SPAIN/INTERNATIONAL. Travel food & beverage services provider and retailer Areas has launched Areas for Change Challenge, its first start-ups initiative.
The project is designed to identify start-up companies with “specific and feasible solutions” to business and sectorial challenges within food & beverage and travel retail. Innovation in sustainability and consumer experience will be a key focus.
The company has launched the programme within the framework of its ESG strategy ‘Areas for Change’, which focuses on three pillars: People, Planet and Future.
With this programme, and in collaboration with global food tech accelerator Eatable Adventures, Areas said it seeks start-ups delivering solutions to the following challenges:
- People: healthier products for breakfast and grab & go moments on the move
- Planet: solutions for managing the waste generated in Areas restaurants
- Future: digital or robotic solutions to improve efficiency
The selected start-ups will have the opportunity to work with Areas and access its international network. A three-month pilot programme will be conducted in Areas locations across the world. These will involve product placement expertise in the most relevant points of sale; support in go-to-market strategies with the Areas team; and consumer insights analysis via the company’s expertise.
Successful start-ups will receive investment to get their projects off the ground and a potential future agreement to become an Areas supplier.
Areas CEO Óscar Vela said: “Areas promotes this challenge to find solutions that will reinvent the travel retail sector and help to promote a greater environmental commitment and experience for travellers.
“We look for solutions that respond to the great challenges that we will face in the travel retail industry in the next years.”
Eatable Adventures has a deal flow involving up to 2,200 global food-tech start-ups each year and has operations in four continents.
The company’s Senior VP of Global Operations of Itziar Ortega said: “We are very excited to launch this new challenge with a leading innovation company with an international presence such as Areas.
“The selected start-ups will have the great opportunity to scale and expand their business by working with a global leader in the travel retail sector, having access to all its know-how, infrastructure and network of points of sale.
“Thanks to the commitment of partners like Areas, we continue to accelerate the industry’s transition to a much more sustainable and efficient model.”
Interested start-ups can register their interest here.
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