Autogrill Group wins five five awards at the 2013 FAB Awards

Milan , 04 October 2013 - For the third year running Autogrill made its mark at the FAB Awards (Food&Beverage Awards), an international event focussing on airport catering organized by “The Moodie Report”, a business intelligence magazine. This year’s event took place in Dubai, and at the award ceremony on Wednesday 2 October, at the Hotel Atlantis The Palm, the Group picked up five prestigious accolades in the following categories: Best Airport Wine Bar, Best Airport Food Court, Best Digital/Media Initiative, Best Commitment to CSR, and Best Railway Station F&B Offer, of which three went to the parent company Autogrill and two to its subsidiary HMSHost.

"For Autogrill, innovation is a constant, both to reconfigure our offering and improve our operating model,” said Ezio Balarini, Autogrill Group Chief Marketing Officer. “We are proud that our strong commitment to innovation, which we carry forward with energy and enthusiasm, has been recognized with the prestigious FAB awards for the third consecutive year."

The winning concepts were chosen from among over 200 candidates by monitoring F&B offerings in airports and railways stations worldwide. The Moodie FAB Awards jury panel included Martin Moodie, founder and chairman of The Moodie Report, David King, an F&B market expert and founder of the David King Partnership, and Wendy Bartlett, Managing Director of Bartlett Mitchell.

2013 awards

The Best Railway Station F&B Offer Award went to the new Bistrot Milano Centrale, developed by Autogrill in collaboration with Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (Unisg - University of Gastronomic Sciences) in Pollenzo and opened a few months ago in Milan’s Stazione Centrale. Much like a typical local market, Bistrot Milano Centrale has various “counters”, each with its own specialist gastronomic offering and capable of serving the Station’s customers according to the time at their disposal. There’s a strong focus on selecting local producers and privileging in season and km zero food to offer customers a unique experience combining the flavours of local culinary traditions (at affordable prices) with the values of sustainability.

Best Airport Wine Bar went to Crú, introduced by HMS Host in partnership with its creator Patrick Colombo at Denver International Airport. Having received the prestigious Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine from 2004 to 2012, the brand represents a new frontier in airport wine bars, enabling travellers to taste the finest local and international labels and learn about their characteristics thanks to tutoring from highly specialized staff. The high quality of customer experience is guaranteed by a relaxing atmosphere, the expertise of the staff, the use of new generation equipment and the type of services associated with superior wine stores.

HMSHost also picked up the Best Airport Food Court at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where it has created an innovative balance between gourmet, fast casual and quick service concepts with its offering of locally and nationally known brands: Lorena Garcia Tapas Bar, the fruit of collaboration between HMSHost and the famous American chef; Pei Wei, a fast casual restaurant with international flavours; El Taco, of tex-mex inspiration; The Pecan, a well known local fusion cuisine brand; The Varsity, Atlanta’s most famous burger restaurant, and Ecco, which brings European fine-dining to the airport. There is also an innovative and eco-sustainable version of Starbucks.

Best Digital/Media Initiative Award went to Vyaggio, an Autogrill-developed application that can be downloaded to a smartphone or accessed on the web. It provides fast access to information on and location of the Group’s points of sale, additional customer services and personalized coupons. If used on a device that has GPS, Vyaggio can locate the user’s position on a map and indicate the nearest points of sale by “mood”: Sleep, Healthy, Shopping, Coffee, Pizza, Sandwiches, Food, Drinks. The app offers detailed descriptions of all the customer services available in each point of sale (free Wifi, power outlets, showers, baby room, etc.). Vyaggio is currently available in six languages and has information on over 950 points of sale operated by the Group worldwide.

Best Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility was awarded to Afuture , Autogrill’s sustainability program, which is based on three main areas: People, Products and Planet. Autogrill has defined an Afuture roadmap with precise and measurable objectives designed to implement sustainability in daily business processes.

Autogrill’s recent FAB record

Autogrill won three FAB awards in 2011 – Best Fast Food/Quick Service Restaurant with its Tartas Frontera at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Best Digital/Social Media Initiative with its Vyaggio application, and Best Food & Beverage Concession Programme for its f&b offering at Amsterdam Schipol Airport – and two in 2012 – Best Wine-Led Bar Offer for its Beaudevin Wine & Tapas concept at Brussels Airport and Best Design and Overall F&B Facilities for the innovative design and accessibility of its points of sale at Schipol Airport.