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Taste of the World gives dynamic flavour to show opening T he inaugural culinary demonstration of the Taste of the World saw chef Akira Black in action creating his New Style Chef Akira Sashimi in a mouth-watering display watched by over 200 fascinated visitors compered by Dermot Davitt, President of the Moodie Davitt Report. Using a flame to dress the outer flesh of the salmon filet, Chef Akira very surprisingly explained that the effect of this would be for the “fish to have a sweet, but not fish flavour”. He also explained how, in addition to taste, presentation, and texture, the new signature dish also had “sound” provided by the crunch of the “not overpowering” onion. Once prepared the guests were all treated to freshly-prepared samples of the New Style Chef Akira Sashimi, with everyone roundly confirming experience of these very unexpected, and absolutely delightful taste sensations! Tuesday 12 May 2026 14 T F W A D A I L Y The World of Innovation brings together technology, retail concepts and product launches within a dedicated space. World of Innovation CXG: Supporting luxury brands and travel retail stakeholders in unlocking retail performance C XG (WoI 0) is a global partner supporting luxury brands and travel retail stakeholders – airports, operators, and brands – in unlocking retail performance. “As the industry shifts from network expansion to performance optimisation, the priority is clear: maximise the value of every passenger interaction with existing resources,” says Thibaut Fromageau, CCO, CXG – Customer Experience Group. “CXG focuses on the commercial KPIs where customer experience and in-store execution directly drive revenue growth – bridging insights and actions to deliver measurable business impact.” CXG views retail performance as an ecosystem – where both on-stage interactions and off-stage enablers play a critical role. “Our approach therefore assesses not only the customer-facing experience, but also the underlying drivers such as the Trilogy ecosystem (degree of alignment), tools, processes, price positioning, product offering, incentive schemes, team capabilities, and employee experience,” explains. Through its ‘Close-the-Loop’ framework, CXG suppors travel retail players to: • Measure the experience across the ecosystem by combining customer, employee, and expert perspectives. • Analyse results against retail KPIs and benchmarks to define clear, action-oriented roadmaps. • Activate targeted initiatives, including capability building, workshops, coaching, and scalable learning via the CXG Learn platform. • Monitor performance and business impact through continuous measurement and tracking. “This structured approach ensures that insights are systematically translated into tangible retail performance improvements,” says Fromageau. TFWA World of Innovation represents a key opportunity for CXG to reconnect with existing clients and partners, while also engaging with new stakeholders across the travel retail ecosystem. “Our objective is to better understand current market priorities, exchange on emerging business challenges, and explore collaboration opportunities that can drive tangible business outcomes,” Fromageau explains. “We also see it as a platform to share perspectives on how experience and execution can unlock additional revenue potential in today’s performance-driven environment.” Supported by: Held in Singapore: Agora Partner: