Blog
Stay up-to-date on the latest improvements we’ve made to Spoonfed, and read our take on catering news and trends from around the world. Some food for thought...
Latest Posts
You can do more!
Whether it is for those who have to regularly place orders for hospitality, or those managing budgets wanting control on the who, what, why and how much did it cost?…or if it is the kitchen team processing the orders, Spoonfed is inviting each of them to see that there is a world of solutions at hand. And you can do more! You might say, that owning a Rolls Royce would let you sit in a comfy seat and listen to the radio…well yes, but here there is far more available to you.…
Guest Orientated Solutions for Today
If the key to success for many in the hospitality sector is in embracing guest-oriented solutions for each aspect of their service then Group Ordering is a vital component. It’s worth looking back and considering what the experience was before a Group Ordering option was in place when organising catering for a meeting: - the level of stress and time wasting for the facilitator - the level of disappointment for those at the lunch table - the level of difficulty for the caterer to score highly in everyone’s feedback…
Bad News? - deal with it!
Things are getting better across the Catering and Restaurant sector - there is steady return to work for many and that will increase. As we have monitored Spoonfed users over the last year we can see that their order numbers are increasing However it’s not all good news - the cost of food is soaring, staff costs are rising and customers are still watching their spend too. And even the return of the caterer's customer base to the workplace is tempered by hybrid working patterns. It's now as important as ever for catering managers to watch the margins...…
Hybrid Working Headaches
For those in the catering sector we know that coming out of pandemic restrictions was like reaching the surface and gasping for air again. However, and continuing the analogy, the subsequent hybrid working patterns now established are akin to a ‘Long Covid’ for catering firms with its associated sluggishness. Of course, this has huge implications for corporate catering firms and those running hospitality contracts across a range of sectors. You want to be able to offer a service but it needs to adapt to changed circumstances. How can tech solutions help catering managers face this challenge? There are two sides to consider: the tools need to be available so you can be flexible and sensible in how staff are managed, and being able to manage what you offer and how you offer it.…
Don’t adventures ever have an end?
“Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story” - I’m retiring today and this Tolkien quote sums up things well. But so does ‘People make Business’ and there are a lot of them to mention I’ve been on an adventure – no doubt about that! Let me tell you about that……
'It's the Customers, stupid!'
People are already used to ordering food online these days so it just needs a simple App right? No, not really. While the amount of people ordering food online has increased this is for a simple order for later in the day. Can large, high value corporate orders really be placed with confidence, accuracy and efficiency? And when this order is for next week, and changes will doubtless be required, can phone calls and emails - and more calls/more emails - really be avoided? And can we reduce that margin for error too?! In summary, simple Apps are not fit for purpose…
Canine or ‘Can do’ Customers
How can you make sure your customers are more like cats than dogs?...Spoonfed may have a whole raft of modules for the catering team to manage every aspect of each order - It’s comprehensive! However, it is vital that all of this is fronted with a best-in-class, customer ordering experience.…
Research, Balance, and other Universal Rules of Efficiency
Have you ever seen how the flight attendants' workspace is organized? They have to feed 200 people, serve drinks, sell perfumes, and provide first medical aid if necessary. All this with a few meters of working/storage space. Although not all restaurant and catering business spaces are as restricted as airplanes, the level of organization is similar. All the things must be placed at the right spot, be easy to reach and not cause inconvenience to people using it. But what about UX design?…
Spoonfed Wins Tenders to Support Education Sector
Spoonfed cements a year of growth in the Education sector with preferred supplier awards from APUC and Holroyd Howe. Willie Biggart, EVP commented, “We were delighted to be successful in the APUC tender - it’s testimony to the efforts of the development team over the last couple of years continually introducing new features and business use cases to this sector.” These developments have seen Spoonfed secure a number of Universities and Colleges accounts across the UK and US - some independent operations and many with the largest global contract caterers.…
Can Caterers be Confident?
Being confident in things is hardly in vogue at the moment. Too many cul-de-sacs. Too many uncertainties across too many areas of life. However, for catering businesses this is a time to be on the front foot – with the right tools the uncertainties can be managed – tech solutions aren’t magic wands making difficult times disappear - but they give catering teams the ability to work through the real issues being faced:…