Miscellaneous

📖 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, hosts a podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn." He reported on New York's restaurant scene in "The New York Sun" from 2005 to 2008. Thorn wrote for "Manager" magazine and "Asia Times" while in Thailand (1992-1997) and was an ABC News runner during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. A Tufts University graduate (1990), he also attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (1986) and studied in China (1988-1989). Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and authored entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015). He was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014 and served as IFEC president in 2005. He is based in Brooklyn, NY.

🍻 WonderBrew, a Malaysian brand, tailors kombucha to local tastes with flavours like passionfruit, lemongrass, and pomelo, using ingredients from local organic farms. 60% of sales come from grocery retail across over 1,700 locations. The brand plans to enter mass-market grocery chains and is exploring new categories like Jun Tea, positioning it as an affordable alternative to premium honey drinks, and considering coconut-based and yoghurt-based probiotic drinks, catering to the increasing demand for gut-friendly beverages in Malaysia.

🚀 Vietnam Airlines expanded its partnership with Adyen, a financial technology platform, in 2024 after initially partnering in 2017 for gateway solutions. The collaboration now includes Adyen’s global acquiring capabilities, leading to a 5% uplift in authorization rates for the airline. Adyen's network connects to Visa and Mastercard card schemes, offering lower transaction fees and improved local market adaptability. This move is part of Vietnam Airlines' digital transformation, providing travelers with a secure and flexible payment experience.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, reports on F&B trends and guides coverage. He hosted "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast and wrote "Kitchen Dish" for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. In 1999, he joined Nation's Restaurant News after writing in Thailand for Manager magazine and Asia Times. A magna cum laude Tufts University history graduate and Phi Beta Kappa member, Thorn studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in China. His work won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, and he served as IFEC president in 2005. Thorn, inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014, lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and specializes in F&B trends, French cuisine, and Asian cuisine. His career includes being a columnist for New York Sun (2005-2008), sub-editor at Asia Times (1995-1997), and ABC News runner in 1989. He was educated at Tufts University (BA in History, 1990), Peking University, Nanjing University, and Le Cordon Bleu (Certificat Elémentaire, 1986). Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

🍴 Thompson Restaurants, under Thompson Hospitality, is launching the Thompson Table Rewards Program, beginning with a soft launch this month in Reston, VA. The program unifies 15 brands and over 65 locations in Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and D.C. Customers earn one point per $1 spent with milestones like 125 points for a free dessert (up to $14 value), and 1,000 points for a $50 reward. Additional benefits include a free birthday dessert and a $5 registration reward.

💸 Luxury fashion brands like Dior and Ralph Lauren have expanded into hospitality with cafés and restaurants, enhancing customer experiences through tangible and sensory brand aesthetics. Fashion cafés, designed for Instagrammability, leverage social media for free advertising, with even the £10 branded lattes serving as accessible brand engagement. Ralph's Coffee, established by Ralph Lauren in 2014, exemplifies this trend with 28 locations in cities such as London, Paris, and Hong Kong, transforming these ventures into strategic brand-building tools.

🎉 Ling Ling at Atlantis The Royal in Dubai launches over 30 new Asian dishes and a 'Late Night Bites' menu with options like Oscietra Caviar, bao buns, and mochi. The restaurant, situated on the 22nd and 23rd floors, offers views of the skyline and Arabian Gulf. Open daily from 6pm to 1am and offering late-night service on Fridays and Saturdays from 12:15am to 2:00am for guests over 21 years post-9pm. Reservations available at www.linglingdubai.com or +971 50 653 2098.

🍴 MORE (The Movement to Organize for Restaurant Equity), an advocacy supergroup, launched in February after a summit in Austin, encompassing 17 member organizations such as the James Beard Foundation, Women in Hospitality United, and Regarding Her. Co-founded by Mary Sue Milliken and Liz Murray, MORE aims to unify efforts supporting women, people of color, and underrepresented groups in the restaurant industry. Operating in New York, Los Angeles, the Gulf Coast, and Chicago, the coalition plans national expansion and has initiatives like a worker advisory board and monthly workforce development meetings. Key statistics include that 70% of the restaurant workforce are frontline workers, of whom 70% seek advancement within their companies, yet only 4% achieve it.

✈ Expedia Group adds Ryanair flights to US and Europe offerings after a partnership announced mid last year. Ryanair's network includes over 230 destinations. Integration with Expedia allows booking of low-fare flights, either as holiday packages or standalone reservations, and direct access to myRyanair accounts without additional verification. Previous partnerships include Trip.com, On The Beach, TUI. Ryanair CMO Dara Brady highlights full price transparency for customers, and Greg Schulze of Expedia sees it as a significant milestone for travel choice and value.