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Chris Maffeo

Cross-Category Innovation: Bridging Tequila and Whisky Markets

Cross-Category Innovation: Bridging Tequila and Whisky Markets

Sometimes the most powerful innovations come from the simplest observations. In my conversation with Michael Ballantyne, founder of Storywood Tequila, we explored how a single moment of changing glassware led to creating an entirely new category bridge between tequila and whisky - and the strategic lessons that emerged from that

Bridging the Hospitality-Drinks Industry Divide

Bridging the Hospitality-Drinks Industry Divide

There's a fundamental disconnect at the heart of our industry that most people accept as inevitable. In my conversation with Danil Nevsky, we explored the complex relationship between the hospitality world and the drinks industry and why understanding this divide is crucial for anyone trying to build bridges

The Bar Under Their Palm: Federico Riezzo on London's 90's Cocktail Golden Era and Why Service Beats Technical Skills

The Bar Under Their Palm: Federico Riezzo on London's 90's Cocktail Golden Era and Why Service Beats Technical Skills

In this episode, Chris Maffeo interviews Federico Riezzo, hospitality veteran and Villa Mamo founder (a Villa in Tuscany), about London's cocktail renaissance and why human connection beats technical skills in bartending. Federico shares his experience at legendary London cocktail bars like The Pharmacy, Lab, Sketch, and Sanderson Hotel

The Brand Training Blueprint: How to Avoid The Biggest Mistakes Brands Make (Saving You From Polite Nodding People and Zero Sales)

Most drinks brands waste thousands on training that creates temporary excitement but zero lasting impact.

Why I Don't Share "Best Practices" (And What I Do Instead)

Why I Don't Share "Best Practices" (And What I Do Instead)

The drinks ecosystem is too complex for cookie-cutter solutions The Question I Get Asked Most "Chris, what are the best practices for building a drinks brand?" I understand why people ask this. After twenty years in the beverage industry, working across thirty markets on four continents, they expect

Building A New Spirits Category: The English Whisky Example

Building A New Spirits Category: The English Whisky Example

Sometimes the most transformative business ideas emerge from the simplest observations. In my conversation with Daniel Szor, founder of Cotswolds Distillery, we explored how English spirits are being built as a category through persistence, authenticity, and strategic thinking that challenges conventional wisdom. The Barley Field Epiphany We discussed the exact

Zebra-Striping Between Categories To Elevate Occasions with Filiberto Amati

Zebra-Striping Between Categories To Elevate Occasions with Filiberto Amati

Filiberto Amati, Founder of Amati & Associates and Head of Partnerships at MAFFEO DRINKS returns to dissect the post-COVID reality facing the spirits industry, revealing how the pandemic created a temporary "shock" that inflated off-trade volumes while disrupting traditional brand-building pathways. Five years later, Filiberto explains how consumption