Sodexo takes majority shareholding in Fooditude
Sodexo has revealed that it has taken a majority shareholding in Fooditude, which delivers food to corporate office-based clients in London, including Netflix and Pinterest.
Fooditude produces fresh food from a 20,000 sq ft central production unit (CPU) in London and delivers to a client base of predominantly media and technology companies.
The investment expands Sodexo's portfolio of food services, while adding a significant offsite food production which could lead to the roll-out of further delivery models such as Good Eating Company Delivered, launched by Sodexo in August 2020.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a change in working lifestyles with the majority of office-based workers working from home this last year. Research from Sodexo suggests 88% of these UK workers would like to continuing working from home, with three days a week the most popular option (35%). The foodservice provider is reviewing its real estate and hoping to use food as a way to entice workers back to the office, or to support them when working from home through delivery options.
Last week, Sodexo launched Vital Spaces, which looks to support organisations who offer hybrid working environments across the office, home or a third workspace.
Julie Ennis, chief executive, corporate services, Sodexo UK & Ireland said: "Our investment in Fooditude is an exciting step in the evolution of Vital Spaces and the transformation of our food services in the UK and Ireland. Fooditude is a well-established and dynamic food brand, putting food right at the heart of employee experience.
"The world is changing at pace, and it is imperative that we have the right brands, production capability and digital solutions to deliver the best food services in the market, across all sectors.
Dean Kennett, managing director and founder of Fooditude, added: "We have ambitious plans for growth after 15 successful years as a premium workplace caterer to London's most forward-thinking businesses and partnering with Sodexo will accelerate those plans."
Founders Dean and Sam Kennett will retain shares in the company and will continue to operate the business under the Fooditude brand alongside their existing team.
Sodexo UK has also recently partnered with Dynamify – a foodservice technology provider – to develop an app-based digital retail platform to support the growing trend for a contactless food experience.
