Qizini’s new product developers have extensive experience of the taste preferences of airline passengers, having been a long-standing supplier to KLM. As part of this partnership they undertook a number of in-house taste trials to ensure the final product would be well received by consumers.

The partners discovered that using an older bird tends to make the meat darker, with a much stronger flavour than the meat normally produced from broiler chickens. Herbs were added in the meat cooking process to get the right flavour and colour.

Various taste trials were conducted to ensure that the taste, colour and texture of the meat met consumer acceptability whilst still being affordable. After three months of trials and adjustments an end product was achieved and accepted by both companies.

Not only had they developed a product that was fully accepted under taste trials, they had developed a thinly sliced meat from a 2kg bird that produced more end-product than a normal broiler chicken – making affordability stretch even further.

Peter Koelewijn, General Manager at Rondeel said:

It was a risk to invest in a project that may not have worked. We conducted many taste trials until the product was right but all the time we had 100% belief that the concept was viable and that we would find a solution. It is our company ethos to provide our hens with the best life possible and we wanted to develop a more sustainable concept which meant making their lives more meaningful than just laying eggs.

Meeting KLM’s higher welfare requirements

Qizini has been a long-term supplier to KLM for the sandwiches served on-board European flights. In 2013, as part of a new tender for its sandwiches, KLM challenged Qizini to include chicken meat from a higher welfare system, in line with KLM’s Good Chicken Award from Compassion in World Farming. In addition to meeting these higher welfare standards, Qizini developed a new concept of ‘local farmers feeding the world’ where all ingredients used in the sandwiches were locally sourced, ethical produce which met KLM’s wider sustainability goals and that could ‘tell a story’.

In response to the tender, Qizini invested in a marketing video to ‘sell in’ its product offer by ‘telling the story’ of the provenance of all the ingredients used in their sandwiches, including the higher welfare chicken meat from the Rondeel system.

Qizini’s Commercial Manager, Frank Vos said,

As one of KLM’s suppliers, we know that ethical sourcing is key for the food they offer to customers on board their flights. We were very excited about the prospect of being able to offer something a bit different – a product which truly values the life of laying hens, which are raised under such humane conditions. All of the ingredients that go into our sandwiches for KLM use the most natural, local ingredients and through this partnership we are able to use local farmers to feed the world.

Qizini supplies approximately 3.5m chicken sandwiches to KLM each year, which equates to 80-90% of the end-of-lay hens from the Rondeel system (approximately 90,000 hens per year). The whole bird is utilised within this supply chain as Qizini uses any excess birds for its other product ranges outside the KLM sandwich supply.

KLM is ambitious about its Corporate Social Responsibility and innovation is a top priority. As such they are in constant dialogue with their partners and suppliers to ensure their social and environmental commitments are fulfilled.

The key driver behind this project was the real commitment from all parties involved. Through its tender process, KLM helped create the demand for higher welfare chicken. By working in close partnership with its suppliers they had full transparency of the supply chain for their sandwiches and were able to source a viable, sustainable product that met all their ethical goals, and one which has been warmly received by KLM’s customers.

Communicating higher welfare

We loved the concept of using this chicken meat in our sandwiches. It’s one that truly values the hens’ lives and is a great story to tell. By rationalising our on-board food offer and reducing the variety of sandwich flavours we use, we are now able to provide our customers high quality, ethical food at the same cost.

We feel it’s important to share with our customers that we source ethical ingredients for our in-flight meals and communicate this clearly on the sandwiches we serve on board. Interestingly, since we have put our new sandwich supply in place, it’s the first time we have received any feedback from our customers – via our crew, letters and emails – and it’s all been positive. Through this partnership, we have been able to meet our sustainability goals affordably and will strive to seek out further sustainable sourcing opportunities in future.

Roel Verwiel, Food & Beverage Manager at KLM