Spirits Summit: Professor Charles Spence tops the bill

Renowned experimental psychologist Professor Charles Spence tops the bill at this month's Spirits Summit - the Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s dedicated event for the burgeoning on-trade spirits category.

Spence has worked on product design with drinks companies including Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Wines of Argentina, Mumm, Perrier Jouet, PepsiCo, Molson Coors, and Twinings.

He is particularly interested in how people perceive the world around them; how our brains manage to process the information from each of our different senses (smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch) to form the rich multisensory experiences that fill our daily lives.

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Professor Charles Spence

In an exciting interactive session, he will explore the effect on different light and sound on the flavour perception of certain spirits.

Spence is just one of the top speakers on a day that is a must-attend for decision makers within the spirits industry and those looking to make the most of a category worth £5.4bn.

Agenda finalised

The agenda has now been finalised for the summit, which takes place on 21 October at Rich Mix situated in east London’s Shoreditch.

Michael Vachon, founder of Maverick Drinks will examine the UK’s thirst for American craft spirits, plus an expert from Pernod Ricard will lead a food and spirit matching session, highlighting a growing opportunity for pubs to boost spirits sales.

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Alongside these speakers, Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, (right) will deliver a keynote speech on the current stats of the spirits market and the challenges ahead.

Other speakers include:

  • Ronak Mashru, on-trade sales director at Diageo discusses the company's Spirits Revolution initiative
  • Event exclusive research from on-trade specialists CGA Strategy
  • 'Spirits Stars' panel: Top on-trade retailers reveal the secrets to their success
  • Crowdfunding specialist Crowdcube presents a case study on how Kamm & Sons satisfied its thirst for growth, featuring founder Alex Kammerling.
  • Supplier panel: Senior industry figures discuss the future of brand building in the on-trade

The summit will be followed by an evening study tour of exciting Shoreditch bars.

The full agenda is now online.

The Spirits Summit is sponsored by Diageo, and supported by Pernod Ricard UK and the WSTA. For more details and to book your place, contact Joanne Horton on Tel: 01296 610403.

5 reasons to attend

The Spirits Summit is designed to help you:

  • Gain insight into spirits trends in the UK and abroad
  • Discover new ways to boost sales
  • Meet senior level attendees from retailers, producers and suppliers
  • Learn what's new and exciting in the spirits category
  • Network with dynamic pub and bar owners and major pub company buyers