With over 20 years experience working in high calibre, demanding agency world with many successes working with big blue chip brands, businesses and entrepreneurial start ups. Claire has a highly sought after mix of instinct, skills and down to earth approaches to innovation. Inspiring, fresh and challenging in her thinking, she adds that bit of a difference when you need it most or you have hit a block that seems impossible to break through. Her approach is entrepreneurial, identifying insights that will make a difference is a speciality, diagnosing where barriers or opportunities lie is another, then identifying, prescribing and implementing effective innovation, commercial strategies and creative/marketing solutions which help clients to accelerate growth and profitability of their business.

From identifying the gap and solution for GSK's now £100m brand Sensodyne Pronamel or partnering the creation of a £19m food brand year 1 Claire delivers growth. Claire writes a monthly Talking Shop for the Food & Drink industry magazine The Grocer and feeds trend insights into LS :N bi-monthly from 2014. She regularly speaks at industry seminars giving talks about innovation, NPD, future trends and the ever changing health agenda. She also co-founded the much talked of Thrive Talk Executive business club who meet bi-monthly to discuss edgy industry issues and challenges involving entrepreneurs, retailers, venture capital and big blue chip marketers and directors.

Gareth is a consultant advising on commercial topics in the Drinks Industry. Gareth has a had a long career in Drinks with global experience. He has led Nestle’s Tea global business unit, been a Coke and Pepsi bottler, managed Carlsberg’s portfolio of licensed brands, as well as leading Tesco’s Soft Drink, Water, Juices & Hot Beverages category.

My name is Matthew Blake and I’m the lead Soft Drinks buyer at Waitrose, having been in the role since August 2022 when I made the switch from foodservice into retail. I have 14 years of buying experience and have managed a wide range of categories across non-food as well as all temperature sets in both branded and own-brand areas.  Since joining Waitrose I’ve worked hard to elevate the soft drinks category and improve our market share position as well as building strong relationships with our supply base across the major brands and new entrants to the market. Soft Drinks is a category that I’m very passionate about and one which I find both challenging and incredibly exciting. Outside of work, I love watching and playing sport (for my sins, I’m an Arsenal fan) as well as spending time with my young son and family.