Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2025

and high-impact ways to activate that shift,” she says. “They generate revenue, reduce costs and unlock new marketing potential, all while improving the day-to day experience for travelers.” In 2018, Enliven assisted Philadelphia International Airport’s (PHL) concessions developer MarketPlace PHL in entering a 10-year pouring rights agreement with PepsiCo that includes a broad portfolio of non-alcoholic beverages, including sodas, waters, juices, teas, energy drinks and sports drinks. “Prior to this partnership, PHL was the only major property in our market – airport or otherwise – without a formal pouring rights agreement in place,” notes Kate Sullivan, chief commercial officer for PHL, and who, like Neisen, points out how common these types of contracts are in other major businesses. “Colleges and universities, theme parks, convention centers, large hotels and even airlines benefit from the strategic, financial and experiential advantages of beverage agreements. It raised a key question: why not the airport?” While there’s questions about the effects of pouring rights agreements on operators, for airports these deals have many clear benefits, the most obvious of which is increased revenue. “Across the airports we serve, these programs have generated millions of dollars in recurring, non-aeronautical revenue, a revenue stream that’s both stable and predictable,” Neisen says. “One airport executive even shared with us that during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, their beverage partner – thanks to the guaranteed payments in the pouring rights agreement – was their highest-paying concessions partner. That’s the power of

Above, Page 38: In addition to generating revenue for airports, strategic beverage partnerships often involve the beverage brand investing in marketing activations in the airport that engage and entertain travelers. Examples include the Pepsi Lounge at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; appearances from the Washington Commanders at Washington Dulles International Airport; and the LIFEWTR Lounge and Holiday Oasis Lounge at Philadelphia International Airport.

Above: Kate Sullivan, chief commercial officer for Philadelphia International Airport, says that since the airport’s concessions developer MarketPlace PHL entered a 10-year pouring rights agreement with PepsiCo in 2018, the airport has seen significant financial gains.

this model: even when traffic slows or retail operations are disrupted, the airport continues to benefit from a consistent, contractually secured source of income.” With Enliven negotiating the deal, Washington Metropolitan Airport Authority (MWAA) entered a 13-year pouring rights agreement with PepsiCo in 2020 to supply the non-alcoholic beverages at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). “The Authority receives an annual sponsorship fee, a business development support fee and a share in the vending revenues, all of which increases non-aeronautical revenue in direct funding,” says Peggy Garcia, MWAA’s finance and administration manager. The financial gains at PHL have been substantial, Sullivan notes. “The agreement is expected to generate more than $25 million in revenue for PHL over its term,” she says. “Every year, results have exceeded projections. This revenue helps keep airline and passenger costs down. Vending enclosures have elevated the airport aesthetics and provide a 22-percent lift in sales with commissions that go back to the airport.”

complex. It requires tight coordination, deep planning and strategic decision making at every level. That’s why blunt policy instruments like airport-imposed pouring rights don’t work – they overlook the intricacies of our model and risk undermining it.” Brand Storytelling Enliven’s Neisen claims that in recent years there’s been a shift in how airports think about their concessions programs, and that poses an opportunity for companies like Enliven. “Airport concessions programs aren’t just retail and food service providers, they’re platforms for brand storytelling, innovation and passenger engagement – beverage partnerships are one of the most efficient

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AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2025