Foodji Study: Healthy Company Catering Enhances the Workplace
- Second Study by the Munich-based Food Tech Company Confirms the Importance of Lunch as the Most Important Main Meal
- Employee catering increases workplace attractiveness, productivity and wellbeing — and attracts every second person from home office
- Foodji Underlines the Importance of Sustainable Food and Expands Cooperation with Dean & David
Munich, June 17, 2024 — Staff catering noticeably enhances the workplace. This is the central finding of a new study by Foodji, market leader in food technology. For the second time, the Munich-based company has asked customers about their refreshments at work. Participated in the First Survey 2023 1,033 FOODJI customers Part, this year there were over a thousand again. The results confirm the high value of lunch: The proportion of people for whom it is the most important main meal at work rose by 7.8% to 57.8%. This is followed by breakfast (22.4%) and dinner (19.7%).
More recovery, higher performance
The most important goals of the break remain to satisfy hunger, recharge your batteries and exchange ideas with colleagues. Despite these needs, the majority of respondents (60.4%) continue to take a maximum of half an hour for their lunch break — that is almost four percent more than in the previous year. Meal services at work help to make better use of this time: For example, three quarters of respondents (74.9%) save up to 30 minutes by using food vending machines, which they would otherwise need to buy food, for example. Nine out of ten respondents (91.4%) i.e. feel fitter, healthier, more efficient and more motivated as a result of a healthy diet at work. In light of the fact that employees are faced with the more complex requirements of hybrid work environments increasingly stressed Are, these positive effects are all the more significant.
Company Catering Creates an Incentive to Come to the Office
In contrast to last year, this time, all respondents were also asked more comprehensively about what advantages they perceive in terms of company catering. It turns out: 94.4% agree that a supply of care makes their workplace more attractive. It also promotes social interaction: 64.8% of respondents say they spend their break more often with colleagues by eating local staff. For every second person (50.5%), it is even an incentive to come to the office.
Meal allowance: Relieve employees financially
When choosing food, the main factors are taste (99.3%), freshness (96.5%) and the effect of eating on health (91.1%). Sustainability also continues to play a role in food selection for the majority of respondents (77.9%). These results barely differ from the survey data from the previous year. The price is different, which makes a difference for 90.9% — and thus four percent more than in the previous year. It is hardly surprising that price sensitivity is increasing in times of persistently high inflation rates and falling real wages. At the same time, subsidized employee catering is becoming increasingly important against this background, as Daniel von Canal, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Foodji, explains: “Company catering is the only benefit that really reaches all employees, because everyone has to eat. Employers who offer an opportunity to take care of themselves quickly and fresh at work are not only promoting the health of their employees. The tax-free meal allowance also offers them an opportunity to effectively relieve them of their financial burden.”
Cooperation with Dean & David: Even more fresh food from the vending machine
In order to provide an even wider variety of fresh and healthy meals, Foodji has been cooperating with Dean & David since last year, whose dishes are available in Foodji vending machines. The selection is so well received that four new salads and bowls from Dean & David have been available in the Foodji vending machines since April.
“A healthy and sustainable diet is becoming increasingly important — especially at work, where employees spend a lot of time and have to do things quickly,” explains Catrin Cichon, CEO of Dean & David. “Dean & David stands for wholesome, fresh and natural meals that are produced in an environmentally friendly way and with a minimal CO2 footprint. By making our dishes available via intelligent foodji vending machines, we are helping to facilitate access to healthy and sustainably produced food around the clock — thus ensuring greater well-being and satisfaction.”
Vision: Staff catering as standard
Employers also benefit when employees come to work more motivated and fitter. “In tomorrow's working world, employee catering must become standard in every company,” sums up Felix Munte, CEO and co-founder of Foodji. “Employers not only offer their employees a tangible benefit with appropriate care solutions, they also strengthen the loyalty and motivation of their teams — a decisive advantage in the war for talents.”
