Foodservice forum: 2025
How was 2025 for your business and the industry?
Shane Kavanagh
Regional managing director, BaxterStorey
2025 felt like the year the contract catering industry step confidently into a future shaped by smarter technology, stronger environmental, social and governance commitments and more personalised dining experiences. With greater transparency across supply chain and accredited sourcing practices, we’ve made measurable strides in reducing our carbon footprint, bringing a renewed rhythm of alignment with our clients’ own environmental and wellbeing goals.
We’ve seen more people returning to offices, a wave of new building moves and clients really rethinking what their people need from the workplace going forward. This has meant a great deal of activity, innovation and change across the market. While London remains behind its pre-pandemic levels of occupancy, the wider industry continues to flex and adapt to the needs of today’s hybrid workforces.
Overall, it’s been a dynamic, energising year, but not without significant headwinds. Food and wage inflation continues to pressure margins, while the tax burden on UK hospitality remains a significant hurdle. With VAT at 20% compared to just 7% in Germany or 9% in Ireland, it’s clear that the UK’s playing field is far from level. Nevertheless, the sector has shown remarkable resilience.
Technology continues to shape the future of hospitality, with the early impacts of artificial intelligence already being visible in areas such as forecasting, menu planning and data insight. Meanwhile, food and beverage innovation continues apace, fuelled by growing consumer interest in provenance, sustainability and functional nutrition. There’s a clear shift towards food that not only tastes good but also does good for both people and the planet.
For our business, 2025 has been a particularly exciting and successful year. Our business in London has achieved double-digit year-on-year growth, with expansion across both existing sites and new partnerships. Our investment in people has truly started to pay dividends, from our focus on inclusion and employee wellbeing to our enhanced benefits and engagement programmes. Staff turnover has dropped to record lows, and we were delighted to receive a Silver Award in our first year of participation in the Inclusive Employers Standard.
Our apprenticeship programmes have also gone from strength to strength, spanning everything from chartered management degrees to Royal Academy of Culinary Arts specialist chef apprenticeships. These initiatives have been instrumental in developing talent, driving standards and fostering long-term careers across the business.
We’ve also continued to invest heavily in our food strategy. Our Obsessed philosophy, centred on sustainable nutrition and outrageously delicious food, remains at the heart of everything we do. This year we hosted our first Expo event for 300 guests, celebrating our approach to food and innovation, and proudly graduated over 100 participants from our Chefs Academy on the same day.
It’s been a year of progress, pride and momentum – and despite the many challenges ahead, it truly feels like we’re only just getting started.
Michelle Sanders
Chief growth officer, Compass Group UK and Ireland
I joined Compass earlier this year and my feet haven’t touched the ground! Innovation, growth and social value have been priorities for us and our clients across 2025.
There is no doubt that we are operating against a challenging backdrop, but with this comes opportunity – for us to support our clients and strengthen partnerships, as we tackle potential headwinds side by side. Growth has been achieved through a high proportion of new business coming from first-time outsourcing, entering into new sub-sectors, developing what we deliver for our clients and continued mergers and acquisitions.
Within the public sector, the benefits of outsourcing are being seen, as organisations need to access specialist expertise and compelling propositions to help them deliver on their objectives. There has been strong demand for 24/7 enablers, and we will be rolling out our hundredth smart market across the sector in early 2026. We are pleased to see an increase in consumer confidence using self-check-out or kiosk solutions, to enhance speed of service.
Within business and industry, we’re seeing operators raise the bar constantly as we go up against the high street. Value for money is a key area of focus for customers, but people are willing to pay for quality and an elevated experience. Office attendance continues to increase, to around three and a half days per week in London, with regional cities steadily catching up.
These hybrid working patterns are driving a sharper focus on ‘high impact’ days; when people are in the office, they expect elevated experiences, sociable spaces and premium food that feels worth the commute. Wellness has gone mainstream, with a sustained rise in demand for protein-forward dishes, plant-based balance and energising breakfasts that support wellbeing.
This year we have seen unprecedented growth in technology, which is accelerating transformation. We’re investing in aspects of tech such as AI-driven analytics, smart kiosks, dynamic menu platforms, apps and continued deployment of Just Walk Out tech. Clients increasingly view digital integration as an operational necessity, a trend that I can’t see slowing any time soon.
As an industry it is key that growth and innovation are delivered while also doing good. We are proud to have recorded £1.1bn in value, measured by the Social Value Portal. This demonstrates the impact we’re having in supporting the communities we operate in, whether it's through job creation, upskilling, sustainable operations, volunteering or fundraising. Food and support services is so much more than delivering just great service – we have the ability to positively change lives too.
I have been really struck by the culture within Compass. We live and breathe creating an environment where everyone can thrive and offer opportunities for all. It’s been wonderful to meet so many passionate, committed and client-oriented colleagues who work so hard, day-in, day-out.
As we look ahead, I remain optimistic about opportunities and sustained growth – which will push us all to think creatively, innovate and demonstrate agility in 2026. What will be integral to our continued success is not only delivering great food and services, but continuing to be a force for good.
Stephen Freeman Junior
Executive chairman, Freemans Event Partners
This year marked a major milestone for Freemans Event Partners as we celebrated our 50th anniversary. From 1975, when my dad Stephen Snr and mum Karen launched a fish and chip van in Gloucester, our family business has grown into one of the UK’s leading food and beverage providers at iconic sports and entertainment venues including Wembley, Allianz, Murrayfield, Lord’s Cricket Ground and Silverstone. Our celebrations were topped off with a royal visit from HRH Princess Royal, who toured our headquarters and unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.
This year, we also renewed our long-standing partnership with Silverstone Circuit with a multi-year contract, extending a collaboration that spans over 40 years. Another highlight was the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final, where we proudly served a sold-out crowd of 82,000 fans at the Allianz Stadium. With more than 50 street food and drink outlets, fans indulged in a diverse range of options from bao buns, Korean fried chicken and Greek wraps to prosecco, pints and barista-crafted coffee.
Our diverse food offering is also a marker of some other exciting developments for us this year; for example, our new street food concept, Cargo Global Eats, an elevated food and drink experience designed for major events. This vibrant offering brings together a dedicated area of exciting street food, boosting dwell time, increasing spend and unlocking new revenue streams. In addition, we partnered with the British Street Food Awards, the world’s largest street food competition, as it celebrated its 15th anniversary.
Our new agreement with RG Live is another demonstration of our ability to deliver exciting high-quality food concepts. Covering 13 venues, including Blenheim Palace, Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens and Leeds Castle, the partnership sees us delivering the complete food and drink operations, at Halloween and Christmas light trails. We are offering lots of exciting, themed menu options such as the Joyeux Noel burger and Santa’s Belly Buster hot dog.
Music has been another highlight, with Freemans supporting unforgettable shows from the likes of Coldplay, Sam Fender and Robbie Williams, with fans offered a choice ranging from wood-fired pizza to churros.
Despite challenges in the hospitality industry, where consumers are more cautious with spending, demand for experience-led events remains strong. We are proud to partner with leading venues to enhance these moments through exceptional food and drink, ensuring fans and visitors enjoy not just the event, but the atmosphere and energy that great hospitality brings too.
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