- Import restrictions are the biggest challenge for Royal Caribbean food and beverage procurement.
- The group has achieved approximately 80pc local sourcing in Europe.
- Lobster production has declined by nearly 40pc in recent seasons.
- Branzino has become nearly unavailable in some markets despite being farmed.
- Royal Caribbean uses an AI-driven demand planning tool for item-level forecasts.
Royal Caribbean Group associate vice president Vina Jumpp has identified import restrictions as the biggest challenge facing the company’s food and beverage procurement. The team maps required certificates for each destination country before sourcing decisions, with restricted items shifting to local sourcing. The group has been driving toward regional sourcing for five years, achieving approximately 80pc local sourcing in Europe across all product categories.
Jumpp stated availability keeps her up at night, noting that lobster production has declined by nearly 40pc in recent seasons due to ocean temperature changes affecting migration patterns. Branzino has become nearly unavailable in some markets despite being farmed, lamb has been affected by weather, and beef production is at a historic low. She stated if there is no product, no amount of money can buy it.
New products are evaluated through the company’s food cutting program, a structured annual process in which chefs travel to regional markets and evaluate 150 or more items onboard ships. Royal Caribbean has also developed an AI-driven demand planning tool that factors in demographics, regionality and other variables to generate item-level forecasts by region.
Vina Jumpp, associate vice president at Royal Caribbean Group, shared, “The biggest challenge we face today is on import restrictions. What keeps me up at night is availability. If there’s no product, no amount of money can buy it.”
