The recipe for workplace engagement: connecting and learning through food

Food as a gateway to learning

Food experiences are also a powerful tool for education. 

“The educational aspect can be a driver to be in the office regularly as people want to learn more food skills. They think it's interesting to learn from a chef how to make their own sourdough or how to make more allergen-friendly or plant-friendly dishes. People sometimes feel like they're missing out on the educational part if they're not attending the office, so it can definitely create excitement,” Heather says.

This approach doesn’t just broaden horizons – it can spark lasting change in habits, both inside and outside the workplace.

“There’s the opportunity to help people consider things that they otherwise wouldn't. They could see more sustainability-related food choices or more plant-based foods than they usually would cook for themselves at home. Or maybe different flavours or new ingredients that they hadn't considered before – it expands their food repertoire,” Heather adds.

At ISS Guckenheimer’s test kitchen in California, chefs develop accessible, authentic recipes, such as the ‘Live to 100’ programme, inspired by the longest-living populations.

“Live to 100 took inspiration from the Blue Zones – recipes inspired by the longest-living populations of the world. We ran a whole educational campaign around it and people really liked it because there was already a lot of discussion at the time due to the documentary on Netflix, so we had a really good response from that,” Heather says.

Hannah shares  the view of themed food choices as a driver of engagement in food experiences: 

“Each year we launch an annual campaign of inclusive curated events and themed menus including Black History Month, South Asian Heritage Month, Sustainable September and more. These can be activated across all brands within the UK portfolio and help to support employee engagement, adding excitement and curiosity to their workplace,” she says.

The future: technology and sustainability on the menu

Technology is meanwhile helping to drive efficiency for organisations and service experience for users. In March 2025, one of our UK customers installed a self-service till in the deli area of its restaurant and an AI till by the hot counter, and saw a 35% reduction in queuing time and 10% rise in sales in the first three months.

“We’re continuously innovating with technology to enhance the customer experience, such as the use of our pre-ordering app, self-checkouts or AI self-scanning tills – using data, behavioural science and market trends to inform the best solutions to align to our customer needs,” Hannah explains.

Employees are mostly optimistic about AI’s potential in the workplace, and Heather says it will support personalised meal choices and health goals, “for example we can help people who have particular health needs by pointing them to a meal that aligns with those goals.”

Sustainability is also front and centre, with more than eight in ten employees valuing green initiatives at work.

“Facilities management partners can serve tens of thousands of meals a day so the impact is tremendous. We need to continue on the path to being more sustainable by using some of the latest technology to help us get there,” Heather adds.

Our partnership with Winnow is a prime example, enabling ISS Guckenheimer to greatly exceed its goal of reducing food waste by 50% in 2024. Meanwhile, Hannah  says that through recipe engineering, the UK team has been able to reduce ruminant meat purchases by 30%.

“Through the World Resources Institute’s Coolfood programme and our partnership with Pro Veg, we’re increasing plant-forward choices and track the carbon impacts of our menus. Supporting sustainability and employee wellness, our food philosophy is underpinned by a plant-forward approach,” Hannah says.

If you want to create a workplace that people want to attend regularly, food experiences are vital. By connecting and educating employees with food services underpinned by technology and sustainability, organisations can transform everyday meals into extraordinary experiences – ones that drive engagement and inspire lasting change for people in and outside of the office.