INDIA. The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and research and intelligence firm tRetail Labs have jointly struck a Silver Partnership for the highly anticipated Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference & Awards, which takes place in Bengaluru on 7-8 July.
Owned and organised by The Moodie Davitt Report since 2011, this year’s FAB is hosted by Bangalore International Airport Limited.
Announced in February, the partnership brings together CIA, an independent not-for-profit organisation known for its leadership in food, health, sustainability and culinary education, and tRetail Labs’ nrtureAI platform.
The collaboration was formed to jointly develop a suite of services and resources, starting with the 2035 Travel Food & Beverage Manifesto – a phased, multi-year roadmap to advance plant-forward foodservice across the travel F&B sector and the broader visitor economy.
Their collaboration also leans on CIA’s Menus of Change initiative, which over the past decade has sought to spark new insights and develop solutions for the culinary and foodservice sector in the USA, with a focus on healthy, sustainable menus.
They will also participate in an industry panel titled, ‘Airport F&B Manifesto 2035: A Movement to Redefine Airport Dining’. The discussion will focus on how airports, lounges and food & beverage operators are responding to evolving traveller expectations across health, sustainability, emotional wellbeing, convenience and experience design.
The session will coincide with the release of a new Industry White Paper, introducing the Travel F&B Fit (TFF) Diagnostic Lens, which helps airports better assess how effectively their F&B offerings respond to shifting traveller needs, from wellbeing and behaviour to commercial performance.
The Culinary Institute of America Vice President Robert Jones said, “The future of airport food & beverage will increasingly be shaped by how effectively the industry balances culinary quality, health, sustainability, operational realities and traveller expectations.
“Through our support of the FAB event, we are keen to contribute to meaningful industry dialogue and collaborative thinking around the future evolution of airport food & beverage experiences.”
tRetail Labs Founder & CEO Sushanta Das added, “Airport dining is entering its next era where food & beverage will no longer be viewed simply through concession categories or revenue per passenger, but as a critical part of traveller wellbeing, emotional experience, sustainability and airport identity.
“Together with the teams at CIA and tRetail Labs, including Professor (Dr) Thorsten Merkle, Mark Angela, Abby Fammartino and Jennifer Breckner, we aim to help shape a more thoughtful and evidence-based industry movement around what airport dining could become by 2035.”
The only global airport food & beverage and hospitality event will bring together senior executives from airports, food & beverage concessionaires and hospitality service providers, as well as other business partners from around the world.
The highly anticipated annual industry gathering will culminate in the FAB Awards Ceremony during the Gala Dinner on 8 July, with the FAB Superstars winners to be unveiled earlier during the conference.
The diverse line-up of distinguished speakers has already been announced, with more to be revealed in the coming days.
Delegates are encouraged to register via the dedicated website.
For general enquiries on FAB, please contact Vincci Chung, Head of Events at Vincci@moodiedavittreport.com. 
