Leading the way IN QUALITY AIRLINE MEALS
From humble beginnings more than a century ago, Fleury Michon Airline Catering continues to grow its global presence
Starting as a humble charcuterie company in France in 1905, today Fleury Michon is a global leader in prepared meals. In 2019 alone, more than 450 million consumer units were sold under the Fleury Michon brand with more than 500 product references. After evolving into the prepared meals market in the 1970s, the company started selling its first airline meals with the acquisition of Delta Dailyfood in 2006, rebranded Fleury Michon America.
Since 2017, the company has almost exclusively focused on food innovation in airline catering, building an impressive portfolio of airline partners.
An expansion into new airline markets was spearheaded in 2019 with the acquisition of Marfo Group in the Netherlands. Today, Fleury Michon America is one of the largest players in the European market for airline-ready meals and snacking.
In North America, the company's production unit in Rigaud Quebec is home to over 400 employees and an impressive 160,000 sqft facility producing over 150,000 meals a day. Says John Allard, President and General Manager of Fleury Michon America:
“Our continued commitment to quality, innovation and safety has helped make our brand a preferred choice for many of our airline partners. Our in-house and signature chefs create delicious recipes that focus on tasty, nutritious food selections.” Fleury Michon’s Chefs have developed more than 200 savoury, authentic ethnic, consistent quality meals and have become industry leaders in producing specialty airline meal options for specific diets and cultural preferences, as well as halal.
Exceeding expectations
Says Stéphane Koeman, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Fleury Michon America, “Many would say that our airline meals rival food choices available in restaurants. We work hard to create new dishes with our Chef teams and trusted suppliers. Our goal is to exceed the passengers’ expectations when it comes to their inflight food experience.”
Continuously seeking new culinary trends, Fleury Michon regularly partners with signature chefs to create unique menu choices for partners. For example, for the past several years, Chef Daniel Vézina has worked with Fleury Michon and its trusted local food suppliers to create signature dishes for Air Transat passengers. Chef Vézina has been at the heart of the Quebec culinary scene for more than 35 years. Other key signature chef partnerships with other airlines
have included Chef Joël Robuchon, Chef Daniel Rose and Chef Daniel Boulud.
Continuous innovation
Long gone are the days of bland, uninspiring food choices in the air. Rather, Fleury Michon focuses on continuous innovation while fostering healthy eating habits. Says Koeman: “Like many great chefs around the world, we never want to compromise on taste for the passengers. We totally understand the challenges of serving excellent food at altitude. As a team we embrace a culture of always striving to be better, creating exceptional and trusted choices.”
Today, Fleury Michon is poised for continued global growth. More than $30 million is currently being invested to increase the company's production capacity by 50% to serve additional airline clients worldwide.
Safety, efficiency and environmental consciousness is always top of mind for the company. Initiatives such as sourcing food from local suppliers, composting organic waste and using recyclable packaging wherever possible are just a couple of ways the company is decreasing its overall footprint.
Food safety is also paramount to Fleury Michon America’s operations. Continuous food testing, the highest level of certification, effective supply chain management, X-ray detectors in production facilities, controlling and labelling food allergens, tracing ingredients, and carefully selecting their food partners and suppliers are some of the processes Fleury Michon has in place to ensure the safe preparation of meals.
One step ahead
Global food trends are also closely monitored by the company. Says Allard: “We are constantly listening to our partners and to passengers to identify what they desire and need, then we work with our research teams and Chefs to adopt new trends and the emerging preferences. Whether it’s focusing on flavour profiles, providing a broad selection of dietary choices, accommodating allergies or working with different types of ingredients, we always want to stay one step ahead.”
Meaningful partnerships
The Fleury Michon America recipe for success? Creating meaningful partnerships with the airlines to make every meal a culinary voyage for passengers, no matter where their destination.
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