CATERING
Allister did not believe this. He set out to grow the business by creating a different offer, a different perspective, a different brand and to change people’s lives with food. The aim was to position the business as an independent caterer with the support and security of a large plc behind it, shaping MCS into a radical business redefining the nature and purpose of contract catering from within FM.
No one had done this before. It put food at the heart of the FM offer, an integral element of workplace strategy. It also meant that the new look MCS was competing against small independents and distancing itself from the larger players by being perceived as a quality, food-focused business run by an experienced team.
“GREAT FOOD ENHANCES
PEOPLE’S LIVES.”
It also meant a need for a new name, look and feel to add clear definition to the redefined nature and purpose of contract catering in FM.
“That meant moving away from the Mitie brand,” Allister explains. “Not totally, but we clearly needed to have a separate proposition to create our own identity in the market and be perceived as a caterer in our own right.”
It took the team two years deciding just what that should look like. The new brand identity was the culmination of hard work redefining the food proposition and the overall strategy for the business. It went far beyond a new name; it represented a different way of doing things.
“When we took the decision to rebrand in 2013, the new concept we had in mind had to sit right at the heart of our contract catering vision and champion food values. We wanted a brand that was going to underpin everything we were going to do and how we were going to do it,”he says.
One core part of this process was adopting the findings in the research of Jim Stengel, formerly of Proctor & Gamble and now
www.tomorrowsfm.com
a business and brand guru. His analysis of 50,000 organisations led him to conclude that the fastest-growing, most financially successful brands built the deepest relationships with customers. There is, he argues, a cause and effect relationship between a brand’s ability to serve a higher purpose and its financial performance.
The immediate task facing Allister’s team was to identify Gather & Gather’s defining ideal; clearly capture that higher purpose. This was the rock on which it would build its unique proposition. The answer was simple: a total commitment to food and its effect on people’s lives.
Gather & Gather returns to food; from the outset there has been no fear of innovation, no reluctance or boundaries. There is integrity about the food, its sourcing, its preparation and the thinking behind it. More than this, the company actively works to ensure its offer consistently delivers on the ‘changing lives’ promise made in 2013. All this is what has had the impact and identified by the BIFM judges.
“Wellbeing, nutrition and simply giving people the best food possible was at the heart of the offer and still is,” Allister says. “Now, as theories around workplace and productivity have grown in importance, we can make a claim that our food really does make a difference. We now work with HR and FM teams to ensure our customers are provided with healthy food, meals and snacks that boost energy levels. There is a link between great food and beverages to workplace productivity and satisfaction rates – and that is crucial to our work.”
Food is not an add on to FM services, it forms a central element in the workplace strategy of major organisations and the work of Gather & Gather and other caterers is now part of the integrated team comprising of FM, HR, IT and food service to ensure a workplace functions effectively, that its people are engaged, motivated and as productive as possible – no matter what the organisations’ respective core activity.
“AN ASSOCIATION WITH CLEANING & SECURITY WAS NOT
PARTICULARLY HELPFUL WHEN SELLING FOOD SERVICES.”
Gather & Gather maintain that great food enhances people’s lives. It is now one of the most recognised brands in FM, not just within food service.
The team has shaken up the food service sector, its commitment to its ideals, the creativity and inspiration from street food has changed how almost all food service providers operate now. The business has trebled in size and boasts clients such as Rolls-Royce, Sky, Standard Life, The National Audit Office and Lloyds Banking Group among its clients. It has gained professional recognition from the Design Business Effectiveness Awards earlier in the year – an award judged by some of the biggest brands in the UK.
Gather & Gather is living the brand values each day. There is a passion amongst its own staff and a genuine enthusiasm for its passion for food. It has without doubt changed the perception of catering within the facilities marketplace. Now, that is a big impact.
www.gatherandgather.com TOMORROW’S FM | 39
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