Future Hospitality Trends in Stadium & Sporting / Entertainment Precincts

The diversity of our projects across a range of industries provides for constant and engaging evaluation internally as we consider food and beverage trend applications across properties of all shapes and sizes.

The first half of this year (and some of 2020), Future Food enjoyed working with two sports centric environments. We have been very proud to partner with both the Australian Turf Club on Royal Randwick & Rosehill Gardens, and with the Christchurch City Council as they seek to develop a new stadium to replace Lancaster Park/Jade Stadium, lost in the earthquakes of 2010/11.

One of the most pleasing aspects of both projects was our ability and agility of working on projects interstate and internationally whilst under lockdown constraints of Covid 19. Usage of modern technology has accelerated uptake and development, including our new proprietary software that provides Future Food with a new competitive F&B/hospitality threat & gap analysis tool – the application & results of which, have paid off immensely with the restricted working environment.

The modern-day benchmark for food and hospitality in sporting stadia is driven by the standards of the high streets. It is no longer acceptable to consider what has been successful in the past to be adequate for the future.

In the past we accepted a meat pie and a beer, now the expectation is to get a veggie pie vegan options, wines by the glass, cocktails, etc etc. We used to get cash sales only, now the expectation is predominantly EFTPOS based physical transactions that are bolstered by a range of sales opportunities, including order/click & collect, vending, mobile concessions, elevated dining and beverage choices, a range of environments plus pre & post-game entertainment. As such, the modern multi-use arena needs to be inherently agile in its approach to hospitality.

The future of stadia must also be considered in a very fast-moving space – technology has the potential to significantly change our approach to stadium/event catering as is the changing nature of retail globally.

Hospitality at contemporary sporting events can be considered as an integral component of the ‘experience.’ The Aussie Open – case in point. Melbourne & Olympic Park and their key stakeholders such as Tennis Australia understand that an F&B strategy must compete with a multitude of other events and competition for the finite entertainment dollar. Whether it's other events, the High Street, shopping centres, or even pay-per-view television and food and beverage delivery services; the alternatives to visitation of a stadium or event experience grows ever stronger, therefore modern stadia must reflect the trends of food and hospitality in the wider community in order to remain relevant maximise uptake and subsequent revenue. The arena must contribute to a whole of city offering rather than competing with it.

Food Trends in Modern Sporting Venues
A new breed of stadia of a number of shapes, sizes and sporting codes continues to expand the inventory of benchmark stadia, Sofi Stadium, Allegiant Stadium (home of the LA Raiders), the often talked about and frequently benchmarked Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; as well as our own incredible new stadia such as Optus Stadium in Perth, Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta, Queensland Country Bank Stadium (this year becoming the first regional stadium to host the State of Origin) or the Sydney Football Stadium (currently under rebuild/development). Yet regardless of code, we see familiar trends of hospitality and F&B emerging:

 ·      Casualisation of the premium & corporate products
·      Elevated GA experiences (a direct inconsistency with the premium trend curve)
·      Expanding Functions inventory (i.e. greater range of experiences, evolving menus and customisation)
·      Expanding pre & post dwell times (maximising the business case for the Stadium)
·      Increased range of retail and corporate products (offer and price-point)
·      Female friendly experiences
·      Localisation of procurement – ensuring support from the local community and a unique experience for visitors
·      Service experiences beyond the grab & go/belly up approach
·      Externalisation of F&B – A year revenue opportunity regardless of event/non-event day
·      Increasing use of technology especially at the customer ordering interface

Whilst our projects and the subsequent observations represent a number of different sports, codes, events and business models they all share a similar trait – F&B is/will be a key contributor to the patron experience and business case for future operation of these venues.

It is important that the overall F&B strategy is incorporated into the design/redesign, so that both capability, revenue potential and customer experience are well considered, not as an afterthought, but as an integral component of the planning and design of the venue.

Game’s On!

Remaining Relevant in the Age of Digital Disruption

The last eighteen months have seen a tremendous rise in the acceptance of food delivery into our daily lives. Whether it’s prepared food or fresh food, the trend is obvious and apparent to all. In February this year, Hello Fresh NZ (a meal box delivery specialist) announced a 143% revenue increase year on year, with their workforce tripling in size during the same period, a quantifiable outcome of the changes and impacts of the pandemic-response effect on our purchasing habits.

 From a prepared-food perspective, the rise of delivery aggregators is gaining momentum at a terrific rate of knots. In evaluating the competitive landscape for any modern food and beverage precinct, it is no longer enough consider the immediate surrounding competition, but rather we also need to consider the competition provided by “Netflix & Order-in,” working in tandem to make a quiet night in on the couch a serious competitor for restaurant spending.

 In the early days of delivery apps (UberEats only launched in Australia in 2016 in the wake of  Foodora’s exit from the marketplace), the emphasis was on developing alternate revenue streams for established restaurants, cafes and takeaways, but a new phenomenon is taking over – Ghost kitchens.

 Ghost kitchens, dark kitchens or cloud kitchens, have no front of house area at all; no seats, no tables and no waiters. Rather these proxy brands are created with delivery app customers as the sole target market developed through proprietary brands specifically designed for the delivery platforms. These ghost kitchens create food specifically for delivery, in kitchens that are specifically created for the format and strategically located to maximise supply coverage. These brands are not limited by the numbers of seats or the capacities and capabilities of the waiters, but rather by the marketing reach of the brand and the algorithms and commission levels inherent within the platforms.

 And the industry is morphing quickly, former CEO of Uber - Travis Kalanick has recently started a company called Cloud Kitchens. He subleases delivery only kitchens on monthly memberships providing restaurant operators with access to infrastructure with no upfront costs, lead-in times or start up compliance etc. Whilst this concept is US based currently, it is a matter of time before operators globally, adopt this approach.

 18 months ago, in the relative calm of the pre-covid environment, Future Food was approached by a major delivery platform to understand what their target consumers wanted, in order to drive greater acceptance of their business model and uptake of delivery platforms as a whole. In just a few short months, the landscape has changed dramatically, delivery has ballooned hand in hand with population lockdowns and the promise of contact less delivery; the bad press of labour conditions and unfair treatment of “contractors” merely an inconvenient truth for a rapidly growing and evolving customer base.

 And the growth is not just in the home delivery sector, but trends indicate that it is likely to be adopted across a number of new sectors in the near future. Airports, Universities and hotels are just some of the sectors that are deliberating how the technology may work specifically to their environment.

 In the US, education catering company Chartwells (Compass Group North America) is trialling the approach in the University sector with the adoption of a dark kitchen approach that will bolster its on-campus dining halls. Whilst it is likely a strategy to counter the loss of revenue to third-party delivery firms, the approach also uses up underutilised kitchen space in Universities. It also provides a way to increase demand outside of traditional dining hall hours which traditionally have not been met by the universities or their caterers.

 A number of airports around the world are also considering options for food delivery at the gate from dark kitchens within the airport itself. The aim is to provide a plethora of menu choices without the limitation of common area seating layouts or peak period queuing. This is not even a new concept, Dubai airport trialled this way back in 2017, in partnership with Deliveroo and allowed passengers to get food delivered to them at their boarding gates. Amsterdam and Toronto airports have both tested the scheme, and with the growth in acceptance of delivery platforms (some market research companies indicating that this may be as high as 250%) it is likely to lead to many more transport hubs looking towards these types of solutions.

 Acceptance of food delivery and home delivery as a normalised method of food purchasing will continue to grow, we like it for a number of reasons:

1. It's easy! – This is the age of convenience and I want it now. (Consider the current marketing campaign of KFC – “Shut up and take my money” or the astronomic rise of finance company Afterpay). This is an era where Millennials & Digital Natives are taking over from Baby Boomers and successful businesses adopt an adapt-or-die mentality in the age of disruption! Convenience is a highly valued commodity in a fast-paced world.

2. We know the cost. No getting talked into an extra glass of wine by smooth talking bartenders, no pre-dinner drinks, no extra sides or condiments and no taxi fare/Uber charges to get there and back. Your favourite condiments are already in the fridge and we know the price of the experience will be exactly the same as when we press “accept” on the delivery platform app.

3. Choice. Whether it's the choice of delivery platform; choice of restaurant; choice of cuisine; choice of price point or even enjoying different meals with the same people in your house from different restaurants at the same time; choice is at the forefront of the popularity of delivery platforms.

 But as is so often cited, home delivery can never match the experience of a great meal OUT! And this must be the mantra of modern food projects; they must be anchored by memorable experiences - delicious food from well considered menus; thoughtfully complemented drinks lists and personable, friendly, deliberate service within design driven environments.

 If physical food and beverage businesses are to remain relevant in an age of virtual restaurants it must be through the creation of memorable, positive, real food & service experiences.