SB meets… Pam Dillon, Preferabli
The co-founder and CEO of the technology platform Preferabli explains how AI-driven software is transforming the future of spirits.
What is Preferabli?
Preferabli is the leading B2B2C product discovery and recommendation software for wine, spirits and food – trusted by specialty and grocery retailers, hospitality and travel companies, and distribution and consumer platforms. We’re PhDs in physiology and applied mathematics, and the largest group of Masters of Wine and master sommeliers in the world. We’re energetic and imaginative engineers who have built AI-driven software that works like a human expert at scale. We evaluate up to 800 characteristics for each spirit, and that powers our discovery and recommendations. Then we use whatever other digital signal is available – searches, purchases, ratings – to build a preference profile for each consumer.
Are there any challenges in applying machine learning and personalisation to spirits rather than wine?
Not really. While there are many characteristics unique to spirits – say, the intensity of peat in whisky – our algorithms work with whatever characteristics exist, in combination with each other. The alcohol is higher for spirits, and it tends to magnify those characteristics. We’re very mindful of that for spirits on their own, or in cocktails.
How important is personalisation in the spirits buying journey?
There are thousands of spirits in the world, and consumers know they cannot taste every single one. They’ve come to rely on software, the way they rely on it for many other parts of their lives. Software is very good at solving a paradox of choice, especially with little-known spirits or barrel releases.
How can Preferabli’s tools benefit distilleries and brands?
Preferabli is committed to including every spirit in the world in our database, on a complimentary basis to distilleries. In this way, we can recommend the widest range of products. Diversity is critical to supporting a healthy, balanced ecosystem of producers from around the world.
Do you see AI-driven technology changing how spirits producers develop and market new products?
Yes, through brand-promotion strategies. We can present recommendations from selected groups of products, including new products from specific brands. If we know a consumer would like it, that happens naturally. If we’re not sure if a consumer would like it, we can present it as a sponsored alternative. AI-driven technologies can also change how producers develop new products, through data intelligence.
How can retailers and e-commerce platforms leverage Preferabli to improve the shopping experience?
All anyone needs is an inventory. We provide labels and other content – including taste characteristics. Our guided recommendations work based on taste and goes well beyond even the most sophisticated filtering. So too our similar tasting products, which allows a user to cross over geographies and styles. With a consumer’s purchase history, things can really get personal.
How can AI and personalisation shape the future of spirits?
Our dream has always been to connect supply and demand through the prism of individual taste preference. Consumers struggle to discover the ones they’ll like best. Businesses struggle to present the right choices at the right time. Our AI-driven software solves both problems, connecting people with products they would have never found otherwise.
What goals do you have for Preferabli over the next decade?
We’ve so much opportunity to grow, in so many ways. We’re imagining a world driven by individual preferences, using machine intelligence with a human touch.
Related news
Saigon Gin maker moves to new distillery
