The long-standing players in the institutional food service industry— Sodexo, Elior, and Compass—are among the leading institutional food service companies in France and have seen competition intensify, particularly at lunchtime. A wide variety of offerings now give employees a range of options to choose from for breakfast or lunch as they see fit, especially in major cities.
They are called Frichti, Dejbox, Nestor, la Cantiine, and Foodchéri ( with which Sodexo has partnered by acquiring a stake), as well as Uber Eats and Deliveroo…
These new competitors each have their own business model, whether it involves preparing their own dishes for delivery, delivering meals from partner restaurants, or even doing both—featuring signature recipes from renowned chefs such as Juan Arbelaez, Pierre Sang, and Yann Couvreur.
In any case, they meet the needs of an increasingly connected customer base seeking immediate satisfaction, personalized offers, and a seamless experience at any time of day… including at their workplace or on campus.
However, these key players in the food service industry—both for home and business settings—are not the only ones competing with traditional cafeteria offerings.
We can also mention the restaurants near the company, which deliver meals directly to employees' desks or offer an enticing " Click and Collect" option, allowing them to eat without waiting.
Finally, smart refrigerators like those offered by Popchef or Foodles are starting to make a name for themselves and are gradually carving out a place for themselves in the institutional food service industry.
In this context, how can the historical players evolve their offer to avoid being overtaken?
There are several possible courses of action. Their success depends on various factors, including:
A seamless customer experience, a variety of flavors, and tailoring the product offering to current consumption trends are therefore at the heart of the challenge.
To achieve this, it’s important to have the right equipment, on the one hand, andto analyze the availablecustomer data, on the other. This is the key to fully understanding customer expectations, handling high volumes, and offering a service that truly meets their needs… Something that third-party delivery platforms have clearly understood!
A school cafeteria or company restaurant can thus offer pre-ordering and Click and Collect, install ordering and self-checkout kiosks, or adopt biometric authentication and smartphone payments to go paperless.
By analyzing each customer's preferences and anticipating demand, not only are wait times reduced and inventory levels managed, but the culinary offerings also become more refined over time, driven by the insights revealed by the data.
Various initiatives and solutions already exist.
Elior is introducing “Like Eat,” its concept designed to appeal to high school students, featuring not only an activity station but also a fast-food corner tailored to the needs of young students. The concept also allows for creative product presentations and, potentially, live cooking demonstrations—which are more appealing to this generation, which is used to being entertained.
Finally, the culinary offerings in the institutional food service sector are expanding, opening up new opportunities both for customers—whose choices are growing day by day—and for food service providers, from startups to long-established companies.
Do you have a collective catering project? Do not hesitate to contact the Innovorder team to help you better meet your expectations.
