FOCUS CATERING
HEALTHIER APPROACH
According to recent research by Bartlett
Mitchell, workplace wellbeing is more important
to organisations than product and service
innovation. Its report, ‘Reimagining Catering
post COVID’, found that although technology will
be integral to enhance customer experience, it
should not replace great food and service.
The challenge for employers will be to
maintain the delivery of healthy food choices
while balancing wider concerns such as
maintaining social distancing and
infection control.
The vending sector has
responded to the demand
for healthier options via
automated dispensers. AVA
research found that over
a third of new product
development from leading
food-to-go operators in 2020
was new vegan products.
Another key trend the AVA
predicts will continue to rise
in 2021 is the over-arching move
towards healthy snacking products.
Evans explains that for Sodexo:
“Wellbeing is going to remain high on
consumers’ agenda. We are still very focused on
food that is nutritious and sustainably sourced,
even when we are delivering it in convenience
formats.”
Elior has added a lot of plant-based dishes to
its menu, while through the app, is able to oƒ er
loyalty points for customers who are choosing
lower-carbon-footprint meals.
“When people are on site, nudging them
towards healthier choices is relatively
straightforward, says Robertson. “The diƒ iculty
is when more people are working from home
at least some of the time, how do we influence
good choices there? Sadly, we know that with all
those other commitments, convenience o– en
trumps the desire to eat well. So, to combat
that, our dieticians have been running webinars
and generating other added value content to
advise customers on how they can find a good
balance.”
30 AUGUST 2021
WASTE NOT
Another complication in
managing new ways of
working is food waste.
It’s diƒ icult to plan how
much food will be required
on any given day or indeed
time, with staƒ adopting
unpredictable work patterns. To
help combat this, Sodexo is rolling
out its global WasteWatch programme
at all its sites.
Says Evans: “The programme gives teams
a really simple way to calculate waste
and clear insights into what food is being
wasted and why. The programme is helping
us reduce 50 per cent of food wasted on
average.”
Bartlett Mitchell says moving away from
a traditional canteen-like counter service
to oƒ ering an A La Carte service in many of
its locations, has reduced the amount of
wastage and an increase in uptake. According
to Brydon: “A counter service limits choice
when numbers are low on site as you do not
want to fill the counters with multiple oƒ ers.
If you do, inevitably wastage will be high.
Where this is not an option, we have worked
in partnership with our clients to know the
numbers on site each day to produce to a
volume that reflects the headcount.”
Careful planning is crucial in reducing
waste agrees Miller, “for if our customers
are not in the oƒ ice every day, the need for
a hugely extensive menu that gives wide
variety through the week isn’t a priority.
Instead, by reducing the number of dishes
being produced, you can naturally control
food waste better over a smaller number of
ingredients”.
“If we know our peak days are likely to be
Tuesday to Thursday, then we need to plan
our menus with our absolute hero dishes
for those days, where we have predictable
volumes that will minimise waste.”
PUTTING HOSPITALITY FIRST
A– er 18 months of home working the raison
d’etre of the oƒ ice has moved from a place for
desk bound, solitary activities to somewhere
people go to engage with their teams and
socialise. This puts additional pressure on
workplace caterers to meet the hospitality
remit.
David Basson, Head of Beverages UK&I,
for Nestlé Professional says their research
has shown just how much of an influence
workplace catering has on productivity.
“As part of our Smart Coƒ ee launch, we
looked at the science behind workplace
productivity and identified key behavioural
needs that are relevant to most organisations
for optimising productivity. One of
these needs is ‘unplanned interaction’ –
spontaneous exchanges that strengthen weak
ties. Unplanned interactions usually take
place around an attractor, which is something
that influences where people travel in the
workplace, for example where you sign in at
reception, the hot beverage machine or water
cooler.
“Hot beverages were found to be a
powerful attractor. It’s the place where two
colleagues who may not ordinarily work
together, bump into each other while getting
a coƒ ee, get chatting, and share ideas. This
type of interaction is less formal and more
natural, breeding those valuable unplanned
interactions and ‘light bulb’ moments.”
For caterers, says Brydon the bar has to
be raised too, with the service being as
exceptional, as the innovative food oƒ erings
that help ensure occupants demands are met
within a hospitality setting. He adds: “Creating
a concierge style service will support us
with this. When teams return to the oƒ ice to
work collaboratively, we need to be there to
support them throughout the day.”
Robertson concurs: “We need to create
that sense of occasion and experience when
people are in work. And we need to be
smarter about how we can make sales on
meals when they aren’t – a hot pizza to take
home for dinner, a salad box for your lunch at
home tomorrow, whatever it might be – it’s
important for us to understand and cater to
consumers new working and living habits.”
The programme gives teams
a really simple way to calculate
waste and clear insights into what
food is being wasted and why. The
programme is helping us reduce
50 per cent of food wasted
on average.”