Food and beverage (F&B) startups could get a leg up with Avolta, the world’s biggest travel retailer, thanks to a new innovation hub that has taken flight in Milan. A year in the making, it has now onboarded its first five newbies—with plans for more, and across the wider retail segments.
The incubator for novel ideas in F&B is called Avolta Next and it has opened a physical space designed to accelerate tech innovation at its F&B arm, Autogrill. The inspiration came from Aeroporti di Roma’s innovation hub. Avolta said the aim is “to create a community of creative minds developing projects to improve the traveler experience in close contact with industry experts.”
A year ago, Avolta Next put out a call for ideas specifically related to the F&B and motorways sectors. It attracted more than 100 applications from four continents. This was whittled down to five companies—big and small—which have set themselves up in a 2,400 square foot hub.
The space is beside Autogrill’s existing Factory Food Designers where ideas for new flavors, products and retail concepts are born. An example is Spizzico, an answer to American fast-food in pizza form. Developed with chef Renato Bosco, famous for his dough mixes, the peel pizzas, served by the slice, are developed to be crunchy and bubbly thanks to their long proofing.
The five startups landing beside Factory Food Designers operate in different areas:
- GANIGA INNOVATION uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve waste management. The company’s main product Hoooly! is a waste bin that combines robotics, AI and Generative AI to separate waste while also providing detailed analyses on improving efficiency and sustainability.
- GEORADIO runs the free Loquis travel podcast platform with over three million listeners, telling stories about places around the world. The podcasts, available in seven languages so far, are organized into categories like food and drink, based on different locations.
- PLASTIZ combats plastic waste using thermoforming to create aesthetic, functional panels claimed to be ideal for interior design.
- SENSEI is about AI-led autonomous shopping, like Amazon’s Just Walk Out concept which has been deployed by Avolta’s Hudson in the U.S. European house Sensei has seen its tech used in fully autonomous supermarkets in Brazil in collaboration with Grupo Muffato.
- SIMPLY SFA offers an advanced taste-analysis platform using kits to conduct customized tests that also cover smell and visual elements. Overlaying detailed data on consumer preferences and perceptions helps to optimize recipes, production processes, and ingredient selection.
Can Avolta create ‘global champions’?
Xavier Rossinyol: “When we talk about innovation, we mean transforming the experience for travelers … [+]
In a statement, Alessandro Benetton, chairman of his billionaire family’s holding company Edizione, and honorary chairman of Avolta, said: “Every great idea needs a nurturing environment. Avolta Next is one of those places. We aim to create new global champions.”
Xavier Rossinyol, CEO of Avolta, added: “When we talk about innovation, we mean transforming the experience for travelers using new technologies, global data and AI. Collaboration with startups and young entrepreneurs is key to doing it fast.”
The arrival of Avolta Next signals that the merged company plans to do for airport retail what Autogrill has done for decades on the F&B side, but in an accelerated way. The trick will be to find the right startups and concepts that resonate with traveling consumers, and that can scale up sufficiently.
In Germany, Gebr. Heinemann’s own tech vision hub Gharage has been on the look out for similar startups worth investing in, even establishing an outpost in Singapore. One potential success is the online platform Duffle, in which Avolta is also invested, but the site has had to revise its strategy and become more niche.
Working with multiple newcomers is one way to find a winner quickly. A spokesperson for Avolta said the company is already partnering with other startups including Wi-Charge, a provider of over-the-air wireless power for digital signage in retail spaces; and Quorso which uses data to quantifiably improve sales, shrink, and labor costs.
Right now, Avolta Next is being scaled to cover all aspects of the travel retail universe, with further calls for ideas expected. For the businesses that show promise, the company will invest in them. “In line with our updated capital allocation strategy, Avolta evaluates investments in successful startups case-by-case, whether by acquiring stakes or pursuing full acquisitions,” the spokesperson told me.