F O R T H O U G H TS E RV E D U P BY T H E F O O D T R AV E L E X P E RT S

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ISSUE 2, 2019

������������� �� !�������"�SSP is making its debut in South America after winning contracts worth circa £70

million over nine years at two of Brazil’s main airports, GRU Airport – Aeroporto

Internacional de Sāo Paulo and RIOgaleāo – Tom Jobim International Airport.

The brands in the line-up include coffee shop Ritazza, contemporary restaurant

Factory Bar & Kitchen, bakery brand Upper Crust, Jamie’s Deli from leading

celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, Italian brand Barzetti, Mexican-themed concept

Mi Casa Burritos, hot dog brand Monty’s Dogs & Cones and healthy eating brand

Camden Food co.

��#" �"���$� ��%�UK high street retailer Marks & Spencer has partnered with SSP to launch the

first airside M&S Food to Go store at Birmingham Airport.

Having opened in February 2019, the new concept is offering high quality,

freshly-prepared meals and drinks to appeal to more than 13 million travellers

passing through the airport every year. A wide range of hot and cold food will

be available throughout the day, including sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, sushi,

soups and salads, while customers can enjoy M&S coffee and hot drinks brewed

by specially trained baristas.

We are very excited to have opened a new dean&david outlet at Düsseldorf

Central Station to give passengers a greater range of healthier food and

beverage options. Following its ‘Fresh to Eat!’ philosophy, dean&david

serves nutritious meals catered to customers’ individual preferences,

from salads and soups to Asian curries and hand-twisted wraps.

The brand’s latest innovation, the Good Life Bowl, offers diners a warm

dish containing quinoa, fresh vegetables and carefully selected superfoods.

�� !�&��'��������#�Simon Smith has been named as SSP’s new Group Chief Executive Officer,

effective 1 June 2019, following news that Kate Swann will step down from the

role at the end of May after nearly six years with the company.

Simon said: “SSP is a fantastic business with excellent ongoing growth

potential. We have a strong senior management team and thousands of

dedicated colleagues around the world, and I am confident that together we will

continue to build on the success achieved over the last few years.”

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Line Friends, which opened with SSP in

January this year. It is an innovative concept

restaurant themed around the popular

Korean messaging app characters.

Technology, in particular, digitalisation,

is important to HKIA and we treat it as an

integral part of the airport’s retail and

catering development. For example, the

use of mobile payment like Alipay, WeChat

Pay, Apple Pay is increasing. In 2017, the

HKIA launched a new one-stop, airport-

based online shopping platform HK airport

Shop. The platform allows passengers to

order products anytime and anywhere,

which they can collect at the airport as

soon as three hours after order confirmation,

before or after their flights, or have their

shopping delivered to a local Hong Kong

address. HKIA is also launching food pre-

ordering soon, which will allow passengers to

pre-order food via the HKG MyFlight mobile

app before they arrive the airport and enjoy

their food at a chosen time.

TRADITION MEETS TECHNOLOGY AT HKIA

�ong Kong International Airport

(HKIA) is committed to delivering

an unrivalled retail experience

for passengers. At present, there are around

400 shops and restaurants at the airport. It

is internationally renowned for the quality,

wide selection and innovation of its dining

mix, which is truthfully an epitome of the

city. There are around 100 culinary outlets in

HKIA, spanning world-class international,

Asian and local cuisines, ranging from Chinese,

Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese to

American, French, Italian and much more. We

also provide different catering formats from

sit-down restaurants to food court to cafes to

grab and go.

HKIA houses more than ten brands that

were Michelin rated or recommended –

including Thai Chiu, Maxim’s Jade Garden,

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Ho Hung

Kee, Yung Kee and Hung’s Delicacies to name

just a few. The newly opened restaurants of

East Hall Food Court also features Michelin-

rated or recommended brands Fujian cuisine

Putien, Thai cuisine Moon Thai Express,

Cantonese congee and noodle shop Tasty.

The two food courts in the East and West

Hall will be able to provide over 1,600 seats

in total when renovation is completed later

this year. We have eateries opening 24 hours

in major zones, ready to serve passengers

regardless of the time.

HKIA has often been the preferred

choice for worldwide food operators

looking to enter the Hong Kong market,

which demonstrates our powerful

culinary reputation. HKIA has around

50 food operators, with which we work

collaboratively not only to create a sense

of place, but also to ensure provision of

quality and extensive choices as well as

a seamless operation even at the busiest

hours. Creating the right ambiance at our

catering outlets is of high importance, as it

contributes to the total dining experience.

A typical example is BITE & BITE with

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ABOVE: Escalibada, a Catalan specialty served at La Tramoia

# ith its reputation as one of the world’s top holiday

destinations, Spain remains a prosperous and profitable

region for the travel food and beverage sector. It is also

a fiercely competitive market, with many F&B operators eager to

feature their brands at the country’s many busy transport hubs.

Aena, the organisation in charge of managing the airports in

Spain, has been investing millions on re-development with the aim

of bringing the best of Spanish food and retail to the millions of

passengers that travel through its doors each year SSP Spain has

worked closely with Aena to present a tailored offering of local

and international F&B brands, and throughout the past 12 months,

the team has managed to score major wins at some of Spain’s

largest airports, including Madrid Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat and

Alicante-Elche.

Blanca Ripoll, managing director of SSP Spain, said a number of

factors have contributed to the team’s success.

“SSP Spain has been working even more closely in partnership

with brands,” said Blanca. “There is an important place for

international brands in the mix, but we also need local names to

strike that ideal balance. This can be challenging, as many have never

operated in a franchised model before.”

This focus on brand development is evident at the sites of SSP

Spain’s most recent wins. The team has worked with three popular

Catalan eateries, La Tramoia, Pannus and Enrique Tomás, to bring

a true taste of Spain to passengers at Barcelona-El Prat Airport.

La Tramoia opened at the airport last October, closely followed by

Enrique Tomás in November, while Pannus will welcome its first

customers in May 2019.

Blanca said: “We have considerable experience in working with

brands, helping them to develop operations manuals, menus, and so

on. Many of these brands have become better franchisors thanks to

the work they’ve done with us.”

Keeping up to date with the latest market developments and

maintaining close contact with the airports, railway stations and

other transport hubs with whom they work has also been important.

Blanca said; “In 2016, Aena changed their tender process at their

airports to increase competition. Previously, one operator could

win the whole tender, now any one operator is only able to operate a

maximum of 40 to 45% of the business. While this means that some

of our operations would be at risk, it presented a great opportunity

for us to enter into airports where we’d never had a strong presence.

“Aena is now also keen to mirror the retail landscape of the high

street, and only introduce readily recognisable brands that offer a

strong sense of place. Both initiatives have been for the good, and

more competition has benefitted customers as operators have raised

their game in terms of the amount of choice and quality of the offer.”

Keeping their finger on the pulse of recent trends has been yet

another key to success. Growing demand for healthier food and

beverage options led SSP Spain to open Mama Campo at Madrid

Barajas Airport in December, the company’s first unit in Spain’s

busiest transport hub. This concept offers a wide selection of fresh

fruit, cold pressed juices and organic dishes made from locally sourced

and eco friendly ingredients.

“Partnerships with local chefs are also very important to us,” added

Blanca. “One example is our latest work with the Hermanos Torres

(Torres brothers) in Barcelona on restaurant Alas, (which opened in

November), and new grab and go concept SLAM, due to open this year.”

And there are even more exciting opportunities on the horizon,

with Spain’s third largest airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, recently

announcing a new food and beverage tender.

“We’re excited about the possibility of having a presence in every

airport in Spain and growing our rail business, which is currently

relatively small,” said Blanca. “We believe there’s plenty of room for

growth in both new locations and in new channels.”

TOP RIGHT: La Tramoia, Barcelona El Prat Airport BOTTOM RIGHT: Food at Alas, Barcelona El Trat Airport

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� sk anyone to name the world’s most famous chef, Gordon

Ramsay is likely to be pretty high on their list. SSP

announced it was joining forces with the UK-based celebrity

in 2017, and since then has been working closely with Ramsay and his

team to develop a new premium grab and go concept called Gordon

Ramsay Plane Food To Go.

Serving a range of iconic dishes for which Ramsay is renowned,

Plane Food To Go will bring affordable gourmet dining to the airport

environment.

This innovative new brand has already attracted considerable

attention from leading airport across the globe, and the first unit will

open at Hong Kong International Airport’s T1 later this year.

In an exclusive interview, Food For Thought asked Ramsay to share

his thoughts on the new venture.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE ATTRACTIONS

OF WORKING IN THE AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT? 

One of the things I like best is giving pleasure to the most amazing

guests before they get on their flight. The architecture and openness

of the restaurant is so different from restaurant in the city of London. 

 

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? 

The biggest challenge is getting ingredients to the restaurant. Every

ounce of ingredients has to go through x-ray security. 

               

WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRAVELLING

CUSTOMER AND WHAT MAKES THEIR NEEDS DIFFERENT? 

The customer’s needs at the airport are way more focused on timing.

When they arrive first thing in the morning, sometimes they only

have minutes for breakfast, 45 minutes for lunch, and an hour tops

for dinner. Time is of the essence. 

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PARTNER WITH SSP?

Very few groups around the world hold the infrastructure that you

do and you have made so many brands a success. 

 

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR FIRST VENTURES IN THE

AIRPORT MARKET AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? 

I learned 10 years ago that you can’t treat a restaurant in an

airport as you would if the restaurant was in London. Timing is so

important for the traveling customer and it’s the restaurant’s job to

support them.  

  

WHAT ARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS FOR THE

PLANE FOOD TO GO BRAND?

I want to give every passenger an amazing grab and go lunch

at 33,000 feet that’s fresh and tastes amazing. 

 

WHAT DO YOU HATE AND LOVE ABOUT

TRAVELLING YOURSELF?

I hate trying to get to sleep on a day flight. Chefs don’t sleep twice

a day!  What I love is flying across the world with some of the best

airlines and there’s something nice about going to sleep and waking

up in a completely different place. 

 

AND FINALLY, WHAT IS THE STRANGEST THING THAT HAS

EVER HAPPENED SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN OPERATING AT

LHR T5?

A guy proposed to his girlfriend over an English breakfast

and although it wasn’t the most romantic situation she said yes! 

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GOING THE EXTRA MILE

#e’re incredibly proud of the

hard work all our colleagues

put into supporting local and

international charities, and SSP teams from

across the globe have been going all out to

raise vital funds and awareness of good causes

over the past year.

In the UK, the SSP team at London Gatwick

Airport was named as our charity fundraising

site of the year following their fantastic

money-raising efforts last year. This included

an impressive donation of £3,200 to Macmillan

Cancer Support, a charity dedicated to

providing physical, emotional and financial

support to individuals and families affected by

cancer, which was named SSP UK’s Charity of

the Year for 2018.

The Gatwick team, along with their friends,

families and customers, took part in a number

of fundraising events throughout 2018 for

Macmillan Cancer Support. This included a

gruelling Tough Mudder challenge, in which

participants raced to complete a mud-soaked

obstacle course.

Dheeraj Chopra, operations manager for SSP

at London Gatwick Airport, said: “I want to say

how pleased I am with the team performance for

the charity event for SSP and Macmillan. It was

great fun, there was a lot of team involvement,

and we’re really proud of what we’ve achieved.”

London Gatwick joined colleagues from

around 700 UK outlets to collect much-needed

donations. Teams came together to take

part in four dedicated fundraising events

throughout the year, including Macmillan’s

annual Coffee Morning. In total SSP UK raised

£250,000 for Macmillan last year, including

a £100,000 grant from the SSP Foundation.

The SSP Asia Pacific and Hong Kong

teams also took part in a charity drive over

Christmas to collect and sell preloved

(and new) items in an office ‘flea market’.

Colleagues raised an impressive $8,500,

with all proceeds donated to Food Angel,

a local charity supporting the elderly and

those less fortunate of Hong Kong by

providing fresh, hot cooked meals. The

teams further supported Food Angels by

spending a day preparing meals with the

charity.

Meanwhile, colleagues at SSP America

gave their support to Onbikes, a non-profit

organisation based in Tampa that raises

funds so that at-risk children can receive

their very first bike.

Tania Velez, human resources manager

from SSP Tampa, along with other members

of the team, participated in Onbikes’ annual

Bike Build event, which sees children and

families assemble their own bikes from

scratch. She said: “We donated our time to

build these bikes; it was the most fulfilling

feeling for all those who participated on this

awesome event.”

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