Business focus: What catering giant Compass has been up to during the virus crisis

FTSE 100 firm Compass is the world's largest catering company.

The giant supplies supplies meals at offices, stadiums, hospitals and schools around the globe.

Last year, pre-pandemic, it reported annual operating profits of £1.85 billion.

Like other firms in the sector, Compass was hit hard by the pandemic.

On Tuesday it reported an operating profit plunge to £561 million for the full year to September 30, as lockdowns worldwide saw demand tank. Revenues were down 18.8% to £20.2 billion.

But Compass, which serves 5.5 billion meals a year across 45 countries, returned to profit in the fourth quarter after implementing cost-savings, pivoting to delivery, making technology platform acquisitions, and re-negotiating contracts with clients.

The Standard caught up with Compass to get behind the headline statements and see what it has been up to - and the company said it has seen innovation normally expected within three to four years within just months.

Here are some highlights:

Taking on a health-focused food start-up

The company said it has found Covid-19 has accelerated several trends that were already emerging around the future of food. As a result it has "accelerated its focus" on kiosk and on apps offering pre-order and click and collect.

As consumers around the world began to focus in ever-growing numbers on their wellbeing as a result of the pandemic, Compass had luckily just finished acquiring a London-based food and health tech start-up.

Feedr is a platform that aims to transform "how employees access healthy food and better nutrition at work every day". It uses data to build personalised menus for users, helping them meet their food goals.

The idea is for employers to help subsidise their employees' efforts to remain health, and the app's boss Riya Grover said this is even more crucial as staff work from home for long periods.

Feedr works with London suppliers and food producers who made food from scratch.

Grover said: “Food plays a vital role in engaging teams and supporting wellbeing while employees continue to work remotely, and we’re seeing significant interest from companies in the lead-up to Christmas."

Launching a new "experience concept" - complete with celebrity masterclasses

Compass has multiple divisions, as you would expect from a company with bases around the world. They include an executive dining division, called Restaurant Associates Group.

Management explained that it is here that Compass has launched its "newest concept". Titled 'Experience', the project brings together top names in UK hospitality to offer a "virtual catering package".

The package includes many of the new pandemic norms we have all become used to over the past eight months, including premium delivery offerings and virtual events for work and home.

Compass' masterclasses offer the chance to watch step-by-step tutorials and join in wine tastings led by celebrity chefs such as Jason Atherton, Michel Roux Jr, or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from home.

Atherton said the venture proves "how the business has pivoted to meet the needs of the current climate".

Its hampers include partnerships with London favourites Pasta Evangelists and The Detox Kitchen, while the package also offers experiences tailored to the Compass client base, such as a series of catering packages for any occasion delivered to the workplace.

Chief executive Dominic Blakemore told us that he is confident the company can restore operating margins.

He said: "We believe that our scale and focus on operational execution leave us really well-placed for future growth, and really emerging from this pandemic stronger than we have ever been."

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Focus: The hospitality supply chain and the Covid-19 pandemic