Innovation: Building platforms for the future

18 Jun 2024 Innovation
iageo opened its doors to a select group of media to outline how it intends to stretch the boundaries of innovation

Last week Diageo opened its doors to a select group of media to outline how it intends to stretch the boundaries of innovation

Last week Diageo opened its doors to a select group of media to outline how it intends to stretch the boundaries of innovation

Sitting in the Diageo Experience Centre in central London in early June, I couldn’t take my eyes off two firmly shut doors. A strange act one might think. But it was behind them that lay the secrets of the evening ahead – a showcase for an invited select group of media to showcase some of our innermost innovation secrets and expertise.

Before the doors were opened, the assembled guests heard from Mark Sandys, Diageo’s Chief Innovation Officer. He proudly proclaimed Diageo’s recent success in the San Francisco Spirits Competition, where Diageo won nine double golds and 10 golds, as an example of its innovation expertise.

“We're so lucky with the distillers, brewers and blenders that we have. But we also have the best R&D team in the industry. The team’s collective understanding of the consumer occasions with great drinks, is a big part of our innovation success.”

But to broaden this success, he said, Diageo’s innovation proposition needed to stretch into the future. “Innovation is not just new liquids in new bottles, it's also about using data in tech to go broader than that. We talk about building platforms that can help consumers engage with category in different ways or create different consumer experiences.”

A key new platform, he said is the new Breakthrough Innovation team. Guy Middleton, Head of Breakthrough Innovation, explained: “We see “breakthrough” as a transformational capability stretch from where Diageo is today. So, can we create new categories or business models.”

Once behind those doors, the evening was a taste of what future innovation the company has in store; it was a feast for the mind, eyes, and tastebuds. We were shown everything from paper bottles to cocktails with a spicy mango twist; consumer-facing AI platforms to dazzling pieces of tech that could take you from an office in Soho to the agave fields of Jalisco in Mexico, in the blink of an eye.

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Here is what was on show:

Diageo’s Flavour Trends Report

The event began with the unveiling of Diageo’s “Flavour Trends Report”, an exciting new summary that showcases what ingredients across food and drink are trending around the world.

Mark spoke in his introduction about the importance of having your finger on the pulse when it comes to understanding consumer trends, and how with the ‘Flavour Trends Report’ we are doing just that.

These latest insights showed the flavour trends that would shape how global consumers will socialise this summer: Umami, Spicy, Tropical, Treating and Bloom Harvest.

Five cocktails were put in front of us to show these different styles and flavours. For example, with “spicy” the innovation team talked about how we have seen the popularity of Mexican food, particularly in the US, overtake that of Italian food in restaurants and takeaways. This, in turn, has led to a growth in popularity of spicier cocktails – such as in this case, the brilliant Spicy Smirnoff Mangorita.

However, my favourite lay at the umami flavour end of the scale: the Tomato Martini (complete with cherry tomato instead of green olive). Sounded quirky – tasted fantastic.

Alcohol Free

Our position as category and industry leaders in the Alc Free category is well known and the team took the opportunity to showcase our major innovation successes – from brand extensions, such as the hugely successful Guinness 0.0, to acquisitions, such as Seedlip. Max Haywood, Innovation Marketing Manager, said: “We are now the largest player in the non-alc spirits market and have set the standards that the rest of the industry follows – in innovation, product quality, category execution and our positive drinking messages.”

Sustainable spirits

We were shown several Breakthrough innovations we believe are helping us push the boundaries on sustainability in drinks. Two that stood out were, firstly, the Bailey's Minis paper bottles, currently in the middle of an intensive consumer trial. The Dry Molded Fiber bottle is 90% paper, with a thin plastic liner and a foil seal, and is designed for recycling in standard paper streams. The team also showcased a specialist spirits keg, which can be easily used bars and pubs and most importantly be cleaned and refilled with the same spirit more than 100 times.

Crafted cocktails

Here we showed our ability to respond to market shifts, such as our recent innovations in the off-premise cocktail category. Following the onset of COVID there was a desire from consumers to bring on-premise occasions to life at home – with sales of ready to drink and ready to serve cocktail products increasing by 54% since 2019. Diageo’s insights have outlined that since then consumers have been looking to premiumise that experience. Therefore, we showcased our response to this demand: Guinness Nitrosurge, a tech innovation allowing people to pour the perfect Guinness at home, as well as ‘The Cocktail Collection’, a series of premium, pre-mix cocktails, including the Ciroc Cosmopolitan and the Tanqueray Negroni.

Pack personalisation

The Breakthrough Innovation team even showcased some of the un-announced technologies it is experimenting with, including how it is using Artificial Intelligence to personalise the packaging of bottles to customers preferences. Nothing is set in stone yet, with the team hinting at an official launch later this summer, but it was clear that the possibilities this tech opens up is huge, with excited consumers experiencing this tech in person, or virtually, at home.

Tech and Tequila

The pièce de resistance was the tequila section, with the breakthrough team showcasing the incredible platform Tequila Don Julio has created on the Apple Vision Pro. Projected onto a screen for all to witness, viewers were taken from the comfort of their seats to the agave fields of Jalisco, to learn more about the world of Don Julio and how this wonderful tequila is made. While some might have taken it as “flashy”, what truly showed up was Diageo’s commitment to education as part of innovation – or as the team put it: “a new dimension of storytelling”.

Tequila is a category of importance and future growth for Diageo – but key to any future growth is to find ways in the future to building affinity to the brand and category.





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