Three of our senior team attended a breakfast meeting at the QE II Centre, London on 1 December, when EP Business, in partnership with AlixPartners, launched their 10th Anniversary Foodservice Growth Report 2022.
It was a great event and whilst Commercial Director, Candice Finn and Joe Parfitt, Managing Partner, Education attended as delegates, our Non-Executive Director, Vince Pearson was invited to participate as a member of the discussion panel.
The sessions included some very clear messaging around the challenges, and more importantly the opportunities, that face the foodservice industry in the coming months and years.
Candice Finn commented on the event: “It was fantastic to attend my first event as part of the Litmus team. Whilst it’s clear many challenges will continue to exist in our market, I left feeling incredibly positive, as these challenges provide opportunities for companies like ours who continue to adapt and innovate.
“In these unprecedented times, clients are rightly calling for increased transparency and communication to provide them with the reassurance their contracts and services are being managed responsibly. This means agile contract monitoring, data-rich benchmarking, and consumer insight and analysis have never been so important; all of which are at the heart of our approach and ensure we can work in true partnership with our clients as their trusted expert.”
A brief synopsis of the Report highlights:
- The catering sector has faced multiple challenges post-covid impacting revenue mix, cost base and operational capacity
- There has been a solid recovery post-covid, with healthcare and education proving resilient and a rapid rebound in stadia and heritage. B&I and travel are now recovering more strongly
- Inflation, regulation and innovation are accelerating the outsourcing trend
- Evolving consumer behaviours and demands around sustainability, health and personalisation are driving the need to better understand and directly connect with consumers
- Food and hospitality is being used to encourage workers to return to the office but some work patterns have permanently changed and face to face time is a priority in the office –leading to a need for more flexible solutions
- The ongoing talent and labour shortages require caterers to strengthen recruitment and retention strategies
- Early signs of merger & acquisition activity are recovering with this seen as a way to drive scale, cost savings and market access/offering expansion, accelerating growth quicker than relying solely on organic activity.
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The Litmus Team