SEPANG – At the end of March 2019, Malaysia Airports debuted the newly developed Food Garden, operated by Eraman, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airports under Malaysia Airport Niaga  at Langkawi International Airport (LIA).

Located at Level 1 at the arrival hall, the Food Garden has been designed to elevate the standard of brand offerings and service levels, with a mixture of local and international F&B brands such as Starbucks, Hainan Taste, Marrybrown and Nasi Campur Suria providing a wide array of crowd-pleasing cuisines to satisfy both foreign and local passengers. Adding to the excitement soon will be Street Churros, Old Town White Coffee, and Little Wok Kitchen.

The Food Garden is just one of several new food and beverages (F&B) outlets at LIA. Other brands in LIA include Costa Coffee which is their first café in Malaysia, Ya Kun Kaya Toast which is also the first outlet in Malaysia, and Burger King which is the first outlet in Langkawi will be a draw to those living in the vicinity of LIA.

F&B is one of the key attractions within the airport where Malaysia Airports is innovating with its Commercial Reset strategy.

The senior general manager of Malaysia Airports Commercial Services Division said, “As part of Malaysia Airports’ Commercial Reset Strategy, we are designing the F&B zones to offer a range of tastes and price-points to appeal to a wide range of audience, from budget conscious travellers to those who love to indulge in fine-dining.”

Reset is one of the pillars within the Group strategy to position Malaysia as a preferred global hub by building airports that are sustainable while remaining relevant and competitive.

Developed through benchmarking against other world class international airports combined with detailed study of current consumer data from airports to identify purchasing trends and demographics, the Commercial Reset strategy aims to raise the commercial profile of International Airports in Malaysia through real estate improvement, brand positioning improvement, sense of place new retail or tenant and product mix. 

“Reset will transform Malaysia Airports in terms of changing the perception that an airport is merely a transit hub. We are moving towards building a Total Airport Experience (TAE) by introducing new elements in our international airports to promote them as vibrant destinations for both business and leisure travellers alike. This will have a positive impact for various stakeholders ranging from the airport operator, retailers, passengers and the wider airport community at large,” Nazli added.

One of the initiatives by Malaysia Airports to promote the F&B outlets at KL International Airport (KLIA) is the annual month-long KULinary campaign, which has since 2016 featured the top 20 F&B outlets at both of KLIA terminals including klia2, as selected by undercover food reviewers. Starting this year, the campaign will be extended to also include the most outstanding F&B outlets in LIA.

The Food Garden at KLIA is next in line to be revamped. Renovations works are slated to commence in Q4 2019, with the anticipated reopening scheduled for Q2 2020. The welcoming 1,300 sq m space will seat 500 in a garden concept celebrating the theatre of the kitchen and cooking, again featuring a range of local and international cuisines and brands. The KLIA Food Garden will also introduce automation and e-services in the form of self-ordering kiosks and allowing the use of e-wallets for payment, bringing one-stop, cashless convenience to the dining experience for guests at the airport.

Malaysia Airports expects that the enhanced F&B offerings should positively impact the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) rating, while enhancing the revenue performance of Eraman and Malaysia Airports Commercial Services through sales and rental yields respectively.