Understanding customer choices

We’re focused on delivering fantastic customer experiences wherever we operate. That means staying in close touch with our clients’ and our customers’ fast-changing demands around the world.

Throughout our 60+ year history, we have developed a strong understanding of what customers want by listening carefully to their needs and responding with the sort of solutions that they want.

We collect detailed feedback on a regular basis so that we can remain the best part of our customers’ journey. That’s been particularly important in the wake of the Covid pandemic, which has led to quite significant changes in customer demand with an accent on healthy, nutritious food that is good for people and the planet.

Gathering insights

For the past 15 years, we have run a food and beverage travel survey, a unique information-gathering exercise in the food travel sector.

This detailed research allows us to monitor regional differences in customer preferences and ensures we are responding with the right ideas locally to meet different customer needs. To help in this process we’ve invested in social listening platforms so we can react to customer feedback even faster than before.

Tracking food trends

We continue to watch closely how customer attitudes to the food and beverages they buy are changing. Some of these trends were paused during the pandemic, while others have been massively accelerated.

One trend that has been supercharged because of Covid is the demand for food that boosts health and wellbeing, with an accent on healthier dietary choices involving less sugar, calories, and alcohol.

Significantly, customers want to take care of their mental as well as their physical wellbeing, with consumers looking for options that, for instance, increase cognitive abilities.

We design our menus to meet these changing trends in imaginative and innovative ways.

A taste of place

Across all 36 countries we operate in we have an on the ground presence and a team of culinary experts. That means we have an in-depth understanding of local markets and we partner with local suppliers so that our customers can always find local specialities on our menus. That could be flatbread topped with reindeer meat from Rovaniemi Café at ‘the home of Santa Claus’ in Lapland, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota from Enrique Tomas in Spain, or steamed buns from Gou Bu Li at Hangzhou.

Working with chefs

We partner with some of the leading lights from the culinary world to deliver brands that have instant resonance with our customers. From Mediterranean classics from Jamie Oliver and food-to-go from Gordon Ramsay, to Hong Kong-style street food from chef Alvin Leung at HKIA and fine dining from Bocuse d’Or winner Michel Roth at Gare de Metz, our menus include dishes from the industry’s best known and most respected chefs.

Digital and tech

Customers want to be in control of their full experience and increasingly rely on “one stop shop” apps to simplify their journey. To respond to their needs, we are putting technology at the core of the customer experience. We have implemented multiple self-order solutions, including mobile and kiosk-based order and payment across our F&B outlets and self-checkouts in our retail stores. We are also trialling checkout-free technology and looking at other automation solutions, including delivery robots. The aim is to offer the travelling customer more control over their airport experience and increase speed and convenience.