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5th October 2023

Lights, Camera, Action! SmartDispense® puts 14 industry experts in the ‘hot seat’ in new series

New on-demand video series offers insights to support improving business operations and employee wellbeing

Fresh after a five-stop nationwide tour for the SmartDispense® Energy Well Spent: On Location event series, the UK’s leading draught dispense technology system from HEINEKEN UK, is launching a set of videos as part of a new on-demand ‘Hot Seat Series’, making expert advice accessible to all. The series provides insight and recommendations relating to some of the biggest topics impacting the industry and provides advice as to how to implement them.

The 9-part bitesize video series, available on the SmartDispense® website from 9th October, sees  SmartDispense® sits down with industry experts from charities, pub groups and sustainability experts, who are helping to challenge the status quo when it comes to sustainability, operational efficiency, energy usage, staff wellbeing and retention.

The series is designed to provide hospitality professionals with concise, yet highly informative content. At 3-4 minutes per episode, it allows them to gain valuable insights without compromising their busy schedules.

Over the course of the mini-series, hospitality professionals will hear firsthand accounts from Pizza Pilgrims, Star Pubs & Bars, Signature Group, and others on their sustainability journeys. The videos dive into how hospitality businesses can boost efficiencies, reduce costs, and embrace sustainability for their business, their staff and the environment. With the hospitality sector also continuing to face a staffing crunch, industry leaders from So Let’s Talk, Mental Health First Aid England, and the Sustainable Restaurant Association, among others, step in front of the camera to share invaluable, and in many cases, easy and cost-free ways to foster staff wellbeing, bolster retention and encourage new industry joiners.

Richard Stephens, Head of SmartDispense® and Technical Services at HEINEKEN UK comments: “If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Energy Well Spent events over the past two years, it’s that there is some incredible knowledge in the industry – but it is largely untapped. Our new video series is about making that expertise available for everyone and ensuring that operators have the option to move with the industry as it continues to evolve with the best information at their fingertips.”

The series features 14 experts from across the hospitality industry, including:

  • Carolyn Jenkinson, Licensed Trade Charity
  • Ellis Hall, Consultant, Achilles
  • Gordon McIntyre, Founder, Hospitality Health
  • Henry Jones, Client Carbon Coach, Zero Carbon Company
  • Jo Lynch, Account Director, KAM Media
  • Louise McLean, Business Development Director, Signature Group
  • Mark MacDonald, Head of Pub Services, Star Pubs & Bars
  • Martina Dell, Head of Projects & Consultancy, Sustainable Restaurant Association
  • Matthew Cameron, Wellbeing and retention consultant
  • Neil Ross Russell, Managing Director, Net Zero Now
  • Patrick Howley, Founder, So Let’s Talk
  • Steve Livens, Policy Manager, British Beer and Pub Association
  • Thom Elliot, Founder, Pizza Pilgrims
  • Vicki Cockman, Head of Client Delivery, Mental Health First Aid England

The titles of the videos for the Hot Seat Series, are as follows:

  • Retaining existing staff
  • Recruiting to the trade
  • Focusing on staff wellbeing
  • Improving operational efficiencies
  • Reducing energy usage
  • Involving your team with sustainability
  • Wellbeing and business performance
  • Customer expectations
  • Hospitality non-negotiables

The Energy Well Spent: Hot Seat series is free to access and will be available on the SmartDispense® webpage from 9th October here (link to be shared at a later date).

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NOTES TO EDITORS

For additional information please contact the SmartDispense® press office at group.heineken-corporate@cirkle.com

About HEINEKEN SmartDispense®:

SmartDispense® is the beating heart of any bar, offering an industry-leading cellar and bar-based system that can be tailored to the smallest or largest outlets. SmartDispense® connects dispense technology, services and insights to help you serve your customers better. SmartDispense® critically helps businesses to reduce product, water, CO2, and cleaning chemical wastage — allowing operators to reinvest their valuable time in other parts of their business. Customers also receive comprehensive support through six or twelve-weekly service visits by our professional technicians, ensuring that they are always pouring the perfect pint of beer or cider with SmartDispense®.

In line with the HEINEKEN sustainability strategy, Brew a Better World, HEINEKEN UK and SmartDispense® are committed to reducing our environmental impact alongside helping our customers be more eco-friendly. Through our industry-leading SmartDispense® draught solutions we are proud to support thousands of operators collectively save 60M pints of water, beer, cider and cleaning materials and 273 tonnes of CO2 every year. HEINEKEN UK has also removed 400M teaspoons of sugar from its ciders, while 100% of the barley for its beers is sustainably sourced within the UK.

For more information, please visit: https://smartdispense.heineken.co.uk/


For additional information please contact the SmartDispense® press office at group.heineken-corporate@cirkle.com

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