Drinktec is the culmination of four years of planning. It’s a chance to showcase all that the beverage industry can provide in terms of automation and processing excellence, with new moves in liquid food and a new focus on flavours and sweeteners.
We have eight members of the FoodBev Media team attending to cover our stand there. We plan to span the vast halls and admire the bottling lines, discover and highlight the innovations that will progress the industry with a leap forward through technology, and capture this inspiration in print and in video.
The last few weeks have been busy, judging the impressive number of entries in the Beverage Innovation Awards @ Drinktec. Over 370 entries! These ranged in focus from sustainable water and energy moves in conveying to caps, closures and containers that will change the face of the industry. Plus, there’s plenty of new product development that may make your heart beat a little faster. The excitement is palpable.
The presentation of these awards is on Thursday 19 September at 17.30 in the Drinktec Forum, but that’s not until we’ve already had a great run-up to the event at the Innovation Flow Lounge in the West Entrance, with a seminar entitled Beverage innovation: creating a successful product.
I will be opening the event at 11.00 with a session on Identifying opportunities by spotting trends. This will be our usual highly visual, rapid round of all that has been happening over the past 12 months and with a few pointers to new trends that are affecting consumers and manufacturers.
The second session – Developing the right packaging – will be with Rexam Group marketing director Ollie Graham, who will look at applying good design to functionality, how packaging and brands are entwined and why convenience and ergonomics need to work together.
Rudolf Wild MD Mark Lotsch will head up the third session on selecting the correct ingredients, while the fourth, entitled Designing the beverage brands of the future will be with Darren Foley, MD of independent design and branding agency Pearlfisher in London.
Darren said: “Whether you’re a start-up fledging or an established icon in the highly competitive beverage market, design has the power to bring to life the personality of your brand, defining what sets you apart from the competition and creating a unique consumer experience.”
A closing table discussion will be hosted by FoodBev Media and Zenith International chairman Richard Hall.
The Innovation Flow Lounge is a new initiative for Drinktec this year – a network and contacts forum for marketing professionals who want to take a look beyond their own area and engage in discussion with professionals from other fields.
Each day, there will be a different theme, covered in short presentations and discussion sessions. Monday’s sessions, hosted by Krones, will focus on technical innovations that can create greater flexibility in beer marketing. Tuesday’s focus is on point of sale, hosted by Rastal, and on Wednesday, KHS will promote ‘packaging intelligence’. And FoodBev Media, as we have said, is running Thursday’s session.
The Innovation Flow Lounge is also a place simply to relax away from the stress of the show and try out new and innovative drinks at the Beverage Innovation bar. Many of these will be entries, finalists and winners from the Beverage Innovation Awards.
We look forward to seeing you at our stand in Hall B1 in the New Beverages Concepts area, or at the Beverage Innovation Bar at Drinktec, to discuss your favourite drink. And importantly, huge congratulations to all the finalists and winners in the awards!
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024