. But to get a better informed perspective we share a discussion that Will was part of for the Persuaders Media & Marketing radio programme on Dublin City FM recently. There Alex Gibson (TU Dublin Head of Digital Marketing) and Ben Finnegan (Head of eSports and Gaming at EPIC Global & host of TBD podcast) help tease out the issues that range from the frivolous to the fundamental for our industry.

On our first visit back to our desert island in a couple of months, we talk to Dhavall Gandhi  a Whiskey Master Blender whose talent is only matched by his determination to follow his dreams and carve out a career in an "uber-niche" pursuit. 

If you've bothered reading this far into the shownotes then you must be a fan or really bored. Either way, please help us keep the whole show on the road and click on the "Support the Show" link below to buy us a coffee...

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

Which drink has its own festival in Nebraska in August every year? Which drink has a silhouette of its country as its logo?

As you'll hopefully have gathered by now, the Business of Beverages brings you drinks industry insights with makers, marketers and mischief every fortnight. However we thought that we would dial up the mischief with a short quiz/game played between Will and Foxy every other week (between the "serious" episodes).

A Shot Of... sees each of our hosts take turns trying to guess which beverage is being described in cryptic clues. The points on offer vary as the difficulty changes and competition heats up!  Play along and let us know if you think you can do better! And remember, it's only a bit of craic

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode you'll learn what is really happening in the Beer Industry in Ireland, Europe and around the world and, more importantly what the lessons and implications are for brewers, publicans and businesses.

We're on a roll... another live episode! This time we were invited to the 7th Beeronomics Conference at Trinity College Dublin to host a special round table discussion on the Beer Industry in Ireland. The audience of International Beer scholars, economists and academics had travelled from all over the world to discuss every aspect of the economics of beer from the historical to the hypothetical. Will took them out of their academic ivory towers and introduced them to some of the leading figures from the industry in Ireland who have real life experiences from the macro to the micro. Jonathan McDade is the Director of Drinks Ireland Beer, Noel Anderson is the Managing Director of a small but highly successful group of pubs in Dublin and John Kelly is the Strategic Director of Beverages for Kerry Group. They give honest, informed and hilarious insights into the real business of beer.

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.

Send us Fan Mail

Which drink was referred to as "Pig's Lemonade" in Tolstoy's War & Peace? Which drink was created in Glendale Az.?

As you'll hopefully have gathered by now, the Business of Beverages brings you drinks industry insights with makers, marketers and mischief every fortnight. However we thought that we would dial up the mischief with a short quiz/game played between Will and Foxy every other week (between the "serious" episodes).

A Shot Of... sees each of our hosts take turns trying to guess which beverage is being described in cryptic clues. The points on offer vary as the difficulty changes and competition heats up!  Play along and let us know if you think you can do better! And remember, it's only a bit of craic

Support the show

For more high-lights and low-downs follow @BizBevPod on "X" or LinkedIn
Business of Beverages is self-funded and hosted/ edited/produced by Will Keating.
Pádraig Fox co-hosts in a strictly personal capacity.
All opinions are those of the person expressing them at all times. 

We're not sponsored but we would appreciate it if you could click the link above to support the show and help keep us ad free.