Gondola Foodservice: the start of a revolution in foodservice
- Frederik Matthys
- Mar 31
- 5 min read
Gondola Group is embarking on a new adventure and turning its attention to a new consumer channel: foodservice. By combining Gondola's expertise in food retail with the experience of field expert Amaury Marescaux, Gondola Foodservice is THE solution of tomorrow.
More than a database and information resource, Gondola Foodservice aims to address the lack of clarity that reigns in the foodservice sector, i.e. out-of-home consumption, hotels, restaurants and catering, collective catering, convenience stores (petrol stations, night shops, newsagents) and leisure activities. To introduce you to this new project, we interviewed its two founders: Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, CEO of Gondola Group, and Amaury Marescaux, CEO of Gondola Foodservice.
Define Gondola Foodservice in a few words...
Pierre-Alexandre Billiet: Gondola Foodservice is a revolution in a sector that everyone is talking about, in which many are active but where no one has any idea how it is organized or what the figures are. Unlike food retail, which we know very well at Gondola, foodservice lacks transparency and hard data. The players are operating in the dark. The foodservice sector is not mapped or quantified. Our interest is therefore to collect and analyze data in order to map the sector and identify opportunities for distributors, suppliers and wholesalers. That is the mission of Gondola Foodservice.
Amaury Marescaux: Gondola Foodservice is all about connecting data and industry players. With Gondola Foodservice, we are providing a solution to the lack of clarity that exists in the foodservice industry. Our goal is to connect data in order to generate insights and share them with industry players. To connect this data, we have partnered with Sparkers, the leader in SaaS in gaming, and of course, we benefit from the Gondola ecosystem to connect the protagonists through media, training, events and consulting. We want to bring rich, actionable information and quality connections together in a one-stop shop, Gondola Foodservice, so that our members can focus on what they do best: the strategy and execution of their business.
How did the idea of creating Gondola Foodservice come about?
Amaury Marescaux: Pierre-Alexandre and I both saw a major opportunity emerging in out-of-home. This sector is still untapped and shows signs of promising growth. With Gondola, which already covers retail and has its expertise and well-established ecosystem in Belgium, and my personal experience, we believe we have the necessary tools to embark on this adventure. For my part, I have experience in FMCG where I have worked at Belgian and international level in the retail, out-of-home, foodservice and e-commerce channels for various product categories. As an engineer in applied mathematics, I know that data alone is worthless, but it is the information that can be derived from it that will make the difference.
What is the basis of Gondola Foodservice's data processing model?
Amaury Marescaux: The anchor point of our model is first and foremost the data collected from a multitude of data sources, which number 30 or even 40. These sources allow us to capture transactions and consumer behavior in the market. On the technical side, we have a partnership with Sparkers, the world's number one in gaming. Thanks to their machine learning model, we will recreate the foodservice market. The second unique aspect of our model is the Gondola Group ecosystem (Media, Academy, Society and Consulting).
In a few figures, Gondola Group is a website read by 150,000 online visitors every month, 10,933 magazines distributed 9 times a year, 1,000 people trained through Gondola Academy in 2024 and Gondola Society events welcoming more than 1,730 members and guests per year.
Pierre-Alexandre Billiet: Our idea is to be the foodservice ecosystem too. We will try to integrate projects and form qualitative associations and partnerships. We are first and foremost an integrator. Our ambition is to solve a problem that exists in the market and certainly not to take someone else's place. On the contrary, we want to work together on this solution. Today, we are in very advanced discussions to integrate certain players into Gondola. Several data partners have joined us, but we are not mentioning them for obvious confidentiality reasons.
Gondola Foodservice's mission is to connect the players in the foodservice industry with each other and to offer them unique information and insights into the market.
What are Gondola Foodservice's ambitions?
Amaury Marescaux: We want to revolutionize the world of foodservice, which, based on the information available, is still stuck in the 80s. We want to bring it into 2030. We want to help the various market players to better understand their business, to better prioritize their resources, and to seek a unity that exists in the sector that will allow for a win-win situation for manufacturers, wholesalers and end customers, not forgetting of course the consumers who will be able to find the right product in the right place at the right price.
Pierre-Alexandre Billiet: Some retailers have already made some inroads into foodservice with 'on the go' products, etc., but many are lagging behind. With Foodservice, Gondola wants to help retailers and suppliers catch up in terms of foodservice development. Ultimately, the only way to achieve growth is to become a member of Gondola Foodservice. Without Gondola Foodservice, brands and distributors will not be able to grow. Suppliers and distributors who dare to invest in their future must become members of Gondola Foodservice right away because things will happen fast!
Gondola Foodservice was officially launched on March 31, 2025. What are your plans for the future?
Amaury Marescaux: First of all, to stay up to date with our activities and not miss any insights, the best way is to subscribe to our Gondola Foodservice newsletter. This is a bi-monthly newsletter in which we share information about the sector and the people who work in it on a daily basis, as well as our insights, data, information and analysis of the sector. Our strength is our ability to cover foodservice, a sector in which we are the only ones to process daily information.
The second thing to note in your diaries is our first event! We are very proud to be able to announce our first Gondola Foodservice event, scheduled for October 1, 2025, which will take place in Leuven. In line with the idea of creating links between foodservice players, our event on October 1st will consist of plenary sessions, but mainly breakout sessions and speed dating. The breakout sessions will have very specific themes and will allow for discussion in small groups. For a taste of this event, we can also announce that Gondola Foodservice will be making an appearance at Gondola Day on May 22nd, perhaps even through a debate, but the question is still under consideration...
Thirdly, Gondola Foodservice will offer training courses in person and via webinar: channel play, joint business planning, tech & AI are already on the agenda. In fact, I can already announce that the first webinar is scheduled for October. The rest of the practical information will follow in the coming weeks and will be communicated via the Gondola Foodservice newsletter, which you should not forget to subscribe to in order to stay up to date with the latest news. Finally, in terms of consulting, we will deliver our first consultancy report at the end of the year.
The challenge is a big one and our mission is complex. We need all the players in the industry to solve this common problem. It is by working hand in hand that we will be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by foodservice. Don't hesitate any longer and subscribe now to the Gondola Foodservice newsletter and stay up to date with news and information from the sector!
