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It all starts with a poached egg: Aloft’s new breakfast pots

Learn how to poach an egg in a TurboChef and you have the makings of a new breakfast program for Marriott Intenational’s Aloft Hotels brand. That’s what Toni Stoeckl, global brand leader and vice president, Distinctive Select Brands for Marriott International told HOTELS on Friday morning as the brand announced the U.S. launch of its revitalized Re:fuel by Aloft food & beverage  program.

With a focus on providing something made-to-order, fast and convenient, Aloft has rolled out 13 portable breakfast pots, featuring on-trend food items such as freshly poached eggs, avocado and quinoa, lemon ricotta pancakes, and sweet potato hash and cheddar grits.

Marriott plans to roll the program to Aloft Hotels in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the future, where the program will be adapted to suit local cuisines and trends.

“We looked at the landscape of food in Aloft’s tier and found there was a lot of room to be inspired and offer something more relevant,” Stoeckl said. “Guests want more transparency into fresh ingredients and made-to-order items versus stale buffet food. We are making sure we appeal to different tastes and moods.”

Stoeckl said Aloft’s previous offering was customized, but not an innovative experience. “We had customized sandwiches, but it was nothing to write home about. This is more about delivering an experience,” he said.

The big investment for franchisees is the digital kiosk where the items are order and served. Each pot is labeled with its own unique and whimsical avatar sticker, which also denotes the time the pot was created. Stoeckl said the cost was “much less than US$5,000” and that food costs as a percentage of sales should be neutral.

He added, “Cost to build the kiosks is still underway and currently being evaluated as we are evolving to align with the soon-to-be-released Generation Four design across properties. However, in less than a month we have seen a 9% increase in breakfast sales and a 6% increase in GSS food quality scores.”

Stoeckl also said Aloft is leveraging the same equipment franchisees have today and that there are some costs to change the menu boards and upgrade the display items of the retail component – but it does not cost a lot more and it fits within the confines of the current operating model with no changes in staffing requirements.

Aloft Refuel

When asked to project an ROI, Stoeckl would not offer a sales projection, but he did say from a pilot standpoint, operators have seen significant increase in sales and greater guest satisfaction.

Re:fuel breakfast pots are both sweet and savory and include vegetarian options. Here is the roundup: 

  • The Original: seasoned fries, poached egg, cheese sauce, bacon and scallion
  • The Ranchero: black bean salsa, tortilla chips, avocado, lime sour cream, poached egg, cilantro, grape tomato and salsa
  • The Goodness: grains, poached egg, avocado, goat cheese, grape tomato, cucumbers, basil, honey lemon vinaigrette and salt
  • The Classic: corned beef hash, poached egg and scallion
  • The Paleo: sweet potato hash, poached egg and scallion
  • The Hearty: pork and bean base, poached egg, pepper and scallion
  • The Protein: quinoa, mushrooms, kale, basil, grape tomato, turkey sausage, poached egg, lemon vinaigrette, salt and pepper
  • The Lean Green: Brussel sprouts, kale, avocado, basil, poached egg, lemon vinaigrette, salt and pepper
  • The Southern: cheddar grits, chicken pieces, sriracha honey, poached egg, honey and scallion
  • The Classic Southern: cheddar grits, poached egg, shredded yellow cheddar, pepper and scallion
  • The Sweet: mini pancakes, assorted berries, granola, maple syrup, mint leaves and lemon ricotta
  • The Berry: overnight oat base, yogurt, fresh berries, granola, honey and mint leaves
  • The Brunch: French toast sticks, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, icing, powdered sugar and mint leaves

In addition to the pots, the new Re:fuel program includes a shakeup of the grab and go retail offering at Aloft’s properties, with an increased focus on fun, balanced, natural and locally inspired items. Products on offer at the grab and go will include Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee, Buddha Bowl Himalayan Salt Popcorn, Graze snack packs and Fairytale Fruit Gourmet Gum.

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