In the past, workplace catering was built on routine and repetition. Meals were planned by gut feeling, waste was accepted as part of the process, and metrics stopped at headcount. But in 2025, the world’s most innovative companies expect more. They want food programs that are measurable, adaptive, and deeply human.
Sifted’s new white paper, Transforming Workplace Food Programs Through Data-Driven Insights, authored by Jess Legge, CEO + Co-founder, and Cody Legge, Director of Analytics, explores how data and design thinking are coming together to reinvent office dining for the modern era.
From “Serve and Hope” to Precision Hospitality
The white paper dives into how advanced analytics are moving workplace food service from a “serve and hope” model to an exact, evidence-based science.
Instead of broad assumptions about what people eat, Sifted tracks the real story—what’s prepared, what’s consumed, and what connects.
“We’re in the third wave of hospitality at work,” says Jess Legge. “We’ve moved beyond endless options and bulk portioning to more refined, conscientious programming.”
Through ten years of data collection, Sifted has built a proprietary system that provides real-time visibility into participation, consumption, and satisfaction across every client office—offering insights that help workplace teams make smarter, more sustainable decisions.
Four Game-Changing Metrics
In Transforming Workplace Food Programs Through Data-Driven Insights, Jess and Cody unpack the four key analytics shaping the next generation of corporate catering:
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Consumption by Element – Tracking what’s eaten (and what’s not) down to individual dishes, sauces, and sides.
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Runout Risk Management – Predicting the exact amount of food needed using dynamic headcount and historical trends.
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Customized Portioning – Calibrating serving sizes based on each team’s appetite and preferences to reduce waste and cost.
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Menu Performance Over Time – Measuring satisfaction and engagement to continuously refine menus for each workplace.
Together, these metrics create a closed-loop system where data from the kitchen, hosts, and eaters feeds directly back into service design—driving higher satisfaction, lower waste, and consistent quality across all Sifted markets
Why It Matters Now
As hybrid work reshapes the office experience, the lunch table has become one of the few places where teams still gather daily. Food programs have evolved from perks to powerful tools for culture-building, sustainability, and operational insight.
With Sifted’s analytics platform, workplace leaders can now see the health of their food program in one place—real-time dashboards showing participation, waste, menu trends, and satisfaction data across every location.
Download the White Paper
To learn more about how analytics are transforming workplace hospitality, download the full white paper:
👉 Transforming Workplace Food Programs Through Data-Driven Insights
Whether you manage a single office or a global portfolio, this resource will show how to make your corporate catering program smarter, more sustainable, and more attuned to the people it feeds.