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Open innovation

The Group is committed to a collaborative approach with dozens of startups. We are aware of the creative and disruptive power of startups and tailor our support to their stage of maturity. The cross-fertilization between internal teams and startups serves as a driver for the transformation of the Group, its culture, and its processes, providing us with the opportunity to gain agility and better respond to changing user needs.

Our ambition is to support and help startups grow while allowing them the freedom to act. A co-creation process ensures a fair balance between the startups, Elior, and its clients:

  • A 'test & learn' phase under Elior's supportive guidance: a teamwork approach between the startups and Elior, with the goal of learning from each other.
     
  • The support of our clients, who actively participate in experiments for the benefit of their guests.
     
  • The emergence of new projects and ideas as experiments progress.
     
  • The creation of concrete projects, with real-time experimentation.

Les Innovation Awards

Each year, we reward our most innovative employees with the internal Innovation Awards competition. For example, we have recognized projects in areas that are important to our clients and employees: CSR, nutrition, operations, safety, services, and new offerings. It is also an opportunity to involve our employees with the public award, for which 5,000 people have voted.

Three of the innovations awarded in 2021

Nutrition and Culinary Innovation (USA)

Healthy at Home offers personalized catering services during hospitalization and for the return home to reduce the readmission rate in short-term care facilities.

Services (France)

The Effi See app enables real-time traceability and management of our clients' premises. As a scalable tool, many other features can be added according to new client needs.

Environmental Sustainability (UK)

The Eco Points loyalty scheme promotes responsible consumption among guests. By choosing low-carbon dishes, guests earn loyalty points, and after accumulating 10 points, a tree is planted.

Solutions to Protect the Environment

As a food service provider, we have the responsibility to provide solutions to societal challenges where we believe we can have a positive impact: public health issues related to nutrition, the transition to sustainable agricultural production methods, reducing food waste, and creating skilled jobs.  

We deploy innovations in all our countries to meet the expectations of our clients, who are highly sensitive to these issues.

Reducing Waste

Open innovation allows us to implement innovative solutions at our sites and help young entrepreneurs grow. In Italy, for example, we offer to transform food waste into animal feed with the startup Feed From Food.

This Italian startup, led by professors and young university researchers, repurposes waste from the agri-food chain by converting it into pet food.

An App for Responsible Consumption

Rewarding our guests by investing in reforestation is the approach taken by the UK with the ECO POINTS project. Our digital and CSR teams have developed a module in the guest app that allows users to accumulate points on low-carbon menus/dishes. Over 1,200 trees were planted in 2022 thanks to the partnership with Just One Tree! Digital innovation serving the environment.

More Flexible and Digital Offerings

We are experiencing a period of profound change that fosters innovation and accelerates transformations. Our offerings must quickly adapt to the demands of our guests, who have changed their work habits, come to the office less often, and have fewer lunches together. We provide them with solutions for every situation.

United States: An Offering Dedicated to Small Businesses

For small spaces, Elior North America has developed a tailor-made solution: the Micro Market. In small businesses where space needs to be optimized, guests will find a range of offerings: beverages, ready-to-eat takeaway meals, snacks, and more. Operating on a self-service basis, the solution allows for online ordering and payment. Adaptable and customizable, the Micro Market combines quality choices and flexibility for guests, providing them with access to healthy and balanced food.

In Italy, More Flexibility for Our Guests

In Italy, the Icolti offering, produced partly in our central kitchens, consists of over 600 savory and sweet recipes or snacks. This individual portion food offering, developed using MAP technology (Modified Atmosphere Packaging), ensures impeccable hygiene and traceability. Guests can order through the Joyfood app and find their meals in connected or self-service refrigerators.