The Science Driven Coffee Cup conference offers coffee professionals a unique opportunity to access the latest scientific discoveries before they become mainstream industry practices
What if the next breakthrough in coffee didn’t come from a roastery, a café or a machine manufacturer, but from a neuroscience lab, an artificial intelligence research centre, or a sensory science department?
As the global coffee industry navigates a rapidly changing landscape shaped by climate change, sustainability challenges, evolving consumer expectations, technological disruption, and the growing demand for memorable experiences, scientific research is becoming an increasingly valuable competitive advantage. More importantly, it is helping businesses reduce uncertainty, identify emerging trends earlier, and make more informed strategic decisions.
That is precisely the ambition behind Science Driven Coffee Cup, the international conference organised by Simonelli Group and the University of Camerino through its Research & Innovation Coffee Hub (RICH). Scheduled for 19-20 November 2026 at the Simonelli Group Campus in Belforte del Chienti, Italy, the event is designed to facilitate dialogue between research and industry, bringing leading scientists, coffee professionals, and business leaders into the same conversation.
Rather than focusing exclusively on coffee production or brewing techniques, the conference explores the broader forces shaping the future of the beverage industry. Topics range from sensory perception and flavour science to artificial intelligence, consumer behaviour, and advanced data analytics, providing insights that can support product development, customer experience design, quality management, and long-term business strategy.
The programme features internationally recognised researchers whose work is already influencing how food and beverage businesses approach innovation and consumer engagement.
Among them is Professor Charles Spence, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford and one of the world’s foremost authorities on multisensory perception. His research has demonstrated how factors such as sound, colour, shape, texture, and the surrounding environment can influence flavour perception. For coffee businesses seeking to elevate customer experience, these insights offer opportunities to create value far beyond the beverage itself.
Another key contributor is Professor Devin Peterson, Director of The Flavor Research and Education Center at The Ohio State University. Widely recognised for his work in flavour chemistry, Peterson’s research helps explain the complex relationship between coffee’s chemical composition and the sensory experiences valued by consumers. Such knowledge is becoming increasingly relevant as brands strive to meet growing expectations around quality, consistency, transparency, and product differentiation.
Technology will also take centre stage. Professor Philipp Weller of Mannheim University of Applied Sciences will explore the role of artificial intelligence and advanced analytical methods in coffee research, including the development of chemical fingerprints that can support quality control, product development, and innovation processes.
Yet Science Driven Coffee Cup is about more than individual presentations. Its broader value lies in creating a platform where scientific discoveries can be translated into actionable business insights.
For Simonelli Group, the objective is clear: make cutting-edge research more accessible to coffee professionals and facilitate meaningful exchanges between academia and industry, helping businesses explore today’s challenges and discover opportunities for tomorrow.
At a time when coffee is increasingly intersecting with hospitality, wellness, technology, and experience-driven consumption, the ability to understand emerging research may become one of the industry’s most powerful competitive advantages. Science Driven Coffee Cup offers coffee professionals a unique opportunity to access the latest scientific discoveries before they become mainstream industry practices, transforming research into practical knowledge that can drive growth, innovation, and long-term business success.
Find out more about Science Driven Coffee Cup, including the full speaker programme, here.
