Food chain, SumoSalad and Lagardere Travel Retail have been awarded Partnership of the Year at the 32nd annual Frontier Awards, which recognise global innovation and excellence in travel retail.

The salad bar chain also opened its first Melbourne-based Green Label store in the newly developed Chadstone Shopping Centre, last week.

Matthieu Mercier, CEO of Lagardere Travel Retail, said they are thrilled to be globally recognised for the partnership.

“We continue to see an impressive growth in the healthy foodservice sector, and this award is yet another indication that our partnership is progressing,” Mercier said.

“We’re very excited about our future with SumoSalad, and our shared mission of bringing world class quality, healthy fast food to travel retail,” he added.

Lagardere Travel Retail partnered with SumoSalad in November 2015, opening the first SumoSalad Green Label store in travel retail in Sydney Airport’s Domestic T2 terminal.

SumoSalad will open a second store in Sydney Airport’s International Terminal soon, and in 2017, the company will open its first SumoSalad in Melbourne Airport T2.

Luke Baylis, CEO and Co-Founder of SumoSalad, said the partnership with Lagardère Travel Retail supported their passion to make premium and locally-sourced healthy food a convenient and affordable option for everyone – “even when travelling”.

Lagardere have a strong market position in European travel market, operating over 700 foodservice outlets across 60 airports and 100 railways. The travel retailer group said its partnership with SumoSalad provides opportunities for further growth in the Pacific region.

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