FOOD & DRINK
THE LUNCH REVOLUTION
CH&Co Group considers the evolution and role of workplace catering and how it can benefit your facility.
Office space is not a cheap commodity. Facilities managers are finding themselves under increasing pressure to sweat every square foot to the max, to justify the ever-increasing investment.
Under-utilised space is not an option and catering services are under scrutiny. Traditional staff restaurants have, in the main, demanded significant square footage to house kitchens and serving and seating areas, often disproportionate to overall usage. Add to this the fact that dining areas are usually empty outside of the core eating occasions, and the luxury of excess catering space has become unsustainable for many organisations.
So, how do you provide the catering services that employees expect and demand, and maximise the space throughout the working day? At first glance, this may seem a logistical nightmare, but the answer could lie in the changing eating preferences and habits of the customer.
ALL CHANGE Fact: customers are eating differently in the workplace
across many industries, reflecting the changing food trends across the eating out market.
The traditional ‘lunch hour’ is becoming a thing of the past and the parameters of ‘the lunch period’ have expanded. There has been a clear shift away from the defined lunch break when a full hot meal was enjoyed over the course of 30-60 minutes. Snacking and all-day grazing is the norm
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for many, and as the work day becomes more flexible and pressurised, meals are increasingly taken at desks rather than in a designated dining area.
“IN SOME COMPANIES
THERE IS A MOVE AWAY FROM ‘MICHELIN QUALITY’ LUNCHES, TO WHOLESOME, EXCITING, YET SIMPLER DISHES.”
The High Street is a genuine competitor for many on-site caterers, offering exciting, on-trend cuisine, just a stone’s throw from the office block, or even in outlets within offices. The Street Food phenomenon is also fuelling the consumer desire for constant change, diversity and new food experiences, whilst increasing their knowledge of and desire for the different global food types and flavours available.
As casual dining continues to dominate the eating out market, contract catering must constantly reinvent itself to stay ahead. All caterers will have experienced a growing informality in the eating preferences of customers, with traditional main meal sales reducing, and snacks, café-style service, grab-and-go, street food etc., all on the up. It’s not unusual now for operations with a deli bar and restaurant, for example, to be doing 50% of their sales through the deli.
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