In January, Aoife Greene, Deputy Director Ancillary – Head of Retail at Ryanair, posted on LinkedIn inviting crisp brands to participate in the airline’s tender for new flavours.
“We wanted to explore a wider pool of potential partners and bring fresh innovation into our onboard snack offering. LinkedIn is a platform where many brands actively showcase their products and engage directly with industry professionals, making it ideal for casting a wide net quickly and efficiently,” she explains.
The goal is to attract new suppliers who may not have considered supplying inflight retail. An open call on social media brings opportunities for smaller brands with unique offerings that can enhance passengers’ experiences during flights. The low-cost carrier has previously employed the approach for a beer tender.
Going direct
“By using a platform like LinkedIn, we directly engage with niche and emerging brands. This approach allows us to discover hidden gems,” says Greene.
Inevitably, doing so has pros and cons. Access to a diverse range of potential suppliers is an obvious advantage. Direct communication with decision-makers at companies is another reason to use LinkedIn. So too is the enhanced visibility of the tendering process, encouraging fair competition.
Yet a call out on LinkedIn can generate a high volume of responses, which require time and effort to filter through. That includes a risk of receiving applications from brands that may not fully meet operational requirements, such as supply chain capabilities or regulatory compliance.
“We get a huge volume of ‘I know it’s not a crisp but…’ notifications,” acknowledges Greene, who prefers making new connections when the timing is right. However, using a structured form with clear criteria helps to streamline the evaluation process.
Competitive products
“Transparency is a factor in this approach, but the goal is more to get the most competitive products for our customers,” she adds.
After brands apply, the quality of their products and price are assessed, along with packaging innovation, alignment with Ryanair’s passenger profile, and ability to meet supply chain requirements.
“Selected brands are invited to a second round, where we delve deeper into logistics, financials and promotional support,” explains Greene.
Sales data is used to guide selections, as regional preferences can result in flavours beyond the classics of Ready Salted, Cheese and Onion and Salt and Vinegar doing well or selling poorly.
