FRANCE. Italian food concept, IT Trattoria, which has developed quickly in the French domestic market, will launch into three locations in travel retail between the second half of 2019 and early 2020.
The locations are all in the Paris area: in Charles de Gaulle Airport (at the junction between terminals 2B and 2D), the food court of the new Orly Airport Junction space, and at the large Montparnasse train station in central Paris.
The expansion was facilitated by Duty Free Development Consulting (DDC) led by CEO David Dayan, a highly-experienced duty free veteran who has introduced numerous brands across a wide range of categories into the channel (click here to read his fascinating story in a recent edition of our popular Ten Easy Pieces interview series). They include Rituals, Eden Park and Wolford.
IT Trattoria is DDC’s first F&B-only client, but the consultancy believes it has a promising future in travel retail. “The concept offers what passengers need: pizza, pasta, salad, all freshly made at an affordable price,” said Dayan. Further airport entries will be announced soon, he told The Moodie Davitt Report.
Simple, authentic Italian cuisine
All the recipes and designs are created by the IT Trattoria founders and owners – brothers Renato and Gio Iera – who have been passionate about Italian gastronomy for 20 years. At the heart of the concept are open kitchens so that preparation takes place in front of the customers.
The company was launched in 2014 by the Ieras, who hail from Calabria in the south of Italy. Their aim was to serve simple cuisine, made with fresh and authentic Italian dishes – with no use of frozen products – in an Italian-New Yorker dining environment. The idea has spawned 14 restaurants across France.
In 2019, the ambitious brothers plan to expand to 30 IT Trattoria restaurants, with 50 by 2020. This year also marks the globalisation of the business, with openings expected in Brussels and Miami in the second half of 2019.
