AECOC 2018 – Taking It Personal

The annual AECOC conference brings together the entire foodservice value chain, from C-suite to start-ups. Through keynote speeches and panel discussions, attendees learned all about the latest trends and how to fine-tune their business model as much as possible. Here are Rabobank’s top observations from the conference.

The supply chain is in search of new opportunities for innovation

The suppliers of restaurants and hotels are faced with the challenge of making logistics more efficient. Currently, restaurants have multiple suppliers, as distributors are completely fragmented. As a consequence, trucks are driving around with half a load or, even worse, empty. Cities have become overcongested in Spain, which has led to ever-slowing traffic. Restaurants and their suppliers are also struggling with data transparency, resulting in supply uncertainty. This can even lead to restaurants running out of stock or compromising on quality. Clearly, the need for innovation to improve efficiency remains high on the agenda for restaurants and suppliers.

‘Customer personalisation’ could solve some of these concerns for last-mile delivery. For example, innovative technology platforms can bring together restaurants, distributors, and suppliers on a single operating network. This helps to facilitate tailored supply solutions, resulting in more visibility and efficiency per restaurant. Suppliers also have to adapt their logistics to more flexible deliveries in order to meet customer demand. One future direction could be the shared economy, with restaurants mobilising shared vans for delivery and shared logistic services in collecting waste and recycling. This will make it easier for suppliers to combine deliveries and/or customise each delivery in terms of speed, time of delivery, drop-off location, and last-minute deliveries.

Consumers are ready for personalised concepts

Personalised food concepts continue to enter the market and come in all shapes and sizes. One step towards true personalisation that has already been taken is the removal or reduction of particular ingredients, such as gluten. This approach, in which food is tailored to a target group’s specifications, has been one of the catalysts for a new concept in Spain: Celicioso. This gluten-free bakery seems to appeal to Spanish consumers.

Personalisation is also showing up in food delivery, which is becoming increasingly customised. One great example would be the concept of Wetaca (derived from ‘We take care’). This company allows users to build their own lunch plan for a week by selecting ready-to-heat meals. These meals will then be delivered at the desired location.

The common denominator of these concepts is very clear: they’re all obsessed with customers. Whether that’s in terms of nutrition (gluten-free) or convenience (ready-to-heat), these companies all started with the personal needs of the customer. Based on the two success stories mentioned above, we expect to see more customer-obsessed concepts in the near future.

So what can we learn from the conference?

Many presenters brought to light that ‘personalisation of everything’ is the next step for players in the Spanish foodservice value chain. But we would like to broaden that, as this actually applies to all foodservice markets in Europe. Regardless of whether we’re talking about the challenge suppliers are facing to become more efficient, or foodservice players attempting to retain customers, personalisation seems to be a solution and should be high on the agenda.