FAB TALKS
How F&B feeds happiness for travellers
In a key session titled ‘Pushing the Boundaries of Airport Food, Beverage and Hospitality’, Ever Rich Duty Free President Kevin Chiang addressed the question: how can airports integrate food & beverage, lounges and gate areas into one holistic experience?
Chiang revealed strong growth numbers from Taoyuan International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Taiwan, including the encouraging statistic that the airport’s F&B customer growth rate is up +90% on 2019.
He commented: “My thought is that a lot of it has to do with the economy. There is a lot of inflation on premium goods, so the big spenders are spending more to keep up with that. But the majority, who are spending less on big luxuries, are spending more on feeding and looking after themselves with good-quality food and by dining more. Because food makes us happy, it allows us to enjoy the moment.
“People always like to have choices,” he continued. “Not least in F&B. And because airports are very limited on space, it means we simply cannot have enough choice and diversity of offering. You can never have enough space to feed all of the imaginations of customers.”
Chiang also gave his observations on post-COVID traveller behaviours, which include a sharp rise in digital payments, such as touch-pay by mobile phone – sometimes even with frustrating consequences.
“People are relying less on their credit cards,” he said. “Now they are reaching for their phones. But also we are seeing many travellers transiting from Southeast Asia trying to pay using smaller banks that are little known to us. And we don’t have the technology to accommodate that. It’s very challenging for us. We’re not equipped to receive these payments and yet the majority are not carrying cash and they’re coming through the airports very early in the mornings at 5 or 6 o’clock. So we are trying to find technological solutions for this.”
The most famous and tempting dish at Wang’s Broth, black gold mushroom-braised pork rice, now at Taoyuan Airport
The ancient Huaxi district, from which a bustling street food culture has been replicated at Taoyuan Airport. Photo: ©Kuaileqie Re on Unsplash
Local is best
Chiang was proud to highlight the great diversity of food & beverage options at Taoyuan Airport, citing the famous ‘Wang’s Broth’ noodle bar, a multi-award-winning street food concept located near the C5 gate in Terminal 2. Originating in 1975 at the Huaxi Street Night Market in Taipei, Wang’s has been on the Michelin Guide Taipei Bib Gourmand list for five consecutive years. Its sole venue is now at the airport and the most popular dish on the menu is black gold mushroom-braised pork rice.
Wang’s sits in a ‘Street Flavours’-themed gourmet corner of the airport which opened in the summer to coincide with the start of peak travel season.
The area, which is beautifully designed and features stalls on bicycle wheels, showcases the flavours of Taiwan’s culinary scene with a curated selection of renowned culinary establishments. These include VWI by ChadWang, a brand led by world coffee champion Chad Wang (winner of the World Brewers Cup Championship); Le Moût Pâtisserie Boulangerie, helmed by renowned female chef Lanshu Chen; and Halal Beef Noodles.
Sense of Place is becoming an increasingly essential driver for food & beverage, Chiang said.
An array of tempting cookies and madeleines from the famous Le Moût Pâtisserie
A treat for your senses
Taoyuan Airport has also embraced technology and interaction for travellers of all ages, with gourmet vending machines, tapioca ‘bubble’ tea stalls and interactive audio-visual installations and thematic mini-museum displays showcasing the richness of Taiwanese culinary culture.
As a lovely piece of street theatre, many of the noodle bars have open-hatch kitchen concepts where diners can watch their noodles being tossed, stretched and chopped before being plunged into fragrant steaming broth.
And, while widely considered one of the best airports in the world for its variety of food and drink, Taoyuan International is extremely competitive on price, with most dishes costing on average US$5.50.
Kevin Chiang told Martin Moodie that the years spent working with his father, Ever Rich Founder Simon Chiang, had been the greatest of his life
Family business
Introducing him up onto the stage, The Moodie Davitt Report Founder and Chairman Martin Moodie said Chiang had “successfully led the Ever Rich team in completely transforming Taiwan’s airports and gateways”, adding that he admired his mission to “internationally promote Taiwan’s beauty of art, culture and nature” and especially its “unique gastronomic character”.
Chiang started working in duty free 15 years ago before becoming President of Ever Rich, the company his father Simon Chiang founded. Working with and learning from him, Chiang said, had been “the greatest years of my life”, as he smiled and added jokingly: “Fingers crossed it carries on.”
Ever Rich Duty Free President Kevin Chiang
Enjoy a gourmet brew from world coffee champion Chad Wang at VWI
FAB eZine
January 2024
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