Bacardi International and Daemon & Genius, a packaging and branding agency, will be headlining The Drinks Symposium at this year’s Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London, which is taking placeon 14 & 15 September at London Olympia.

The Drinks Symposium, happening on day two of the show, will see three leading drinks brands take to the stage in order to share their knowledge, and first-hand experience on how packaging can help to win the hearts and minds of the consumer. 

Kicking things off will be Catherine Monahan, Founder and CEO at Daemon & Genius, who will be presenting ‘Bricks vs. Clicks': Brand Experience > Brand Exposure’. Monahan who has worked for two of the UK's largest supermarkets, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, as well as one of the largest global distributors, Constellation Brands will be talking about how brands that provide consumers with deep experiences of their product, and manage to generate an emotional experience of ownership, win at the point of purchase.

Monahan comments: “I've been in the retail and wine industry since 2000, and there are still a few things that continue to fascinate me. There is a fear to innovate on shelf within grocery, because of financial targets set for year on year performance and the risk associated with replacing known products/trusted brands with new/innovative products. This leaves innovation in the hands of the big boys and whilst yes, they do provide that to a degree, it often removes the entrepreneurship type of innovation coming in from start-ups, new brand builders and so on.

“There are tens of thousands of wineries in the world, all desperate to sell their wines, but unless they understand how to tell a great and unique story, with meaning, with cause-based marketing for the Millennials, with innovation of product giving consumers a reason to buy and to repeat purchase, then the future will not be easy for them. Many of them also don't realise that you can innovate through comms, social media, word of mouth, content marketing and creative packaging perspective, without breaking the bank. The quote ‘If it ain't broke, don’t fix it’, just doesn't cut anymore.”

Next up will be Steven Sturgeon, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and recipient of the International Wine & Spirits Competition's 'outstanding achievement to industry' award. Steven will be looking at ‘Packaging’s role through the lens of the Operations Director and CFO’. He will examine why their perspective is often at odds with the brand team, and explore ways to overcome these tensions, with tips on how to review concept designs to ensure the best chance of success.

The session will consider some of the sources of inspiration for the packaging: heritage, provenance, characters, myths, stories and product cues, and how these can be used to inform an inspiring design brief. The presentation will end with a number of ‘top tips’ and some ‘so what’s?’

For those looking for a sustainable approach, Antoinette Devine, Packaging Development Manager: Whisky and Gin at Bacardi International, will be looking at ‘Sustainable solutions that also please the eye’. Devine has been in the industry for over 30 years, with experience in the areas of beverage packing, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toiletries. She is an active member of the UK Institute of packaging and a UK expert for the ISO Packaging & The Environment Standards. During her talk she will explore Bacardi’s Good Spirited sustainability approach, touching upon its good practice, design and marketing.

For further information about Packaging Innovations London 2015 and Luxury Packaging please visit www.easyfairs.com/PI-London, www.easyfairs.com/LuxuryPackaging or contact +44 (0)20 8843 8800.