Real ingredients, vibrant fruit, indulgent layers in plastic-free packaging: LILO’s allergen-friendly desserts are a smart, inclusive and sustainable dessert solution for airlines, which are being enjoyed by a growing number of passengers on Asia-Pacific flights.

Catering for passengers’ dietary needs is an important part of the inflight experience, yet serving special meals shouldn’t mean compromising on taste, quality or enjoyment. But how do you deliver quality, sustainability and operational efficiency?

That’s LILO Desserts’ ‘sweetspot’. Their innovative fruit-forward, creamy, gluten-free desserts in plastic-free packaging are being conveniently stowed and served by crew, and enjoyed by passengers, across a growing number of airlines including Air New Zealand, Virgin, Singapore, United, Delta and many more.

Enjoyable and inclusive

All of LILO’s desserts are made from quality ingredients, including the best of New Zealand fruit, which delivers vibrant flavour with less added sugar. Fresh Thai coconut and New Zealand grass-fed dairy recipes, with lactose-free, gluten-free and halal options means that most dietary needs are covered.

“LILO is about making joy more accessible, which includes when you’re 35,000 feet in the air, so our desserts are made from real ingredients that are indulgent but inclusive,” said Alex Worker, Co-Founder and CEO of LILO Desserts, which has supplied well over 2 million airline servings to date.

The company recently took its food innovation to new heights with its ‘quintessentially New Zealand’ Golden Kiwi & Lemon (Coconut) cheesecake (vegan, gluten-free, halal), which is being served on New Zealand’s largest carrier for all international flights to Asia.

Smart and sustainable

As well as delivering an indulgent dessert experience for passengers, Alex says LILO is focused on helping airlines meet their sustainability requirements and operational efficiency goals.  

“We know that plastics are a real pain point for airlines. LILO’s desserts alleviate this headache with our non-plastic packaging, which includes a compostable pot. Sustainability goes a step further with our use of revalued fruit from New Zealand orchardists. From our discussions with airlines, we understand the importance of providing a responsible and sustainable dessert option that aligns with their ESG requirements as well as passenger expectations.”

Carefully-considered convenience

The desserts are individually portioned (70g) and packaged, making it easy for airline crew to serve and clear. The ability to double-stack allows the desserts to be compactly stowed. Once quickly thawed utilising LILO’s QuickThaw technology, the desserts have a shelf-life of 5 days, which reduces waste and provides the airlines with flexibility of when and how they serve. 

“All of these carefully-considered design features help achieve operational efficiencies for catering companies and airlines,” said Russell Haines, Co-Founder and Head of Product and Brand at LILO.

A smart dessert solution that stacks up

“Airlines and crew can conveniently and confidently serve allergen-friendly desserts that travel well and present beautifully: from the sustainable, elegantly branded pot with safety-sealed lid, to the juicy fruit-topped dessert that lies beneath. This dessert works on so many levels.”

As well as increasing its APAC presence and expanding its partnerships with airlines, LILO is developing new products to meet growing consumer demands, including protein-rich options. 

Desserts for the future

“We’re shaping LILO into a global dessert platform so that partners can customize products for their channels and customer needs. We think there’s huge potential to partner with airlines who are catering for increasingly diverse passenger preferences and needs, whether those are flavour, dietary, health, cultural or ethically-based.

“LILO has reimagined the humble cheesecake into an indulgent, sustainable and convenient every day dessert, which we think is a win/win for carriers and passengers. We would welcome talking to airlines keen to take in-flight desserts to new heights.”

LILO Desserts is a New Zealand-based company with team members and growing partners in Australia, Thailand, UK, USA, and Hong Kong.