Niles, IL – Andy Dratt, Executive Vice President at Imbibe will join PepsiCo Chief Innovation Officer, Rene Lammers, and VP of Innovation at Anheuser-Busch, Valerie Toothman, on a panel discussing beverage innovation as part of the 24^th annual Beverage Forum. The panel entitled “Winning Beverage Innovation,” will take place at 9:30am on Tuesday, April 26^th 2016, and will kick off the two-day global all-beverage executive conference at the Westin Chicago. Each of the panelists will speak on the direction they anticipate the beverage industry to take over the next three to five years. The future of flavors, categories, packaging and ingredients is expected to be highlighted in this 45 minute session.

Dratt will leverage knowledge and experience gained from his 20 year career which includes notable achievements such as spearheading the development of the beverage business unit at Fona and leading both business and R&D teams to work with billion dollar brands at Sensient. He has successfully helped hundreds of CPG and foodservice operators conceptualize, develop and bring new products to market in the US, Latin America and Europe. At Imbibe, Dratt has played an integral role in leading the organization to provide best-in-class beverage development services to some of the largest global brands.

The Beverage Forum attracts nearly 300 senior beverage executives annually. Keynote speakers at this event, which is co-sponsored by Beverage Industry Magazine and Beverage Marketing Corporation, include executives from AriZona Beverages, Pabst Brewing Company, MillerCoors and Constellation Brands.

Since 1963, Imbibe has been creating innovative products for beverage brands and retail chains. Imbibe combines a powerful synergy of innovation, technical expertise and dedication to ensure clients never settle for anything but the best.

Click here to learn more about The Beverage Forum.