Latest news with #ShakeYourFuture
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bacardi Welcomes Students From Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management to Bermuda Headquarters
HAMILTON, BERMUDA / / May 16, 2025 / Bacardi, the world's largest privately held international spirits company, proudly welcomed 80 students and seven faculty members from Florida International University (FIU) to its global headquarters in Bermuda last week as part of an immersive learning experience focused on the hospitality, tourism, and beverage industries. The visiting students, representing FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, arrived in Bermuda via transatlantic cruise and spent the day at the Bacardi Global Headquarters as part of a full-day educational program curated by the Bacardi Bermuda team. The visit was organized in collaboration with FIU's "Hospitality at Sea" program and is part of the university's broader experiential learning initiative. The visit included a guided tour of the iconic Bacardi Global Headquarters building and art collection. The agenda featured presentations on the Company's heritage, strategic brand acquisitions, and its global 'Good Spirited' corporate sustainability initiatives. The experience culminated with a curated product tasting and lunch at the Bacardi 1862 Cocktail Bar for guests, all of which were of legal drinking age. "This visit reflects our shared commitment to educating and inspiring the next generation of hospitality leaders by offering unique exposure to our company's heritage, values, and vision for the future," said Douglas Mello, Managing Director of Bacardi International Limited. "We're proud to open our doors to students who are passionate about the industry and eager to learn from real-world examples of brand building, innovation, and sustainability." The longstanding partnership between Bacardi and FIU began in 2020 with the establishment of the Bacardi Center of Excellence at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. This initiative, supported by a $5 million gift from Bacardi U.S.A., aims to inspire and educate the hospitality community on spirits, entrepreneurship, and beyond. The collaboration has led to the development of specialized beverage curricula, financial assistance for students, and the creation of programs like Future Proof-a certified bar training program designed to equip aspiring hospitality professionals with the skills needed to excel in the industry. In Bermuda, the Future Proof program is currently offered through the Bermuda Tourism Authority, making the training accessible to local residents interested in hospitality careers. The faculty delegation was led by Professor John D. Buschman, Co-Director of the Global Sustainable Tourism Program. Other participating professors represented a range of specialties including international marketing, cuisine, leadership, and cruise line operations. Bacardi has long supported education and workforce development in the hospitality industry through global initiatives such as Shake Your Future and its partnership with the Bacardi Center of Excellence at FIU. About Bacardi LimitedBacardi Limited, the world's largest privately held international spirits company, produces, markets, and distributes spirits and wines. The Bacardi Limited portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDÍ® rum, PATRÓN® tequila, GREY GOOSE® vodka, DEWAR'S® Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, MARTINI® vermouth and sparkling wines, CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON'S® Scotch whisky, D'USSÉ® Cognac, ANGEL'S ENVY® American straight whiskey, and ST-GERMAIN® elderflower liqueur. Founded more than 163 years ago in Santiago de Cuba, family-owned Bacardi Limited currently employs more than 8,000, operates production facilities in 11 countries and territories, and sells its brands in more than 160 markets. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. Visit or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bacardi-Martini, Inc. on Contact Info:Spokesperson: Bacardi-Martini, info@ SOURCE: Bacardi-Martini, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Associated Press
25-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Bacardi Is Putting Money Behind People To Make Sure AI Doesn't Replace Your Bartender
Originally published on By Robert Klara While AI hasn't booted human bartenders out of their jobs en masse, for the past several years, Bacardi —whose portfolio includes Grey Goose vodka and tequila brand Patrón—has been investing its money to help ensure that it doesn't. Bacardi is expanding a global training initiative called Shake Your Future. The program (free of charge for those selected), bestows its graduates with an international bartender certification and has pledged to mint 10,000 mixologists by 2030. In February, it added Glasgow to a long list of European cities where it already operates. 'The techniques of being a great bartender [include] the broader skills around hospitality itself,' said Alex Tomlin, SVP and head of marketing for Bacardi North America, 'which is essentially about customer interaction.' Just as artificial intelligence has crept into professions like finance, retail, and content creation, it's been heading for the corner pub, too. In 2019, for example, U.K. startup DataSparq debuted its AI Bar, which uses facial-recognition technology to serve patrons in the order they walked in the door. Last year, Diageo introduced a digital platform called What's Your Cocktail?, which uses the company's FlavorPrint AI technology to generate personalized libations. In the back room, meanwhile, AI management app Backbar can crunch customer data to predict demand, control inventory, and order booze. Like many in the business, Tomlin has watched the growth of AI. He appreciates its power to help cut waste, boost margins, and even concoct some novel drink recipes. 'But none of that changes the importance of why people go to bars,' he told ADWEEK, 'which is all about human interaction.' In 2022, the liquor giant created Future Proof, a specialized curriculum for students at Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism. The training goes beyond how to pour drinks and into mixology's finer points including cocktail history and spirits distillation. Read more Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Bacardi-Martini, Inc.
Forbes
16-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Survival Guide for Creatives in The AI Era
We can all feel it. We constantly hear about it. AI is coming for us. The news media marvels at AI's mind-blowing advances, and the VC market is burying AI platforms in gobs of money, telling the rest of us that if you're not AI, just sit down. We need a survival guide for creatives. In this tidal wave of technological revolution, remember that we possess a mind, while AI does not. This is the magnificent distinction of being human and an advantage not to be wasted. AI is expanding everywhere and improving many areas; however, it can be easy to feel pushed aside, and all the brilliance and hard work can seem forgotten. While what AI solves or creates can be surprisingly good, it is often only good enough. Enough so that the thinkers, creatives, ideators, and strategists fade into the background. It's easy to feel overwhelmed, defeated, and worried about the future. A David against the AI Goliath. To survive this disruptive period, I humbly submit the following three steps to stay sane, creating, and employed. AI is here to stay. Stay open-minded and adopt a 'know thy enemy' mindset. A friend, colleague, and live-streamer, Kyle Shannon, said, 'Get hyper-curious about generative AI,' along with a lot of helpful info about AI. He's right. Ask your friends for tips on how they utilize AI. Seek out experts who can explain how AI works and its ongoing evolution. There are numerous resources for learning for every type of expertise. Coursera, Greenbook, and InsightPlatforms are just a few that offer courses to support this endeavor. That's the only way to peacefully coexist with AI. Knowledge is power. Innovate and collaborate with AI. Integrate AI into your work while upholding copyright and ethical standards. Look for ways to enhance and streamline your efforts rather than replace them. Backgrounds, storyboards, or outlines generated by AI leave the thinking and ideating to you. Acknowledge AI's power but emphasize that you can transform raw materials into meaningful, insightful, or surprising results. Develop a unique style, methodology, strategy, or framework to set yourself apart. Bacardi has done just that. AI has infiltrated the bar scene with machines that mix drinks and tell jokes. It's simply not the same bar experience. So, Bacardi will bypass the AI barkeeps with a new free program called Shake Your Future to keep bartenders manning the shakers and beer taps, aiming to train 10,000 new bartenders by 2030. AI is amazing, but you can think, and it can't- at least not yet. Use AI to generate ideas, not answers, and experiment to understand what AI users might be getting when they could instead rely on your talent. Showing the difference between what AI can do and what you can do is proof. Image generation has been an area of remarkable innovation, along with big conflicts involving copyright infringement lawsuits, widespread frustration, and loss of business. The recent dustup over the 'starter pack' action figure trend is a good example of demonstrating your superior abilities. Artists joined an AI meme cycle to highlight the difference between AI-generated action figures and those produced by artists. When shown side by side, the difference in quality is obvious. It's really tempting to use what AI spits out. It's fast and cheap. But it's not always all that. AI will do what you ask it to do. You can feed it different items and ask AI to combine those things to generate something new; however, it is more challenging for AI to pluck wildly disparate things from the universe that it has not been trained on and come up with a solution that your client will appreciate, creating something exceptional. Cultivate skills, seek support, and foster community in your own survival guide for creatives in the transformative era.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bacardi Is Putting Money Behind People to Make Sure AI Doesn't Replace Your Bartender
At the end of a long week, many Americans might be looking for the camaraderie of the local watering hole, complete with the friendly barkeep, ready with a clean glass and a sympathetic ear. One of them is a perky young woman with red hair named Cecilia. "Hey," she'll say. "What would you like to drink?" Cecilia can make a swell gin and tonic, but if it's a common touch you're looking for, you might want to try the bar up the block. Cecilia is an AI-powered bartender who exists only on a touchscreen attached to a beverage machine. She is "not your typical bartender," according to her maker's website. "She makes delicious cocktails… chats with customers, tells jokes, promotes your brand, and provides an unforgettable experience." And perhaps, soon enough, an unavoidable one. While AI hasn't booted human bartenders out of their jobs en masse, for the past several years, Bacardi-whose portfolio includes Gray Goose vodka and tequila brand Patrón-has been investing its money to help ensure that it doesn't. Bacardi is expanding a global training initiative called Shake Your Future. The program (free of charge for those selected), bestows its graduates with an international bartender certification and has pledged to mint 10,000 mixologists by 2030. In February, it added Glasgow to a long list of European cities where it already operates. "The techniques of being a great bartender [include] the broader skills around hospitality itself," said Alex Tomlin, SVP and head of marketing for Bacardi North America, "which is essentially about customer interaction." Just as artificial intelligence has crept into professions like finance, retail, and content creation, it's been heading for the corner pub, too. In 2019, for example, U.K. startup DataSparq debuted its AI Bar, which uses facial-recognition technology to serve patrons in the order they walked in the door. Last year, Diageo introduced a digital platform called What's Your Cocktail?, which uses the company's FlavorPrint AI technology to generate personalized libations. In the back room, meanwhile, AI management app Backbar can crunch customer data to predict demand, control inventory, and order booze. Like many in the business, Tomlin has watched the growth of AI. He appreciates its power to help cut waste, boost margins, and even concoct some novel drink recipes. "But none of that changes the importance of why people go to bars," he told ADWEEK, "which is all about human interaction." In 2022, the liquor giant created Future Proof, a specialized curriculum for students at Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism. The training goes beyond how to pour drinks and into mixology's finer points including cocktail history and spirits distillation. As AI expands its presence in business, futurist, and author Steve Brown has come to regard work as falling into three categories-what can be automated, what can't be automated, and what could be automated but probably shouldn't be. "Bartending and mixology will (mostly) fall into this third category of work," he said. "When people order a drink… it comes with the human-to-human connection of a warm welcome, expert assistant to choose a libation that meets their mood and palette, and the entertainment of watching the cocktail be made." Joseph Bruno, president of the American Bartenders School, takes a similar view. "There are strong cases for how AI can improve the bar business overall," Bruno said. "But I'm a firm believer in the fact that the usefulness of bartenders is based on their personality." Culinary Workers Union Local 226 represents 60,000 bartenders and restaurant workers in the historically boozy Nevada cities of Las Vegas and Reno. Not caring to wait and see whether AI would chip away at its members' jobs, the union "negotiated a strong contract in 2018 to win innovative technology language that protects workers when [a] company brings in new technology," the local said in a statement to ADWEEK. It strengthened these security measures further in 2023. Meanwhile, AI-powered devices serving the actual drinks remain something of a novelty, for now anyway. Ceclia's builders did not respond to ADWEEK's request for comment by press time, but Tomlin believes what he calls "high-throughput, low-involvement situations like a stadium" would be suited to Cecilia, but not more upmarket settings. In Las Vegas, there's also an establishment called the Tipsy Robot where the bartender is a universally jointed arm that can mix the drink of your choice. It drew national media when it opened inside Planet Hollywood in 2017, but the concept has not proliferated. Why? One commenter on a YouTube video of the device in action apparently sums up the feelings of many. "Never replace a human bartender!" read the post. "I have no desire to tell a robot my troubles."
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bacardi Launches Hospitality Accelerator Program To Elevate Bermuda's Hospitality Professionals
Bacardi Empowers Industry Talent with World-Class Training and Career Development Opportunities HAMILTON, BM / / February 28, 2025 / Family-owned Bacardi, proudly announces the launch of its Hospitality Accelerator Program, an advanced training initiative designed to elevate industry professionals and strengthen Bermuda's hospitality sector. In collaboration with the Bermuda Government's Department of Workforce Development, Bacardi is introducing this next-level program tailored for bartenders already working in the industry, further reinforcing career development and industry growth. These enhancements stem from valuable feedback from industry partners, who recognized the opportunity to upskill existing bartenders and create stronger career pathways within their establishments. After two successful cohorts of the Shake Your Future program, a free professional bartender training program for underemployed and unemployed young adults created by Bacardi, the company is evolving its commitment to developing hospitality talent in Bermuda. For the first time, six leading hospitality establishments have partnered with Bacardi to support this year's cohort. Bartenders currently employed with Rock and Barrel, Grotto Bay, Hamilton Princess, the IRG Group, St. Regis, and The Loren have been nominated by their employers to participate in the program, reinforcing a commitment to developing in-house talent. On February 27, the selected participants will travel to London to attend the prestigious European Bartender School, where they will embark on an intensive six-week training program. The curriculum includes four weeks of advanced spirits education and mixology training, followed by two weeks of professional development workshops. Graduates will earn an internationally recognized diploma, equipping them with world-class expertise and leadership skills, positioning them as future leaders in Bermuda's hospitality industry. "The introduction of the Bacardi Hospitality Accelerator Program strengthens career pathways and ensures that participants receive world-class training while maintaining ties with their employers," said Douglas Mello, Bacardi Limited Managing Director. "By investing in our talent and collaborating directly with hospitality leaders, we are enhancing Bermuda's service industry and creating more opportunities for long-term professional growth." With Bermuda's hospitality industry anticipating an increase in demand for bartenders due to upcoming hotel openings, the Bacardi Hospitality Accelerator Program plays a critical role in addressing workforce shortages. The November 2023 Labour Force Survey Report highlights persistent unemployment challenges for young Bermudians, reinforcing the need for accessible, skill-based training programs. As Bermudians seek career advancement opportunities, Bacardi and the Department of Workforce Development are equipping young Bermudians with in-demand hospitality skills-enhancing their long-term employability in a competitive job market. "The Bacardi Hospitality Accelerator Program offers transformative opportunities, equipping Bermudians with world-class training in mixology, customer engagement, and bar management to advance their careers in the hospitality sector. This enhanced, employer-led approach ensures that participants gain internationally recognized certifications and secure real-world experience through structured employment commitments. Our ongoing collaboration with Bacardi highlights the strength of public-private partnerships and reinforces the Government's commitment to developing Bermuda's hospitality workforce and creating sustainable career opportunities," said the Minister of Economy and Labour, Jason Hayward, JP, MP About Bacardi Limited Bacardi Limited, the world's largest privately held international spirits company, produces, markets, and distributes spirits and wines. The Bacardi Limited portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDÍ® rum, PATRÓN® tequila, GREY GOOSE® vodka, DEWAR'S® Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, MARTINI® vermouth and sparkling wines, CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON'S® Scotch whisky, D'USSÉ® Cognac, ANGEL'S ENVY® American straight whiskey, and ST-GERMAIN® elderflower liqueur. Founded more than 163 years ago in Santiago de Cuba, family-owned Bacardi Limited currently employs more than 8,000, operates production facilities in 11 countries and territories, and sells its brands in more than 160 markets. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. Visit or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bacardi-Martini, Inc. on Contact Info:Spokesperson: Bacardi-Martini, info@ SOURCE: Bacardi-Martini, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Sign in to access your portfolio
