Diezhandino is particularly proud of how “all [Diageo’s] teams across the world have shifted and worked closer and more collaboratively than ever before”. Bar and pub doors staying closed didn’t prevent Diageo from helping “consumers recreate that bar feeling at home” and launching services such as “Message in a bottle”, which let people send video messages and bottles of whisky to a loved one.
Supporting bars and bar staff has been equally important. Diageo’s two-year, $100m “Raising the bar” programme launched in July 2020 and continues to provide free equipment for outlets to reopen, while the “Diageo Bar Academy”, offering free online training to bar professionals, went virtual last year and was visited by 1.6 million people.