Campari Group announces the global expansion of the Campari Academy with Monica Berg at its helm

The Campari Academy will have a bartender led program of curated content to educate, connect and inspire

Campari Group, the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry, announces the expansion of the Campari Academy, which is now launching as a global activation with drinks industry icon Monica Berg at its helm as Creative Director. A first of its kind educational platform for the international bartending community, which provides a unique blend of a globally accessible digital space with an established and successful network of physical hubs for the industry to come together, it takes inspiration from outside of the drinks industry to educate, connect and inspire bartenders at all levels of their career on a global scale in a way that’s never been seen before.

Campari Academy has created a strong local Campari Academy network of physical hubs in key markets around the world over the last 10 years, and the global digital expansion is drawing on the success of this network to create a platform that is accessible to all bartenders all over the world. Launching this month with a series of events in different territories, it will showcase its innovative approach to education, with a bartender led programme of carefully curated contents and activations designed to change perspectives, provide new stimulus, and open discussions on topics and themes relevant to the drinks industry. Monica Berg as Creative Director will provide unparalleled insight and knowledge to help others look at bartending as she does, which includes taking inspiration from a variety of sectors.

Campari Academy will now be a global digital platform complemented by an on the ground local Campari Academy network in key markets around the world, with local teams already in Italy, the US, Spain, Brazil, Austria, Jamaica, China and Australia, with more to follow including France and The UK. The global platform will be a space for the international bartending community to connect and discuss news and trends, share ideas and goals, and grow their own professional network. This in turn will be supported by the local Campari Academy network that will coordinate on the ground activations and networking opportunities for communities in their region.

“Being part of the Campari Academy as Creative Director is hugely important to me. The industry needs educational platforms which can impart knowledge, inspire creativity and prompt discussions which the bartending community can really engage with. By working directly with bartenders as well as leading voices from varied disciplines, we can provide the community with a network and platform which currently doesn’t exist.” – Monica Berg

A team of drinks industry experts, led by Monica Berg has and will continue to be instrumental in shaping the Campari Academy program, applying their insights, experience and knowledge to ensure it resonates with the bartending community. Alongside these experts, Campari Academy will work with a global network of leading voices from a range of disciplines and backgrounds that complement the spirits industry to create engaging and inspiring content which sets the academy apart from any other educational platform. It aims to engage and inspire bartenders in any bar, restaurant or hotel, in any market around the world, at any level – from junior team members just starting out in the industry to those at the peak of their career.

Creative Director Monica Berg says: “Being part of the Campari Academy as Creative Director is hugely important to me. The industry needs educational platforms which can impart knowledge, inspire creativity and prompt discussions which the bartending community can really engage with. By working directly with bartenders as well as leading voices from varied disciplines, we can provide the community with a network and platform which currently doesn’t exist.”

Patrick Piana, Group Head of Commercial Capabilities at Campari Group, says: “Bartenders are the beating heart of our industry and we want to support and champion that. For years Campari Group has been committed to creating networks and hubs for local bartending communities to engage with, collaborate across and learn from. We’ve seen great success with this over the last decade, and now wish to welcome all bartenders all over the world to be part of this movement. We’re creating something which is inclusive and which we hope will inspire bartenders the world over in a way never seen before.”

Perspectives – Campari Academy Docuseries 

A flagship element of the Campari Academy will be the docuseries “Perspectives”, that will deep dive into poignant topics relating to the drinks industry and hospitality, and how they’re interpreted around the world. The docuseries will consist of top quality produced bitesize episodes which have been filmed around the world and, working with a range of experts, will cover a range of themes with global significance and which resonate with the industry. Each theme will be explored across three episodes, exploring a range of perspectives and providing inspiration from a variety of cultures, the first of which will be premiered at Roma Bar Show on Monday 30th May as part of a seminar and Q&A session with Monica Berg. The following two episodes will be premiered in similar style at Cocktail Spirits in Paris and Tales of The Cocktail in New Orleans.

The first theme for the Campari Academy docuseries will be Community & Culture and will explore the value of bars from a socio-anthropological perspective, why people gather together to drink across a range of cultures, the value of a bar which understands its audience, and how it can make a lasting impact on its customers. For this theme, Campari Academy has worked with renowned author and spirits personality Dave Broom, Eli Ana Martinez Bello, owner of Tlecan Mezcaleria and Director of Gruppo Carolo in Mexico, Osman Theti Baycan, General Manager of Goose and Pigalle in Istanbul, and Kirstem Holm, Owner of the K-Bar in Copenhagen, for their insight and knowledge on this crucial topic for the hospitality industry.

About Campari Academy:

Campari Academy is a first of its kind educational platform which blends a globally accessible online digital space with on the ground hubs from the physical local Campari Academy network in key markets around the world. Launched in 2010 with Campari Academy Italia, it was followed by local Campari Academies in the US, Spain, Brazil, Austria, Jamaica, China and Australia.

In May 2022 Campari Group expanded the Campari Academy by launching a global educational platform for the international bartending community, to provide insight and knowledge on all aspects of the industry, from skills and techniques to wider issues and topics for debate. With Monica Berg serving as Creative Director, Campari Academy has a unique and unrivalled connection to the drinks industry, providing an educational platform like no other.

The global platform will be a space for the international bartending community to connect and discuss news and trends, share ideas and goals, and grow their own professional network. This in turn will be supported by the local Campari Academy network that will coordinate on the ground activations and networking opportunities for communities in their region. Throughout 2022, Campari Group will expand the local Campari Academy network with launches in additional markets and with further expansion plans in the years to follow.

About Monica Berg:

Monica Berg is a London based multi – award winning bartender and entrepreneur. Her work includes Muyu liqueurs and critically acclaimed London bar(s) Tay?r + Elementary with partner Alex Kratena – recently named as the second best bar in the world at The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021.

She continues to be recognized for her distinctive and adventurous drinks style, boted as the most influential international bartender in Drinks International’s Bar World 100 2021, and in 2019 won both the prestigious “International Bartender of The Year” at Spirited Awards, Tales of The Cocktail, and “Bartender’s Bartender” by The Worlds 50 Best Bars.

She is the co-founder of P(OUR), an industry non- profit and charity, which works to expand drinks knowledge across the bar community and supports communities producing regional ingredients for the drinks and food industry. She also launched BackOfHouse.Info, a free online resource for small businesses to get anonymous feedback from their teams, and where employees can flag harmful behaviour, discrimination and harassment.

In 2020 Monica Berg and Alex Kratena won the Bar Innovators Of The Year Award by Class Magazine and during Covid19 crisis launched Tay?r RTD; a collection of ready to drink bottled cocktails, which bring together the best of classics and contemporary flavours.

Her latest project is working with Campari Academy as its Creative Director as it launches its global educational platform for the international bartending community.