Italian Excellence in Motion: Food Accademia’s Fabrizio Canal on Why Travel Retail Remains a Powerful Platform for Discovery
6 minutes read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
Earlier this year, Food Accademia spoke to TRunblocked.com about its growing momentum in travel retail. Since then, the company has continued to expand its portfolio and partnerships. But spend a little time with Founder Fabrizio Canal and it quickly becomes clear that growth is only part of the story.
Ask him what Food Accademia stands for and the conversation soon turns to something else entirely: Taste of Italy. Sense of Place. Italian Experience.
Ahead of TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, TRunblocked.com’s Colleen Morgan caught up with Fabrizio to talk less about products and more about vision – and why he believes travel retail remains one of the few places where food can genuinely connect travellers with a destination.
Colleen Morgan (CM): We last spoke about growth. Today I’d like to start somewhere different. You often talk about creating Italian experiences rather than simply selling Italian products. What does that actually mean?
Fabrizio Canal (FC): Travel retail isn’t just important for us – it is our entire business. Since Food Accademia was founded, we have chosen to dedicate ourselves exclusively to this channel because it offers something unique: the opportunity to transform products into experiences.
We don’t simply distribute Italian food and beverage products. We curate authentic Italian experiences for global travellers. Our role is to help premium Italian producers enter the complexities of travel retail while enabling retailers to source a carefully selected portfolio through one specialised partner, simplifying procurement, logistics and brand management.
For us, travel retail is much more than a route to market. It is where travellers discover new tastes, cultures and stories. Every product should offer a genuine sense of place – a small piece of Italy that travellers can take home long after their journey has ended. Whether it is the vineyards surrounding Lake Garda through a bottle of Ca’ dei Frati Lugana, or the unmistakable flavour of Bronte pistachios in Vincente’s creations, every product tells the story of the people, traditions and landscapes behind it.
CM: With a portfolio now spanning over 80 premium Italian brands, how do you balance the demands of iconic names with the need to promote up-and-coming producers?
FC: Balance is at the heart of our philosophy. Iconic brands provide reassurance, recognition and immediate appeal, while emerging producers bring originality, craftsmanship and the excitement of discovery.
Rather than seeing them as competing priorities, we see them as complementary. Established brands attract travellers’ attention, creating the opportunity to introduce lesser-known producers whose authenticity and quality deserve international visibility.
Equally important is understanding the needs of each retailer. Some locations require globally recognised names, while others are looking for differentiated products that cannot easily be found elsewhere.
Our objective is not simply to build a portfolio of brands, but to curate the best expression of contemporary Italian food culture – combining heritage, innovation and commercial relevance. We constantly look for new ways to reinterpret Italian traditions for today’s traveller, whether through premium gifting, travel-friendly formats or tailor-made concepts for airlines and travel retail operators.
CM: Italian food has the stories and provenance. How do you turn those stories into something that actually works in a travel retail environment?
FC: Storytelling is no longer an added value in travel retail – it has become part of the product itself.
Travellers increasingly want to understand where a product comes from, who created it and why it is unique. Behind every product we represent there is a family, a territory, a tradition and often generations of craftsmanship. Our responsibility is to turn those stories into engaging retail experiences.
That means going beyond the shelf through digital communication, retail activations, tastings and close collaboration with our partners. Whether through immersive displays at Rome Fiumicino Airport, category-led concepts such as Bottega della Riviera at Nice Airport, or carefully curated tasting experiences, the ambition is to transform a shopping moment into a genuine journey through Italy.
Success is measured not only by sales performance but also by engagement, customer interaction and the ability to create memorable experiences. Products may attract attention, but stories are what travellers remember.
CM: You talk about designing products around the traveller rather than simply making them exclusive to the channel. What does that mean in practice?
FC: The key is to develop concepts that combine Italian craftsmanship, premium presentation and practical functionality for travellers.
Travellers have different needs, different expectations and different moments of consumption. That is why we look at premium gifting, limited editions, destination-inspired collections, compact gourmet selections and bespoke concepts developed specifically for travel retail, including collaborations with Michelin-starred chefs and airline dessert concepts.
A successful exclusive should offer travellers something genuinely relevant to their journey – a unique experience that reinforces the value of purchasing within the travel retail environment.
For us, the future is not simply about Travel Retail Exclusive products. It is about designing the right experience for the traveller.
CM: How are you addressing the shift toward lighter, more inclusive aperitivos?
FC: The Italian aperitivo is much more than a drink; it is a social ritual that reflects hospitality, conviviality and lifestyle.
Today’s travellers are increasingly looking for lighter, lower-alcohol and more inclusive options without compromising authenticity. Rather than changing the tradition, we believe the challenge is to reinterpret it for modern consumers.
We are expanding our portfolio with products that respond to these evolving preferences while preserving the essence of Italian aperitivo culture. Carefully curated food pairings also play an important role, allowing travellers to recreate an authentic Italian aperitivo experience wherever their journey takes them.
CM: What are the logistical and packaging challenges of bringing authentic Italian products into travel retail?
FC: Many premium Italian products were originally created for domestic markets rather than international travel environments.
Travel retail requires products to satisfy a broader range of operational requirements, including shelf life, weight, durability, security regulations and passenger convenience.
We work closely with our producers to adapt formats without compromising product quality or premium positioning. Smaller pack sizes, more protective packaging and travel-friendly formats are all developed specifically for this channel.
Sustainability is also now an integral part of product development. Reducing packaging weight, improving recyclability and optimising consolidated logistics not only reduce environmental impact but also create efficiencies for our retail partners.
CM: What does success look like for Food Accademia compared with pre-pandemic levels?
FC: Our growth can be measured in numbers, but the most meaningful indicators are the strength of the partnerships we have built.
Our portfolio has expanded significantly, with more Italian producers choosing Food Accademia as their dedicated travel retail partner, while our geographical presence now extends beyond Europe into Asia and the Middle East.
Revenue has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, but equally important is the growing demand from retailers looking for a single specialist capable of delivering multiple premium Italian categories through one efficient supply structure.
For us, long-term relationships are the strongest KPI because they demonstrate trust from both producers and retailers.
CM: What challenges do you face, and how do you approach partnerships beyond airports?
FC: Travel retail continues to evolve rapidly as passenger expectations, sustainability requirements and operational complexity increase.
Our response is simple: we don’t approach customers with a catalogue. We approach them with ideas and concepts designed specifically for their passengers. That may involve creating cross-category Italian experiences in airports, developing bespoke activations for cruise retail or designing premium concepts for airline catering.
While airports remain our core business, we see tremendous opportunities in cruise retail and inflight catering, where premium Italian food can become part of the travel experience itself.
Regardless of the channel, our philosophy remains the same: we work alongside retailers and operators as business development partners, creating solutions that generate value for everyone involved.
CM: Finally, visitors from across the industry will gather in Cannes this September. When they leave the Food Accademia stand, what do you hope they’ll remember most?
FC: I hope they’ll remember that Italy is not a product category – it’s an experience.
At Food Accademia, every brand, every product and every conversation is designed to express a different part of Italian culture. We want visitors to leave our stand not only with new business opportunities, but with a clearer understanding of how authentic storytelling, carefully curated brands and commercial expertise can create real value in travel retail.
If someone walks away thinking, “This is exactly how Italian excellence should be presented to the world”, then we’ll know we’ve achieved what we came to Cannes to do.
