EP Insights & Action

INSIGHTS STERN CONSULTANCY
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important differentiator between universities
– and I thought it was all about the learning!
As universities and colleges develop their
campuses, we are seeing catering being
built in. Here, it’s essential that it’s flexible
to reflect the huge population swings
throughout the year. Pop ups are a necessity,
and handily reflect what we see in the evergrowing
street food markets. Boutique, local
brands with interesting and very international
food concepts are the way forward. The
days of it all being about nutrition and
balanced menus are disappearing fast, with
the commercial imperative and customer
satisfaction dominating. Luckily, it’s a
virtuous circle with the increased sales these
appealing food offers deliver, driving sales
and profitability and therefore creating
commercially viable facilities. Wellbeing is
now also being factored in not only in terms
of the food on offer, but also in relation to the
layout of dining environments.
Staff restaurants are
like the Titanic, whilst
what we really need are
multiple speedboats.
This trend is now morphing into the
workplace, probably in a more sophisticated
and sometimes slightly less commercial way,
as employers may have additional targets
to achieve through their catering offer, such
as increased collaboration or even good
old high levels of service to support their
hard working people. Indeed, there’s also
an argument that there may be some value
in sacrificing a little of the commercial
performance of catering outlets in return
for subsidised healthy foods, the value of
which can be reflected in a healthier, more
productive workforce.
The trend away from a tray with meat and
two veg, a hot pudding and a cold drink is
well and truly established. Hand-held food,
freshly prepared in front of the customer
(often a clever illusion) for them to grab
and go. Traditional meals are stretching and
opening times are reflecting this. Companies
are finding they can make use of what
may have been dead space outside of meal
times for informal meetings and even those
infamous “casual collisions”, as coined
by Google.
I loved a recent analogy which suggested
staff restaurants are like the Titanic, whilst
what we really need are multiple speedboats.
This may be a little extreme, as there is
probably always going to be room for the
traditional in some environments. What is
clear however is that catering should now
be considered as a core part of any working
environment and should ideally be designed
in from the outset.
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