Innovation, sustainability and authenticity the watchwords as Auckland Airport unleashes key food & beverage and destination retail tenders

NEW ZEALAND/AOTEAROA. Auckland Airport, New Zealand’s premiere gateway and Oceania’s fourth-busiest airport by international and total passenger traffic, is set to take its food & beverage and destination merchandise offers to new levels via an ambitious tender programme across both key categories.

Martin Moodie learned more in this question & answer session with the airport’s commercial team.

Part 1: Food & beverage

Martin Moodie: Let’s start with food & beverage. Can you spell out the opportunity in terms of the number of outlets available and any details on their size and location?

Auckland Airport: Some 20+ sites will be going through a transformation with 13 included in Auckland Airport’s food & beverage (F&B) Request for Proposals (RFP).

All RFP F&B sites are located in the International Terminal landside and airside departures areas.

And in terms of segmentation – for example, fast food, grab & go, coffee, table service etc. – what are you seeking?

We’re looking to curate a diverse mix of food and beverage offers, ranging from dine-in experiences to food court-style tenancies.

This includes everything from grab-and-go concepts and cafés to fast casual and smart casual dining options.

And the timeline?

Auckland Airport is already in the market in terms of RFPs but no decisions have been made. Successful parties are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2026, and delivery of sites will start around mid-2026.

If you’re a food & beverage retailer with a compelling concept and are not yet in contact with Auckland Airport, now’s the perfect time to reach out and explore the opportunity

If you’re a food & beverage retailer with a compelling concept and are not yet in contact with Auckland Airport, now’s the perfect time to reach out and explore the opportunity.

What are the key attributes you are looking for from your new F&B partners?

Retailers who can deliver distinctive, dynamic and engaging food & beverage experiences that elevate the everyday and resonate with our diverse customer base.

Our ambition is to curate a mix of offers that blends trusted favourites/known brands with fresh, exciting concepts, inviting both comfort and new discoveries.

We are on the lookout for renowned international and local offers, first-to-market concepts as well as those offers which focus on delivering local food & beverages.

We’re seeking operators who are committed to driving sustainability forward, those who actively champion innovative environmental practices, align with Auckland Airport’s sustainability policies and ambitions, and bring a responsible, future-focused mindset to their operations.

Naturally New Zealand has some brilliant and unique food and produce – so in some instances the contemporary and compelling showcase of that status is a consideration.

F&B is clearly growing strongly at Auckland Airport but it is circa eight years since the last major development for the International Terminal’s offering. How much have the evolving culinary scene and changing consumer tastes and trends in the intervening years influenced what you are seeking this time around?

Auckland Airport is actively evolving its food & beverage offering, alongside a transformation of its dining and food court environments. We recognise that meaningful food experiences begin in spaces that invite engagement and exploration.

Landside will continue to serve as a practical and welcoming dining destination, with a food court refurbishment that includes upgraded flooring, improved navigation routes, new furniture, and enhanced lighting, scheduled for completion in November 2026.

Airside is set to transition from a traditional food court into a modern dining precinct, reflecting its central role in the overall airport experience. A key focus of this redevelopment is to elevate the ambience and create a stronger sense of place, fostering a distinct identity and more engaging atmosphere. This will be supported by strategic pathway adjustments and a more intuitive flow into and around the precinct.

The evolution of the food & beverage offer at Auckland Airport reflects the dynamic culinary landscape and changing consumer preferences.

A key focus is delivering a balanced mix of familiar, trusted brands that offer comfort and recognition, alongside unique, travel-exclusive concepts that spark curiosity and elevate the travel experience.

Travellers increasingly expect all-day dining flexibility, with concepts that seamlessly serve from breakfast through dinner, while confidently catering to diverse dietary requirements across vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, halal, and other preferences.

Concepts that focus on value-driven pricing are essential,  with value coming not just from cost, but from uniqueness, quality, variety, and the ease of a quick and smooth transaction.

Auckland Airport will continue to champion offers that proudly showcase New Zealand’s local produce, ingredients, and beverages. As the gateway to New Zealand, serving ~75% of New Zealand’s arriving and departing flights, the airport plays a pivotal role in fostering national pride and presenting New Zealand to the world.

We’re aiming to showcase the Kiwi identity through the design, the unique harbour views, the mix of local brands, and the distinctly New Zealand food experiences that will be on offer. We’re after a blend of local and global that makes travellers feel both at home and somewhere special.

Finally, sustainability must be a core focus, embedded into operations in intuitive, effortless ways, from packaging to waste diversion, making responsible choices easy for our customers.

How have you assessed consumer expectations in terms of setting out the EOI/RFP?

To ensure the EOI/RFP reflects real consumer expectations, Auckland Airport has taken a multi-layered approach. We’ve engaged directly with retailers and the local market, partnered with a specialist food & beverage consultant, and conducted targeted consumer research to gather insights straight from travellers.

This includes understanding dining preferences, service expectations, and the types of offers that resonate most with today’s travellers. By combining industry expertise with consumer feedback, we’ve shaped a framework that’s both commercially grounded and customer-led, ensuring the future food & beverage offer aligns with evolving tastes, travel behaviours, and the desire for memorable, high-quality experiences.

Sustainability and wellbeing both rank much higher in the overall consumer mindset than they did back in 2017. How is Auckland Airport reflecting both its own responsibilities and consumer expectations in these areas and what demands will you be making of your potential partners?

Sustainability is at the forefront of Auckland Airport’s strategy,  with both large and small initiatives underway in collaboration with our retail, aviation, and terminal partners.

A cornerstone of this effort is the airport’s waste minimisation strategy, which provides a consistent framework for reducing and managing waste across airport operations.

Food & beverage tenants play a vital role by actively participating in composting, recycling, and reducing single-use packaging.

They are encouraged to minimise operational waste through a focus on reusable over disposable items, bulk packaging instead of single-serve formats for both front of house and back of house elements, and a proactive approach to identifying opportunities where waste can be avoided or reduced.

This commitment to waste reduction extends to tenant fit-outs, where retail partners are encouraged to actively participate in end-of-life solutions for fixtures and fittings, ensuring materials are reused, repurposed, or responsibly recycled.

Auckland Airport also supports a transition from gas cooking to energy-efficient electric alternatives, aligning with broader environmental goals and reducing carbon emissions across the terminal. These efforts reflect a more holistic approach to sustainability, embedding responsible practices throughout the food & beverage ecosystem as much as possible.

Auckland Airport has a very diverse passenger profile – the Kiwi and Aussie market on one hand; a significant Chinese influence on the other; plus an eclectic mix of other Asian, European and North Americans. Balance is therefore key. How do you intend to go about seeking that optimum balance?

Auckland Airport’s approach to achieving the right balance in its food & beverage offer starts with understanding the diversity of its passenger profile.

We serve a broad mix of travellers, Kiwi and Aussie markets alongside a wide range of Asian, European, and North American visitors. To meet these varied expectations, we’ve engaged in detailed consumer research, collaborated with a specialist food & beverage consultant, and consulted closely with retailers and the local market.

Our New Zealand and Auckland ‘high street’ food culture  just like so many other major cities – is characterised by a diversity of cultures and flavours and some strongly held national favourites, or iconic foods, unique to our country.

We are actively considering how this diversity and range flows into what passengers and customers at Auckland Airport can expect, making sure we create a contemporary and compelling place not to be missed out on as part of their travel.

Our strategy is to curate a mix of offers that reflect both global familiarity and local distinctiveness. This means combining trusted brands that provide comfort and recognition with unique, travel-exclusive concepts that showcase New Zealand’s culinary identity.

We’re also focused on inclusive menu design, ensuring dietary diversity is confidently addressed across cultural and nutritional preferences, including halal, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. By embedding flexibility, cultural sensitivity and local pride into our planning, we aim to create a food & beverage experience that resonates with our travellers, while celebrating the best of New Zealand.

Sense and Taste of Place: How important in F&B is this dual concept – from design through to the F&B offer and provenance?

Having spent a lot of time engaging with our customers, our market and the industry – the food culture in Auckland and New Zealand has catapulted into quite the scene. We understand the role of making our Kiwis proud, creating a real sense of connection with their home – as well as bringing some excitement from overseas. We aim to balance bringing the ‘best of NZ and the world’ in the space.

Building on our national love of strong coffee and café culture, we’re aiming to nod to how Auckland’s dining precincts naturally bring together global cuisines – Japanese, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish, Italian – alongside our own much-loved burgers, bars and NZ-made bagels. It’s that blend of local and global that defines Auckland’s food scene and makes travellers feel both at home and somewhere special.

No visit to Auckland is complete without spending time at Commercial Bay, Britomart, Wynyard Quarter and some of the other  unique food precincts that have become synonymous with the city. Seeing how our Auckland food culture has evolved, as the gateway to and from New Zealand we seek to champion offers that proudly showcase New Zealand’s local produce, ingredients and beverages and bring another precinct to Auckland that is worth travelling for.

Given Auckland Airport’s broader regional importance, this opportunity will certainly attract considerable interest. What’s your overarching message to potential partners seeking to work with you?

Auckland Airport is the gateway to New Zealand, serving over 75% of the country’s arriving and departing flights. With this regional significance comes a unique and powerful opportunity to shape how travellers experience New Zealand.

Our message to potential partners is clear: we’re seeking collaborators who share our ambition to deliver a world-class food & beverage offer that reflects the dynamic tastes of a diverse passenger base, while celebrating the richness of Auckland and New Zealand’s identity {main story continues following the communication below}.

We’re focused on delivering a balanced mix of familiar comfort and travel-exclusive discovery, all-day dining flexibility, inclusive menus, and a strong sense and taste of place.

This opportunity marks a significant moment for food & beverage at Auckland Airport and we invite partners who embrace innovation, sustainability and authenticity to help us deliver meaningful, forward-thinking dining experiences that resonate with travellers and reinforce Auckland Airport’s role as a thriving, connected, and inspiring gateway for visitors and locals alike.

We know how important food and dining is to the airport experience, and we intend to make this a remarkable new phase in our already strong F&B business.

Part 2: Destination merchandise

What’s the timeline and the broad framework for this key tender?

The ‘Gifts of New Zealand’ RFP is scheduled for release in mid-2026 and will mark the next phase in Auckland Airport’s retail evolution.

This upcoming opportunity will continue our commitment to curating a retail experience that celebrates the essence of New Zealand, its creativity, craftsmanship and cultural richness.

This category has long been almost the signature category for Auckland Airport, a diverse, multi-store airside and landside strength. How are you seeking to build on that legacy success and how does destination as a category evolve?

As we look ahead, we’re focused on elevating the retail offer with concepts that blend authenticity and storytelling – ensuring we reflect the spirit of New Zealand and resonate with both our local and global travellers.

Given that impressive track record in this category,  what’s your overarching message to potential partners seeking to work with you?

AKL is seeking a bold retail evolution of how New Zealand is experienced through product, place and purpose.

We will be inviting partners to help shape a destination retail experience that inspires pride, sparks curiosity, and leaves a lasting impression. With this next chapter, Auckland Airport is setting the stage for a retail experience that’s not only commercially vibrant but contemporary and iconic. ✈