WTCE 2026 marked an important moment for gategroup, bringing together the company’s culinary expertise, innovation capabilities, partnerships, and integrated onboard hospitality solutions during its 95th anniversary year.
The showcase offered customers, partners, and visitors a clear view of gategroup today: a business shaped by heritage, strengthened by specialist capabilities, and focused on the future of the travel experience. Across the booth, visitors were able to explore how food, data, design, retail, production, hospitality, and service solutions connect as part of one wider story.
Food remained at the heart of the experience. Four hospitality concepts, including the Chef’s Table and Bistro, served curated menus throughout the event, creating welcoming spaces where guests could experience the quality, care, and creativity behind gategroup’s food and beverage offer first-hand.
Each area of the booth added a distinct perspective. The 95th anniversary wall grounded the experience in the milestones, values, and moments that have shaped gategroup over nearly a century.
The menu development area showed how insight-led thinking is helping shape future menus and onboard concepts. Supported by the collaboration with Black Swan Data, wider category intelligence including Mintel, and gategroup’s Menu Development Platform, the space demonstrated how data, collaboration, and AI-enabled optimization can bring greater speed, visibility, and precision from brief to execution.
The Smart Production area gave visitors a practical look at how efficiency, resilience, and visibility can be strengthened across preparation, assembly, and logistics. A key feature was the collaboration with ABB Robotics and the Make & Pack prototype, which demonstrated how robotics and AI-powered vision can support tray assembly, quality control, and operational insight.
gateretail presented its end-to-end ecosystem under the theme “smart retail for every journey”, while deSter brought its Care Fueled Journeys concept to life through the pillars of Abundance, Ease, and Appreciation. A keynote by Belgian interior architect and creative director Gert Voorjans added a distinctive creative voice to the conversation around design, atmosphere, and care in travel.
The sustainability section reinforced the importance of responsible thinking and long-term progress, while gatesolutions highlighted gategroup’s broader foodservice expertise beyond aviation, including rail catering, uqonic lounges, and Evertaste packaged meal solutions.
Together, the showcase demonstrated the strength of gategroup’s connected capabilities and the role they can play in shaping the next chapter of onboard hospitality. As the company marks 95 years, WTCE 2026 offered a clear expression of where gategroup has come from, what it delivers today, and the future it is building toward.
About gategroup
gategroup is a leading global provider of airline catering, retail-on-board, and hospitality products and services. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the company serves millions of passengers through a network of nearly 300 locations in more than 68 countries. By leveraging innovation and operational expertise, gategroup partners with the world’s leading airlines to create exceptional travel experiences. Learn more at www.gategroup.com.
