Facilities management firm Almeda has launched a new catering division with the ambition of making the traditional staff canteen a thing of the past.
The Keynsham-based family business wants large firms to think about the way they feed their staff and so change perceptions about food and drink in the workplace.
The UK food service management market is estimated to be worth £4.1bn – with growth of 3% over the past year – but Almeda says many staff canteens rely on processed and unhealthy food rather than fresh fare.
The firm is already working with building materials company Hanson UK to overhaul its in-house restaurant, not just building a new space but also providing and cooking the food.
Almeda surveyed Hanson staff on the types of food they wanted and has created a menu that is rich in vitamins, minerals and iron.
Almeda managing director Brady George – a long-term advocate of healthy eating who built a vegetable patch at the firm’s offices so staff could grow their own food – said: “A lack of nutrients from too many processed foods and not enough fruits and vegetables can leave people feeling as if they’re working at only a fraction of their capacity.
“But not only that, fresh food tastes better. There has been a real drive towards eating more healthily at home, so why not at work?
“For us as a business it makes sense – as we are already managing every aspect of our customer’s buildings, so why not their in-house food provision.”
Almeda has appointed Gordon Cox to oversee the launch and hired a team of food and drink experts and branding professionals to work on the project. Gordon was previously food and beverage manager at Wyevale Garden Centres.
Almeda is to stage an open day in June and will be inviting food bloggers to sample first-hand the types of food that it will be making available.
Brady added: “It’s a major investment for us as a business but it will be game-changing. We are now calling on businesses to get in touch and see what we can offer and how it would benefit them.”
Almeda works across a diverse range of sectors and manages a number of iconic buildings such as the Bristol & Bath Science Park, SS Great Britain, art gallery Arnolfini and Watershed media centre.
Pictured: Almeda head of catering operations Gordon Cox, left, with MD Brady George
