LATIN AMERICA. The key markets of Mexico and Chile account for the Areas footprint in Latin America, a region in which it aims to consolidate its presence and grow further.
In the major market, Mexico, where regional CEO Eduardo Torres is based, the company operates around 155 points of sale at 22 airports, spanning food & beverage and travel convenience stores in hotels. Areas is the major F&B partner for OMA and GAP airport groups.
The importance of airports makes Latin America different to other Areas markets, where the company operates across rail, road and leisure. In Mexico, the lack of alternatives and long distances required to travel via road and rail means a proliferation of airports, though this brings its own challenges for a company operating across most of them. Many locations serve less than one million passengers a year, a sharp contrast to the biggest airport by some distance, Mexico City (50 million).
Torres says: “Some airports serve 20,000 passengers a month at times, with peaks reaching 150,000 in other months. There is high dispersion of the airports with low traffic across the year at many. To succeed you need to understand this reality and accommodate your operations to match this.”
“We have seen some big changes in recent years,” adds Torres. “One of them is that you must tailor your offer much more; you cannot standardise. Customers are more informed than ever, they even choose their dining location before they arrive to the airport. So customising the offer to the passengers is important.
“As an example, at Los Cabos our customer is mostly from the US and has spent seven days at an all-inclusive resort, having the time of their lives. What we offer is a continuation of their holiday experience at the airport. So we partnered with STK [a recent FAB Award winner -Ed] to bring this to them where they can order their margarita, have a steak, hear some DJ music in the outlets and make this a great final memory of the place.
“By contrast, at Monterrey we offer a business-orientated offer, with excellent table service, great cuts of meat, the opportunity to connect easily.”
The airport should be an extension of the journey, says Torres, which in turn means emphasising Sense of Place. That is emphatically the case at Guadalajara Airport (16 million passengers a year), where Areas recently won eight new stores via a tender, to add to the nine it already managed.
Local partnerships are key and include Tacos Don Miguelón, Maestro Dobel Tequila, Moshi Moshi and Cantina La Imperial, plus own-brand café, Farine and international brands Carl’s Jr., Subway, Sbarro and KFC). The new F&B venues – which will see Areas invest more than US$5 million – will open this month.
Highlighting Tacos Don Miguelón, Torres says: “It is just one small place, a single point of sales, but has the best tacos in Guadalajara.”
Tequila is another signature of Guadalajara, so the company allies that reputation with a well-known and highly reputed name, Maestro Dobel, not just in drinks but in the menu too.
“We pair tequila with food, and with the menu inspired by local flavours. I think this is something we do differently, quickly adapting to new trends, and to develop real working partnerships with local chefs and local brands.
“This also fits with our spirit of belonging. We work to empower our people to take a lead in our business, and that includes working with our partners, who have very specific needs.”
While Sense of Place plays a big role, blending the offer with regional and international offers also come into play. So too does treating the consumer differently at different airports.
“At Mexico City, we have an older generation that expects table service, so a self-service concept that works very well in Europe would not work there. They want a three-course menu served at their table.
“Then there is the new traveller, the millennials, who expect fast service or even a contactless experience. We have created some specific concepts for them, and we also work with brands such as Panda Express and Subway plus a new collaboration with Kentucky Fried Chicken for the first time in Mexico. So we segment a certain amount of space to cater for those customers’ needs, we react to those who want contactless experiences, and we ensure our mix is attuned to the customer.”
Changing the offer regularly is a must as consumer demand changes. “We have our own food laboratory here in Mexico,” says Torres. “We do special marketing campaigns and offers around vegan gluten-free, lactose-free options, things we may not have done five years ago. You have to do this, or else the consumer will go elsewhere. We also listen to the consumer – we encourage our teams to get feedback via QR codes in the locations – and have them highlight what might change in our menus, and this is very useful. People increasingly expect organic, healthy and farm to table products.”
Leaning on the popularity of Mexican food across Latin America (and beyond) Areas has developed its own concept, Tacos Frontera, over the past three years. This offers versatility and fits with the requirements of modern consumers too, says Torres. It is present so far in Los Cabos, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Tijuana, and will be expanded further.
These developments come in close collaboration with airports, who also know the consumer well, notes Torres. “The collaboration accelerated through Covid. We need to find ways to adapt constantly, so for this it’s important to lean on the landlords’ expertise.”
As Areas reacts to wider dining trends, in the pipeline is the first Japanese restaurant concept at Mexican airports, titled Moshi Moshi, with openings planned in Monterrey and Guadalajara.
Also, at Los Cabos, Pacific Grill was a recent entrant to the market, in partnership with a Los Angeles-based dining group. It offers local dishes but remains a well-known brand for visitors from the West Coast.
Alongside the tender win at Guadalajara, Areas has won a contract for three outlets at Chihuahua Airport close to the Texan border. There the company will open a brand called Texas Fine Dining, tailored to local tastes.
In the near future, airport infrastructure projects that will offer opportunity for expansion include Puerto Vallarta and Monterrey – new terminals are planned at each in coming years.
That also speaks to the demand on airport space that will come as travel ramps up. In a country with a population of 127 million people, only around 27% have travelled by air. Studies suggest that Mexico’s airport capacity will have to double in the next 50 years to cope with future flight expansion, which brings both challenges for operators and revenue opportunities.
“If these projects come through the potential for us to expand our business is vast,” says Torres. “But there is also a challenge; flying is expensive, so it would be great to see a democratisation of the air travel market, and more competition in the airline business.”
Mexico is among the Areas regions with the highest average transaction values – aided by the table service demanded by some consumers at say Mexico City, plus high-spending US visitors in places like Los Cabos – something Torres aims to maintain.
“This also requires the right people attending to customers, to give a high-end experience, to give a better assisted sale, and generate high spends.”
The other regional operation is at Santiago de Chile Airport, where Areas will operate 15 sales points once new openings are made, especially as international piers are opened over time.
“After we open up, we will eventually manage around 40% of the F&B business at Santiago. We also partner with local chefs and have great local concept. The airport serves a lot of travel to Peru and so we opened Anka too, a Peruvian restaurant. This is how we take our global principles and give them a local focus.
“Being generic is no good any more, We have to focus on the offer, quality of staff and the high level of service that people demand in this region.”
That ethos helped Areas Mexico win this year’s Areas Worldwide Challenge, a major internal competition that encourages teams to deliver higher sales, service standards and consumer satisfaction.
“We are also proud that Areas Mexico won this challenge. It shows the quality of our people and their pride in what they do.” To build on the contribution of its team, Areas has also created a think-tank where staff can offer solutions to problems, which they then roll out if they are approved.
Looking ahead, Torres says that there is much more room to grow in his region, led by Mexico as new airport terminal developments emerge.
“We will consolidate our presence in Mexico as new terminals are built, and as RFPs are released. Our aim is to maximise our number of concessions in these tenders so we can consolidate our place as the number one player in airport F&B in Mexico, in terms of quality and operational service.” 
*Click here for a recent interview with Areas CEO Óscar Vela, who talks about recent contract gains, regional ambitions, the convergence of food and retail and corporate spirit.
**Click here for an interview with CEO France Yves Lacheret about protecting and extending a strong position in a key territory.
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