FAUCHON L’HÔTEL,
PARIS
French delicatessen brand Fauchon was
careful to translate only select elements
of its visual identity into the physical space
of its hotel.
hotel-fauchon-paris.frTHE FOOD AND DRINK industry is one
whose products have always been inher-
ently ‘experiential’, long before that became
the watchword of every overeager retail
strategist. But as the grocery market also
starts to succumb to the all-encompassing
effects of e-commerce – online grocery sales
are predicted to capture 20 per cent of total
grocery retail by 2025 according to study by
the Food Marketing Institute conducted by
Nielsen – how can these brands make sure
they’re still able to cash in on their experien-
tial premiums?
With eating and drinking already
integral to the hotel offer – whether that be
ordering some late night room service or
having a nightcap at the hotel bar – smart
F&D brands are looking beyond merely
being part of the menu to becoming hotel-
iers themselves. The hope? That by taking
the time to look after the customer over an
extended stay, they can forge much more
robust relationships. After all, what better
way to become a household name than mak-
ing people feel at home?
The first movement was made by
chefs and restaurateurs – those that already
had experience in hospitality – opening up
their own hotels, such as the Nobu Hotels
empire, founded by Japanese chef Nobuyuki
Matsuhisa. And now packaged food brands
are following in their, and other luxury
marques, footsteps. Jacques Olivier Chauvin,
president of Fauchon Hospitality, believes
‘there is no more advanced customer experi-
ence than what a hotel can bring. You are
taking care of a client night and day, forging
real bonds with them.’ That is why the
133-year-old French gourmet food and deli-
catessen brand decided to open Fauchon
L’ H ô t e l in Paris last year, and are planning
to open another in Kyoto in 2020. But it is
much more difficult for a packaged goods
brand, which has a transactional relationship
with consumers, to transform itself into a
service-driven venture. While marketing and
branding are vital elements in retail, ulti-
mately for food companies it always comes
down to taste. So how can they translate the
ethos of food into a hotel room, where you
cannot taste the goods?
One approach, taken by gourmet
Greek deli Ergon Foods, is to highlight the
brand’s inherent identity, rather than solely
its gourmet credentials. Its new hotel, Ergon
House in Athens designed by studio Urban
Soul Project, is a celebration of the brand’s
Grecian pride. Rather than falling back
on hackneyed cues of ancient history, the
studio subtly deployed walnut timber, black
terrazzo, cinder blocks and upcycled marble
throughout to evoke the architecture of a
modern Greek city. Gastronomy – not to be
forgotten – is the focus of the ground floor,158 HOSPITALITY