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Within the French stadium<\/a> ecosystem, one term keeps coming up: customer experience<\/strong>. And for good reason. In a world where it is increasingly difficult to attract supporters and persuade them to return to the stadium regularly, providing a high-quality experience has become a sine qua non<\/em> for filling the stands. At the heart of this experience is an element that is often the subject of debate within stadiums, particularly because of its price: food & beverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Food & beverage: a customer-experience challenge<\/em><\/p>\n Food & beverage at stadiums is important to clubs for two reasons: it allows supporters to enjoy a different and potentially unique experience, while also representing a significant source of matchday revenue. Two types of food & beverage can generally be distinguished: general-public F&B<\/strong> \u2014 most often beer and burgers \u2014 and premium F&B<\/strong>, typically an all-you-can-eat buffet provided by a caterer.<\/p>\n The principle is usually as follows. For general-public F&B, if the club owns the stadium, it will most often set up a concession model: catering companies operate one or more concession stands and pay rent consisting of a fixed amount plus a fee corresponding to a certain percentage of turnover. Concession models are generally based on two approaches: either the club funds the operating fit-out (decoration and equipment of the concession stand) in exchange for a short, relatively expensive concession agreement for the operator, typically two to five years; or the operator funds the fit-out and secures the concession for a longer period, potentially up to ten years, at more favorable rates, at the expense of the club\u2019s flexibility.<\/p>\n Clubs can also use service providers \u2014 often temporary staffing operators \u2014 to run concession stands they own, while handling the logistics internally. In this case, they collect all the revenue and pay a service fee, sometimes to one of the club\u2019s partners. Revenue generated by the concession stands is therefore higher, but so are the effort and investment required to maximize their value.<\/p>\n Today, clubs and stadiums are increasingly adopting clearly defined F&B strategies. Some, such as the Stade de France, are opting for a strategy aligned with the approach promoted during the Olympic Games, seeking to limit the environmental impact of food service by prioritizing fresh, local and seasonal products. This positioning particularly appeals to French audiences.<\/p>\n Knowing what to offer spectators is always a delicate issue. Some clubs and stadiums, such as Racing 92<\/a> at Plenitude Arena<\/a>, prioritize products that have consistently performed well: beer, Coca-Cola and water for beverages, and burgers, fries, club sandwiches and hot dogs for food. Other more seasonal or short-lived products, such as wings, pizzas or sausages, may also be available depending on the event. This strategy relies on a general-public consumption offer that is independent of the identity of the event being hosted, whether in a stadium or concert arena.<\/p>\n Others, such as FC Lorient<\/a>, favor a strategy that is closely connected to what the club represents: its local environment. The club has chosen to work with local caterers to provide an enhanced customer experience that is more closely aligned with its identity, even if this means accepting slightly lower margins. The concept, called \u201cLes Corners du Moustoir,\u201d<\/strong> involves selecting several local food operators and assigning each of them a stadium concession stand. This provides a way to combine traditional burgers and hot dogs with Breton sandwiches or cr\u00eapes, all accompanied by a local Breton beer. The offering also changes with the seasons: mulled wine and coffee replace ice cream as the first cold days arrive.<\/p>\n By taking such clear positions, venues communicate their positioning and create additional value for customers. Hockey provides a perfect example. When attending a hockey game, you are watching a winter sport, so being able to enjoy a tartiflette in the stands, as offered by Les Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise<\/a>, makes perfect sense. While Paris La D\u00e9fense Arena has opted for a more traditional offering, it differentiates itself through quality and through the recognition its iconic burger has earned among consumers. In Lorient, meanwhile, the appeal lies more in the opportunity to choose from and discover local flavors and food operators.<\/p>\n Premium F&B faces similar considerations. Whether it is served in private boxes or in lounges open to all premium ticket holders, there are numerous strategic choices to be made. Caterers are often selected for the season based on a precise set of specifications. Orders are placed ahead of matches based on the number of seats sold and at a fixed price, allowing the club to know its exact margin on every premium ticket or hospitality subscription sold.<\/p>\n The offering is often buffet-based. The challenges are different from those of general-public F&B: customers expect more refined products, both savory and sweet options, and more sophisticated beverages, but above all, they expect food and drinks to be available on an all-you-can-eat basis. Caterers therefore tend to offer traditional buffet packages with broadly appealing products \u2014 canap\u00e9s, hors d\u2019oeuvres and small pastries accompanied by champagne and wine. More sophisticated and locally sourced products can also be offered. Today, the clear trend is toward high-quality or reimagined street food. Alternatively, some clubs, such as the aforementioned Jokers, set up themed stands where visitors can discover premium drinks such as Lillet Tonic.<\/p>\n Optimizing service quality<\/em><\/p>\n In France, supporters spend an average of just \u20ac1.50 more than the price of their ticket inside the stadium. This is a long way from the \u20ac10 average recorded by D\u00e9cideurs Magazine<\/em> in Germany. The first step toward increasing stadium revenue is therefore to make consumption easier.<\/p>\n Too often, stadium concession stands become overcrowded at the same moments: before kick-off and at halftime. Yet consumption drops dramatically once the players are on the field. Various approaches have therefore been tested in recent years to encourage consumption throughout the game while reducing waiting times. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n Themed concession stands:<\/strong> This allows supporters to go directly to the stand that interests them. What could be more frustrating than waiting behind someone ordering six beers and four hot dogs when you only want a bag of popcorn for your children? Separating burger and fries stands from snack stands makes it possible to optimize ordering by reducing the time required to make a choice, prepare and serve the order. This can generate considerable time savings, although, as demonstrated by its implementation at Groupama Stadium in Lyon, the strategy is mainly feasible in large stadiums with multiple points of sale.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Temporary points of sale:<\/strong> Mobile kiosks located in concourses can sell snacks and drinks that require no preparation. These same kiosks can also sell merchandise and evolve with the seasons: coffee machines in winter, ice cream in summer, and occasional products depending on the theme of the match. This provides a way to introduce new products while relieving concession stands of certain orders.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Creating consumption areas:<\/strong> Installing high tables and convivial spaces where supporters can stop and grab something to eat is a major asset for encouraging consumption. It is the lack of conviviality that most significantly limits consumption within stadiums.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Separating ordering and collection:<\/strong> At Plenitude Arena<\/a>, orders are placed at one counter before customers are directed to a second counter where they can collect them. During peak periods, the collection counter has already prepared large quantities of beer, burgers and portions of fries. Separating the two tasks allows cashiers to focus on payment and servers to focus on fulfillment, increasing throughput.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Click & collect:<\/strong> Although it does not appear particularly effective and is ultimately little used in stadiums, click & collect \u2014 ordering directly from a phone and collecting the order from a point of sale once it is ready \u2014 can save significant time and reduce queues. It also makes it possible to anticipate order preparation and serve spectators when they want to collect their food. The main problem is that click & collect is not particularly convenient for occasional users and requires them to go online, create an account, enter payment details, etc. One interesting approach, however, is to sell click & collect products directly when the ticket is purchased<\/strong>. The customer can then go directly to the point of sale closest to their seat to collect an order that has already been prepared.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Seat delivery:<\/strong> This is already proving effective in certain stadiums, such as Stade de France\u00ae<\/a>. With a QR code placed on the seat in front of them, spectators can easily order from their seat and have their food delivered. The system can also route orders to the least congested concession stands, optimizing waiting times. In-seat mobile service already exists in many stadiums for beer and snacks; the idea is to extend it to the full range of products available at concession stands.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Going cashless:<\/strong> While cash payments are increasingly disappearing among higher-income consumers, stadiums remain popular venues where cash payments are still relatively common. Many solutions now allow cashless payment, either by bank card or by regularly topping up a club card, saving valuable time for cashiers and reducing accounting errors at concession stands.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The challenges of food & beverage<\/em><\/p>\n Developing the F&B offering is essential to increasing matchday revenue. However, expanding the offering should not result in increased waste. Clubs need to analyze matchday sales in order to accurately estimate the quantities required for each product, while also identifying the products that generate the highest gross margins within each consumer segment.<\/p>\n Better still, it is now possible to adapt the offering according to the consumption habits of individual stands or sections, as demonstrated by the snack offering available in the family section at Stade de Reims<\/a>. Beyond representing a loss of financial resources, waste runs counter to clubs\u2019 desire to have a positive impact on their environment.<\/p>\n Increasingly, clubs are partnering with local charities to redistribute unsold perishable products to people in need. This is a sensitive issue and requires careful attention to food storage, as the club remains responsible for food safety. Offering a more limited menu can sometimes be a simple and effective way of limiting overproduction, even if this means rotating the offering regularly.<\/p>\n Waste, however, is not limited to food production. Containers are also an important issue. While the ISO 20121 standard for sustainable events requires the elimination of plastic from concession stands, disposable cardboard cups are not necessarily more environmentally friendly. Reusable cups are criticized for being too fragile and easily broken. Moreover, they are too often branded specifically for a particular match and therefore become useless once the event is over.<\/p>\n Following the interrupted 2019-20 season due to Covid and the uncertainty surrounding the 2020-21 season, some clubs such as Rugby Club Toulonnais<\/a> did not hesitate to reuse the reusable cups left over from the previous season rather than generate additional waste. Branding reusable cups with the club\u2019s colors in a timeless way \u2014 or at least for an entire season \u2014 therefore seems essential.<\/p>\n Topivo Restauration<\/a> is also particularly relevant at Plenitude Arena<\/a>, where the caterer uses a bottom-up beer-filling system with specially designed plastic cups. The cups are unbranded and collected at the end of the match \u2014 they are not really something people want to take home, and there is a strong incentive to return them to the designated collection points, particularly because nobody has much use for a cup with a valve at the bottom. This system therefore helps prevent plastic waste while also reducing beverage waste by dramatically limiting the amount of foam produced during filling.<\/p>\n Finally, there are also ways to generate value from concession stands beyond simply selling food and beverages. To launch its new third kit for the 2022-23 season, Racing Club de Lens<\/a> and PUMA Group<\/a> created an activation in the concession stands. By purchasing a cone of fries, fans could find a \u201cGolden Cone\u201d<\/strong> containing a surprise and giving them the chance to win the new jersey. This is an effective way to put concession stands at the heart of a sponsorship activation while further enhancing the spectator experience.<\/p>\n\n