Focus on: Recognition that works
A comprehensive range of recognised food and beverage brands can transform onboard sales. Roger Williams looks at how
Research shows that highly popular F&B brands that customers know from the high street, stations and airports sell much better onboard than own brand or unbranded products - yet few feature widely onboard.
M&S food on British Airways has proved popular and passengers regularly pay a premium for branded PG Tips or Twinings tea, Starbucks coffee and leading snacks, but these are the exception rather than the rule across many onboard menus.
Operators do of course need to ensure a good brand fit and may need expert help in identifying which names best suit their passenger mix.
captialise on names
One company aiming to help with a broad range of just such brand solutions is RG, whose parent company, SSP Group, is a leader in station and airport F&B branded outlets. RG has already capitalised on SSP’s insights to bring the James Martin Kitchen brand onboard LNER trains and this has boosted both customer satisfaction and sales.
Beat Ehlers, RG ceo, explains: “SSP Group operates more than 500 owned and franchised brands in travel locations worldwide. Similar to how airports and stations have raised their game over the last decade, we believe top F&B retail brands could be leveraged for the onboard sector. We are actively exploring brand tie ups.”
Branding mission
With support from RG’s purpose-built food production and distribution facilities at Heathrow, Ehlers is a man on a mission to prove the value of branded solutions onboard, offering catering, new product development, procurement, and logistics. He and his team draw insights into customer trends and behaviours, exclusive to the travel environment, collaborating with SSP’s Group to spot current and emerging trends, anticipate customer needs and service requirements and select best-fit brands for trial.
SSP’s branded outlets serve no less than 1.5 million customers a day which gives them plenty of real time data to draw on. Ehlers adds: “My vision is to find ways to help enhance onboard food and beverage retail offerings using quality brands to align with different travel scenarios. Getting this right will be a win-win-win for our clients, our brands and, most importantly, the passengers.” •
Getting brands right is a win, win, win for clients, brands and
passengers