Earlier this month, the CFIN team was privy to a behind-the-scenes tour of Toronto Pearson International Airport. With Suzanne Merrell, the Dining Development Manager for Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), serving as our knowledgeable guide, our eyes were opened to the gargantuan feat of feeding the tens of thousands of travellers who use North America’s second busiest airport every day.
Layered on top of this sheer volume of diners are additional complexities — the security measures, the scarcity of kitchen space, the logistics of distributing food, and the task of hauling of food waste out. Taken altogether, the challenges of airport food operations become truly daunting.
However, these intense demands mean that airports are something of an innovation sandbox, as this compounding set of operational constraints encourages technology adoption and experimentation that can create transferable learning for foodservice providers of all sizes and kinds. Here are a few of the challenges that were highlighted on our tour, plus a look at some of the opportunities for CFIN members developing potential solutions for these challenges.
The Challenge: Food Waste
On average, 140,000 to 160,000 travellers pass through Pearson International every day. Food waste management for airports at this scale is on par with many small cities. The challenge is not only the volume but also the logistics of managing that waste efficiently in a secure and compact environment. Transporting food waste off-site is costly and time-consuming, and with airport security measures, moving anything in and out of terminals requires extra steps.
The Opportunity: Food Cycle Science makes it possible for airports to manage food waste on-site. Their compact, commercial-scale food waste processing units can reduce organic waste by up to 90% in volume, converting it into nutrient-rich compost. This could be a game-changer for airports, reducing the need for waste hauling and lowering environmental impact.
The Challenge: Ventilation
Cooking in airports is often limited by ventilation restrictions, particularly in older terminals. Traditional cooking methods, which produce heat or smoke, require extensive ventilation systems that many airports cannot easily accommodate. There is a need for non-vented cooking technology, which allows for food preparation without complex venting infrastructure.
The Opportunity: One company innovating in this space is KitchenMate, a Toronto-based startup developing vending technologies that can provide warm, prepared meals in small spaces without the need for full kitchen infrastructure. These systems are an ideal option for airports where installing new kitchen ventilation is a major infrastructural constraint.
The Challenge: Inventory Management
Despite featuring nearly 100 distinct restaurants and catering services, much of the food prep at Pearson International happens in centralized commissary kitchens to save space and maximize efficiency. Managing inventory efficiently across such a large-scale operation is a challenge, especially when there is limited storage and fluctuating demand across very different food service operators.
The Opportunity: Cheffer, a Toronto-based company, offers a platform that provides real-time data analytics for inventory management. They specialize in helping companies like hotels and retirement homes — operations with substantial dining services despite it not being their primary function. Cheffer's software helps these operators better manage inventory levels, reduce food waste, and optimize scarce food service resources. This type of data-driven approach could further streamline operations for airport commissaries, improving efficiency and reducing costs.
The Challenge: Refrigeration
Airport operations require vast amounts of refrigeration to store perishable items, but space is often limited, and energy efficiency is critical. Traditional refrigeration systems are not always well-suited to these high-demand environments.
The Opportunity: One potential opportunity for airports is to reduce steps in their internal cold chains. Relocalize could help do this via their decentralized, automated micro-factories for frozen food and beverage production. On-site production of certain products could cut down on the capacity demands for traditional commercial refrigeration and reduces the carbon footprint of transporting highly perishable goods. By bringing production closer to the point of sale, Relocalize offers a fresh approach to food refrigeration that aligns with the space and energy constraints of airports.
The Challenge: Automation
Staffing shortages are a constant concern in airports. Meanwhile, franchises at Pearson International are often the busiest in the country (or, in the case of A&W, the busiest in the world), so these food service operators are under constant pressure to deliver orders quickly and consistently. Automation can help fill gaps in the workforce while ensuring that operations run smoothly, particularly in high-volume settings where efficiency is critical.
The Opportunity: Robotic makelines like Cibotica’s can significantly increase the speed and consistency of food preparation. Their fully automated systems handle everything from ingredient preparation to assembly, allowing restaurants to meet the demands of high-volume orders while maintaining quality and efficient service that travellers expect.
By highlighting these Canadian innovators, we can see how technology can help us tackle some of the most pressing food sector challenges — in airports and beyond.
What are some other innovative solutions you believe could be applied to the unique challenges of airport food operations?
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