Onboard Hospitality Podcast

As the IFSA Global EXPO approaches, we chat with IFSA Director SJ Barton and Marketing Director Adam Robertson about the move to a new host city, what else is new at the show, top tips for attendees and lots more

If you have a food allergy, stepping onto a plane can still feel like stepping into the unknown. For millions of passengers, food isn’t just part of the journey – it’s a huge source of anxiety, and a genuine risk to their health.

With that in mind, in this latest edition of the Onboard Hospitality Podcast, we’re joined by two people who’ve been working hard to make inflight food and beverage safer for those with special dietary needs: Julianne Ponan MBE, founder and CEO of Creative Nature, and Mel Berry, Chief Customer Officer, Vueling.

If you are an airline buyer attending WTCE this year, you won’t want to miss this episode. Joining Onboard Hospitality’s Managing Editor, April Waterston are Simone Walli, Catering Manager, Culinary Art & F&B Onboard Concepts at Austrian Airlines, Tobias Ogren, Head of Inflight Product & Catering at Sunclass Airlines. They’ve both been working as part of what WTCE is calling ‘The Journey Circle’ – a brand-new advisory group of experienced onboard hospitality buyers who have been sharing insights, ideas, and challenges shaping the future of inflight service and passenger experience, to help make the show as useful as possible for buyers like them. Listen on to find out how!

We chat with Shona Thomson, Event Manager for the World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo (WTCE), to find out what’s new for 2026, key industry trends, top tips for first time visitors and lots more. 

We check in with Kelly Stevenson, founder and Director JetVine and WTCE Ambassador for Beverages, about why she attends the exhibition, key drinks trends and why she's particularly excited about heading to Hamburg in 2026.

We chat with Melissa Adamski, WTCE Ambassador for Travel Nutrition, about what exhibitors and visitors can expect at the Hamburg show, what's new for 2026, key onboard nutrition trends and more

Nicole Strachan, En Route Head of Category, Bakery, and Georgina Mogridge, Head of Category, Dairy, chat to Editor Bev Fearis about En Route's new US cheese programme being launched at IFSA Global EXPO 2025.

As the industry heads to Hamburg for WTCE 2025, Bev Fearis, Acting Editor of Onboard Hospitality, chats with nutrition expert Melissa Adamski about why she flies from Australia to Germany for the show each year, the importance of considering nutrition in inflight catering, her role as a WTCE Ambassador and what she'll be looking out for at this year's show.

Bev Fearis chats with Shona Thomson, Event Manager for the World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo, to find out what's new, top tips for first time exhibitors and what she thinks will be the big talking points at this year's show.

Harry Turpin is the founder of The Savourists, a snack producer based in London, England. 

“We have a mega-range of Crunchits and we're flipping the snacking script. No more snooze-worthy nibbles here...Thai Chilli, Sticky Teriyaki and Sour Cream and Chive,” explains Harry, whose products can be found on easyJet and Eurostar and are stocked by the likes of Ocado and WHSmith. 

Harry started his career in food and drink more than 10 years ago in sales at Cawston Press. He took on a broad variety of roles within the business and was there when the sugar tax was introduced. 

“It was a fascinating time watching the industry demand more on health from the soft drinks category. I had a deep gut feeling that this would be echoed in other categories,” he explains. 

“I left Cawston and started The Savourists with the mission to bring the JIGGLE back to snacking!” he adds.  

In this version of the Onboard Hospitality Podcast Harry talks about the snacks, the travel industry, lessons learnt by attending WTCE in Hamburg and the experience of being present at TickEat in Milton Keynes…as well as lots more. 

thesavourists.com