Foodservice forum: 2026

Andrew Petford
Regional operations director, BM Caterers
If 2025 proved anything, it was that businesses that were able to react quickly, pivot decisively, adapt and plan strategically were the most successful. 2026 will be no different, with operators continuing to face a cluster of pressures that will test resilience across the sector. A successful commercial strategy in 2026 will rely on three fundamentals: investing in people, controlling costs and harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver tangible innovation.

Skills shortages will continue to be one of the biggest pressures. The hospitality industry is broad, from hotels and high-street coffee chains to contract caterers, and many students still regard it as a temporary stopgap rather than a genuine career choice. Awareness of contract catering, in particular, remains low.

We will be working hard to continue to shift this perception through expanding our outreach to schools and colleges. We will also continue raising the profile of contract catering so that potential employees genuinely want to join. This will include increasing our investment in TikTok to highlight our conditions, culture and the great career opportunities that are available at BM.

We will continue to embrace neurodiversitym so team members can bring their whole selves to work, and because it opens up an entirely new pool of talented people who may not have previously considered hospitality. This is, after all, a very welcoming industry.

We will also be investing heavily in our culinary teams’ development and evolving new concepts for our customers, including our Low and Slow range which celebrates the art of slow cooking. These dishes offer hearty meals that feel indulgent yet wholesome and are great value for money.

Food that ‘feels good’ physically and mentally will increase in importance to customers. Functional foods and mood-boosting ingredients are becoming more mainstream, and customers are increasingly seeking nourishment and authenticity, as well as flavour. Our culinary development work reflects this shift, and we expect this demand to grow throughout 2026.

Cost inflation is likely to remain a challenge. Energy and fuel prices may continue to fluctuate, creating pressure for clients, who will look to us for cost-effective, creative solutions. Increasing subsidies or tariffs will be difficult in an already cautious client and consumer environment, so operators will need to be smart and transparent in how budgets are managed.

Sustainability and technology will continue reshaping operations. Investment in net-zero initiatives, waste reduction and social impact work will be essential and will deliver long-term benefits. Although these initiatives sometimes involve short-term costs, strong client relationships and shared transparency will ensure environmental, social and governance benefits for both parties. Our work with CauliBox at London Bridge this year is a good example of how this can pay off.

Technology will also become a critical part of cost and quality management. In 2026, we expect to see greater use of digital data tools, from smarter booking and inventory systems to AI-enabled tills. Integrating these tools with menu planning, labour scheduling and real-time customer feedback will give clients clearer reporting, stronger forecasting and smoother operations. Ultimately, this will enhance the overall customer experience. However, the required capital investment means these advances may be more accessible to well-resourced companies like us, compared to smaller independents.

Overall, 2026 is shaping up to be another defining year for UK hospitality, and the contract catering sector in particular. Success will belong to those who embrace efficiency, invest in their teams and technology, and stay closely attuned to rapidly evolving consumer expectations.

Adam Curtis
Director, Dolce Schools Catering
If you ask me what the biggest issue facing our industry in 2026 will be, the answer is simple: free school meals funding. Not just how much funding is available, but how it is structured – and whether it’s finally fit for purpose.

Those of us working exclusively in education catering have been grappling with a broken funding model for more than a decade. Universal infant free school meals were introduced with good intentions, but the reality on the ground has never matched the theory. A flat, per-meal allocation assumes that all schools operate in the same way. They don’t. Catering is built on economies of scale, and education catering, perhaps more than any other sector, shows just how stark those differences are.

Small and rural schools have higher costs per meal, more limited staffing flexibility and older kitchens that are expensive to run. Larger schools can operate far more efficiently. Yet both are funded at the same rate. The result has been an unsustainable system that has forced many local authority catering services to retreat or disappear altogether.

What feels different as we head into 2026 is that the sector is no longer whispering about this problem – it’s speaking with one voice. At recent industry events, including LACA’s autumn seminar, there has been unprecedented consensus around the need for reform.

The School Food Review has also backed the move towards a fixed and variable model in its recent paper. A fixed-plus-variable funding model, which combines a guaranteed base subsidy for every school with a per-meal allocation, recognises the realities of catering economics and, crucially, fairness. It gives small schools a fighting chance, avoids overfunding where it isn’t needed and provides schools with the ability to afford a well-managed service.

This matters even more when you consider that the free school meal eligibility threshold is set to expand to include all households on Universal Credit by September 2026. That’s absolutely the right thing to do for children and families – but expanding entitlement on top of a flawed funding model risks compounding the issue.

Alongside funding, the other issue is the delivery of the new breakfast clubs. Statistics from Wales reveal a woeful uptake that’s not reaching those who need it most. To ensure inclusiveness and avoid it becoming a childminding service for middle-class families, the government must allow the allocation to be usable up until 9:45am, not 8.30am.

If the industry finally fixes free school meals funding, while also delivering an accessible breakfast club programme, 2026 could be the year that education catering truly moves forward – for caterers, schools and, most importantly, the pupils we serve.

Ming Lai
Chief executive officer – Premium Foods, Sodexo UK and Ireland
Food is entering a new era, shaped by personalisation, technology and sustainability. Guests are seeking smarter, more engaging and responsible dining experiences – and we must respond.

We need to adapt the food services we provide by offering more nutritious, personalised and wellbeing focused meals, leveraging technology and data to make healthier choices engaging and effortless for our guests. Introducing alternative proteins to support diverse dietary needs and preferences will continue, but one of the biggest trends we see emerging is the need for the integration of functional foods targeting gut health, cognitive function and immunity featuring on menus as standard, not optional.

We are already seeing a shift from food services to food intelligence. The next generation of food services will be defined by data-rich recipe and menu design. The menu development process needs to evolve to create a hybrid workforce of chefs who use using their culinary skills seamlessly with AI.

Every aspect of menu engineering, from ingredient selection to final presentation, will be optimised using data. Blending the creativity and expertise of chefs with the analytical power of AI for recipe and menu design will optimise costs, supply opportunities and forecasting, while also creating personalised menus for guests with consideration of different diets, health and sustainable choices.

The dining experience itself is set to become increasingly digital and interactive through the wider adoption of subscription services and pre-order kiosks or consumer applications. We need to prepare for the future needs of our guests, which will include convenient, personalised access to meals and services. Areas such as food waste reduction initiatives will also continue to evolve as we further embed carbon scoring into our menus.

Ultimately, the future is about making good choices, effortless combining the creativity of chefs with the analytical power of data and AI, so that every meal supports wellbeing, sustainability and satisfaction.

We need to take further steps towards creating more sustainable food systems, without compromising on taste or quality. As Eat’s exclusive partner from the food services industry, we look forward to translating cutting-edge science into practical, scalable solutions that make healthy food choices not just delicious and accessible, but planet-friendly too.

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