An Italian and a Frenchman walk into a trade show…
The real-life version of what sounds like the first line of a well-worn joke has resulted in a rare combination of gourmet expertise and passion that is helping to take the often underrepresented fine foods category to a new level in travel retail
Meet Fabrizio Canal, Founder & CEO of Food Accademia – the Italian connection – and Eric Carlier, a French veteran of the confectionery sector who spent two decades with super-premium chocolate house Valrhona.
Carlier, who headed Valrhona’s travel retail division for seven years, created his own consultancy after a three-year stint with French organic chocolate house Saveurs et Nature ended in 2023.
But after a meeting of minds – and no doubt tastebuds – he agreed late last year to work alongside Canal as Head of Sales in growing the eclectic Food Accademia portfolio of fine Italian food & beverages in travel retail.
Canal is a man on a mission – and a noble one at that – in travel retail. He works with artisan Italian producers to bring to travel retail an array of oils, vinegars, chocolates, wines, liqueurs, pastas… the list goes on and on. We are talking Italy after all.
Canal is an engaging character, bursting like the bubbles in a freshly poured Prosecco with enthusiasm for his country’s “amazing casket” of fine foods and beverages.
He created his business in June 2015 (and started trading the following year) after a chance visit to the TFWA World Exhibition. Not knowing anything about travel retail, he strolled the packed halls with a growing sense of wonder. But also a mounting sense of opportunity. There were plenty of chocolate, food, wines and spirits exhibitors but where were the independent Italian producers so synonymous with the country’s great culinary traditions?
He vowed to change that. And in the ensuing years and with growing success he has delivered on his pledge.
“Everybody in the industry is saying that we must offer the passengers experience,” says Canal. “Absolutely. If you’re not offering people something really different, where is the experience?
“Italy has a very global good reputation for food and wine. When people come to our country they enjoy even a simple Trattoria, they eat well, they like our wines, but when they return home [through airports], they often don’t find the same quality.”
Food Accademia, bolstered by the enlightened support of a growing band of retailers including Lagardère Travel Retail, Avolta and DFS Group, is fast addressing that shortcoming.
The company’s presence at this year’s TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore not only reflects a sense of mission but also Canal’s belief that the region’s travel retail sector is truly back in buoyant mood after the travails of the COVID years.
“We have seen a big recovery globally but I think the Asia region will be the most booming in the coming three to five years,” he says, talking to The Moodie Davitt Report over lunch at New Five Dragon, a traditional Hong Kong cha chaan teng (‘tea restaurant’) in Sheung Wan Hong Kong.
“We are very strong in Italy, of course, and we don’t forget to try to develop Europe as well. We think we have a format that is very interesting for all retailers.”
Part of that interest lies in the sheer diversity of Food Accademia’s proposition. “The fine food sector is booming,” says Carlier. “Because it’s not only chocolate and confectionery. We have a very nice, very high-quality, very tasty portfolio across, for example, olive oil, panettone, pastries, biscuits, chocolate and more.”
It’s an alluringly eclectic line-up but Carlier admits there are challenges with some retailers who lack a specialist buyer for the category (which embraces multiple product types, from fine food to wine to chocolate).
But with an encouraging interest in fine food among consumers and retailers alike, progress is encouraging, he says, including recent interest in creating a dedicated Italian corner in-store by one leading company.
A meeting of minds – and palates
Food Accademia’s presence at TFWA Asia Pacific this week in Singapore echoes the very event and place Canal and Carlier first met eight years ago.
“At that time, I was part of the TFWA Management Committee and one of my roles was to welcome new exhibitors and brands,” Carlier recalls. “And I discovered this very funny and interesting guy with a lot of gastronomy offerings. Of course I’m French and the French have led the gastronomical world for so long but like a lot of people I also love Italy.”
While at Saveurs et Nature, Carlier was invited by Canal to collaborate but it was not until last November, after having moved on from that role, that he decided to join forces with his Italian counterpart.
Whatever their respective nationalities, both men agree that Italian cuisine is universally attractive for its diversity, quality and accessibility. Whether it be pasta, olive oil, individually quick frozen Tirimasu and even a non-alcohol Prosecco, the tastes and flavours of Italy present an ideal complement to other travel retail offerings, the duo insist.
Underlining the company’s commitment to the sector, Canal is now a member of the TFWA Management Committee. That focus is reinforced by the fact that the entire Food Accademia business is dedicated to travel retail. One channel, one country (with a smattering of French exceptions) is the motto.
Under the Food Accademia model, the product is the hero. “You will never find our logo on the products,” Canal explains, saying that be wants retailers and their consumers to discover the provenance and sheer quality of the Italian line-up.
“Travel retail is a fantastic window,” he says. “It puts these products at an international level. But why put my name on top? All are our brands are very well known in domestic markets internationally. Instead I can be a seal of quality because I select good products.”
Given the high failure rate among new businesses, for such a pioneering concept at Food Accademia to have succeeded – especially given the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on travel retail – is quite some achievement.
“When you present something new, the advantage is that everybody’s listening, But the disadvantage is that nobody at the beginning knows what you’re talking about,” Canal reflects.
“So they listen and wait. I was trying to be patient, to consolidate, to be there year after year, to show the brands and retailers that we will not be an asteroid. That we are consistent. To make an example, 2019 was a good year for us. But in 2020 [due to COVID], we were minus 93%, basically zero. However, last year we were four times 2019.”
Canal pays particular tribute to Lagardère Italy (like the Food Accademia duo a French-Italian fusion, the first retailer to buy into the concept). “They were really supportive and continue to be,” he says.
Asked for a final message to travel retailers, Canal comments, “First of all, don’t stop being open-minded. Don’t only sell big names… we need new things, new ideas, new shop concepts like the one we are developing.
“Trust me it’s a never-ending process of demanding [recognition by retailers]. But I remember one sentence from my father – “Only demanding customers make a company grow”.
He adds: “Italy has an advantage because it has a good reputation worldwide. I am totally aligned with the man from Nestlé [Nestlé International Travel Retail General Manager Stewart Dryburgh -Ed], who said in domestic markets that confectionery accounts for 7% of packaged food sales. In duty free it accounts for 77%. What does it mean? That fine food is a loser? No, it means there is a big opportunity for growth.”
And that opportunity is exactly what an Italian and a Frenchman who walked into a trade show are determined to seize. 
