Foodservice Cateys 2024: Innovation Award – Sodexo Live! at Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club

This year’s winner was praised for not only being ahead of the curve with new technology, but for potentially changing the future of stadium hospitality.

Over the past year Sodexo Live! has revolutionised the foodservice experience at Brighton and Hove Albion Football club by introducing three innovations. The first saw the ground become the first Premier League stadium in Europe to introduce Ebar Beerwalls. These automatic beverage dispensers allow fans to serve themselves a variety of drinks while under supervision. During busy match days this has reduced service time to under 30 seconds for two pints and allowed more fans to be served in less time, as well as freeing up staff to focus on customer service.

Secondly, the launch of a frictionless store has allowed customers to enter, choose their items and leave without a traditional checkout. The store makes use of artificial intelligence to automatically bill customers and has significantly sped up the transaction time for fans in a busy environment. Finally, Sodexo Live! trialled the use of air fryers to serve freshly made chips, which could not previously be served due to extraction issues. These were served at the last Premier League game of the season and proved highly popular with fans.

A key part in the rollout has been getting team members on board. A staff satisfaction survey showed an 80% approval rating for the training programmes and incentives were offered to those who excelled at adopting and promoting the new technology. Regular feedback sessions were also held where staff were encouraged to offer suggestions on how to improve use of the technology.

The innovations have had clear results. Sales data showed the new innovations have driven a 35% increase in total revenue from food and beverage sales from the previous average. Meanwhile, social media analysis showed a 45% increase in positive mentions about the foodservice experience at the stadium while customer surveys showed a 40% rise in positive feedback about the food quality and experience.

As one of our judges said: “This is the future and will transform the customer experience”. We can’t wait to see how that happens.

What the judges said

“I loved the use of tech in this unique stadium setting, you can really see the tangible benefits.”

Ben Wilson

“To be able to challenge the standard offer and revolutionise it through technology has changed how the customer interacts and will absolutely change how stadia operate in  the future.”

Emma Williams

“This was a hard-fought category with some outstanding entries. It’s no surprise in today’s market that the winner is a tech-based innovation. This is the future and it will transform the customer experience.”

Chris Stern

See previous winners of the award here