Although employees generally spend less than an hour a day on their lunch break, they still attach as much importance to eating well. The catering solutions in companies must therefore be of high quality, fast and efficient, to satisfy the demanding stomachs of employees!
Introduced a few years ago, the connected canteen adapts to the new consumption requirements of collective catering. Modern, flexible and innovative, the digital canteen offers healthy, balanced and seasonal meals, while adapting to the schedules of your employees, day by day. What is a connected canteen? How does it work? What are the existing solutions on the market? We tell you everything about canteens 2.0!
Definition of a digital canteen
The connected canteen is a simple and intelligent solution designed for all companies. It seduces more and more peoplein the plate, thanks to its proposal of balanced and seasonal meals, with options for all diets (vegetarian, vegan, etc.), and in the premises, thanks to the optimization and fluidity of lunch time, made possible by an intelligent connected ecosystem.
What is a connected canteen?
A connected canteen, or digital canteen, is a concept that consists of offering meals from a digital platform, usually a mobile application or a website.
How a digital canteen works can vary, but in general, users can order meals from the app or website, which are prepared in a central kitchen and delivered directly to the workplace in a single daily delivery.
Digital canteens offer a variety of menus, with options for all tastes and diets, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free. In keeping with the times, dishes are often prepared with fresh, seasonal and quality ingredients.
The advantages of a digital canteen are numerous:
For the company, it is a practical and easy to set up solution for companies that do not have a dedicated catering space.
For employees, it offers a convenient and quick solution for employees who don't go home to eat during their break, it allows them to eat balanced and healthy meals, and it offers great flexibility for employees who wish to eat at the time of their choice.
More and more companies and start-ups are getting into the digital canteen business, offering a new culinary experience to their employees.
How to set up a digital company canteen?
First, it's best toask your employees about their food needs and preferences. Conduct a small survey with everyone to gather opinions on what kind of solutions they prefer: ordering on an app, a connected fridge, etc.
Then contact the various digital canteen providers available in your geographical area. Together, you establish the terms and conditions for order management, meal delivery and payment (meal tickets, remote payment terminals, etc.).
Choose the operating mode of your connected canteen. There are different models of digital canteens: the self-service digital canteen where employees order their meals from an application or an order terminal, the connected fridge, the canteen area with connected meal trays...
Finally, provide a dedicated space and the furniture to receive the orders in your premises. It is installed either by you or by the digital canteen, and the rates are negotiated between the "digital restaurateur" and the guest.
👉 Find out more: discover our webinar hosted by foodservice experts "AI at the service of foodservice".
How to manage a connected canteen?
The digital canteen provider gives you access to an online ordering space (web page and/or mobile application), to which all your employees have access.
Every morning or a few days before, your employees connect to the online space to access the list of dishes, menus and formulas of the day. In a few clicks, they choose their meal, validate their order and that's it!
Typically, the digital canteen delivers all meals in reusable packaging, in one consolidated delivery directly to the office, to reduce the carbon footprint.
The cost associated with the implementation of a digital canteen depends on many factors, such as the size of the company, the number of expected users, the complexity of the proposed menus and the technology used. The cost of the meal can be covered entirely by the company or by your employees: the rates are adapted on a case-by-case basis, according to your terms.
Good to know: the cost associated with the implementation of a connected canteen 2.0 is amortized in the long term thanks to the reduction of costs related to the management of a physical canteen, such as rental costs, personnel and supply.
Digital canteens: 7 existing solutions on the market
Discover 7 concepts of gourmet and connected digital canteens, which have transformed the lunch break of thousands of employees throughout France.
1. Foodchéri
Founded in 2015 in Paris, Foodchéri is a French meal delivery company prepared by chefs with fresh, seasonal ingredients and delivered directly to your workplace. Menus are renewed regularly and include vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free options.
Foodchéri's delivery service allows you to order individual dishes or complete menus for several people, with the possibility of planning deliveries in advance.
Foodchéri is also committed to sustainable development, limiting food waste and using eco-responsible packaging.
2. Frichti
Frichti is a French meal delivery company created in 2015 in Paris. It offers a wide selection of fresh and homemade dishes, prepared by professional cooks in Frichti's kitchens and delivered directly to your home or workplace.
Frichti distinguishes itself by the quality of its ingredients and the variety of its dishes, which range from the classics of French cuisine to the specialties of world cuisine. The menus change daily and are prepared according to the seasons and market products.
In addition to a la carte meals, Frichti also offers formulas, sandwiches, desserts and drinks.
Frichti is committed to sustainable development on a daily basis by using eco-responsible packaging and working with local producers to limit the carbon footprint of its ingredients.
3. Melchior
Melchior is a complete digital catering service for companies. Thanks to the connected fridge, the products are available in self-service 24/7, without having to order, for about the amount of a meal ticket. The fridge is filled every day with meals prepared by Melchior's chefs, using seasonal and local ingredients.
The fridge is equipped with a contactless payment system and a mobile app that allows users to order meals in advance, view nutritional information and track inventory in real time. Meals are delivered in eco-friendly packaging, reducing plastic waste.
The Melchior connected fridge is an initiative that aims to offer a healthy and convenient alternative to the quick and often unbalanced meals offered in traditional vending machines.
4. Popchef
Popchef, cuisine sur-mesure, works daily to offer an alternative to fast food and industrial catering, by offering dishes prepared by chefs from fresh, quality ingredients. Popchef is present in several French cities, including Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille, and continues to expand to meet the growing consumer demand for healthy and convenient food options.
The way Popchef works is simple: diners can order meals from an app or website, choosing from a selection of dishes for lunch and dinner. The meals are then prepared the same day by local super cooks and delivered in insulated bags to ensure freshness.
👉 To go further: connected fridge: innovation in collective catering
5. Bolk
Bolk is the promise of "eating extra good extra fresh for the price of a meal ticket. Without moving from the office." Founded in 2018, Bolk works with local producers to get fresh, quality ingredients that are then prepared in their central kitchens before being delivered to the workplace.
Their mission is to provide healthy, balanced, quality meals to a wide audience, using local and seasonal ingredients.
6. Fresh cancan
Fraîche Cancan is a gourmet and balanced digital corporate canteen. This canteen founded in 2017 is now asserting itself as the new "fresh and French" company canteen. Fraîche Cancan is imposing itself on the market with its healthy, responsible and zero waste offer.
It has 4 different offers to discover: the Fresh Cafet, the Connected Fridge, the Fresh Caterer and the Cliqué-Livré.
7. Foodles
The number one advantage of Foodles is that it is present everywhere in France, but also in Belgium and in the Greater London area. With a great experience in the catering business, Foodles serves 10,000 meals a day and more than 400 companies enjoy their varied and delicious cuisine!
The advantages of digital cooking
The connected canteen is gaining more and more followers and is seducing people for its many advantages.
Available 24 hours a day
One day in the office, one day teleworking at home? To avoid the headache of managing meals in the company at the time of hybrid work, the connected canteen adapts to the rate of presence of employees from day to day. The connected canteen, via a connected fridge or on-site delivery, appears to be an excellent solution for innovative companies and start-ups. Are your employees in the middle of a creative process? With canteen 2.0 and connected fridges, employees are not cut off in the middle of a work session. They choose the best time to take a lunch break, according to their work rhythm. This way, the productivity, autonomy and creativity of your teams are always at their best!
Healthy and balanced meals
The connected canteens are committed to offering a wide variety of menus, homemade recipes, seasonal and freshness for the lunch break. Each dish is prepared in the morning by a team of motivated cooks!
An offer for all diets
Since each employee chooses what to eat, the digital canteen allows everyone to enjoy menus adapted to all diets. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, pork-free options... The connected canteen provides good food for everyone!
Allows to gain m2
The installation of a digital canteen can save you space in terms of surface in your premises. It is not necessary to install a fully equipped kitchen that complies with current standards. The delivery of meals in grouped order requires only a small space. Only a space equipped with tables and chairs to allow a convivial lunch break between colleagues is necessary. Similarly, for the installation of a connected fridge, a few square meters are sufficient.
Reduces costs
Forget about the personnel costs of cooks, service agents and maintenance. With the connected canteen, you reduce your costs related to the implementation of a traditional company restaurant. Indeed, it requires less staff and investments in equipment, raw materials and maintenance of the premises.
The canteens of tomorrow
Today, students and employees are looking for meaning in their work. The new generations wish to have more freedom, to be able to telework as they wish, with flexible hours, to evolve in a pleasant work atmosphere, favourable to autonomy, creativity and productivity... Thanks to the great flexibility it offers, the connected canteen represents a solution that adapts to the desires of your employees to boost their motivation and meet the aspirations of the new generations, with responsible, seasonal, fresh and local products.
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