We love all our workplace catering services equally. But, to tell you the truth, we’ve got an extra soft spot for running pop ups at client sites.
The pop up experience is something we can’t quite put our finger on it: maybe it’s the intrigue it creates, perhaps it’s the chance to cook something extra special or the buzzing atmosphere. In our humble opinion: pop ups and office mealtimes go together like quesadilla and salsa.
We realise that you might not share the same zest for on-site pop ups as we do …yet. But there are plenty of reasons why you should consider running a pop up from time to time. Speaking of which – here’s our top 10:
1. Pop ups are part of London Food Culture
Serving street food with pop ups is a sure way to the hearts of London foodies. Follow the Insta accounts of London’s top food and drink influencers, and you’ll surely find posts that express love for street food: case in point – @ks_ate_here. The overwhelming success of Kerb and Boxpark, the London pop up dining concepts, demonstrates that the street food and pop up combo is likely to be bang on trend with your workforce.
2. Creates an informal and relaxed environment in the office canteen
By its very nature, street food is as casual as it gets when enjoying food with others. It’s a more impulsive way to eat. No reservations are needed – just join the line, collect and enjoy! Street food can be a bit of a performance, tempting us to eat by appealing to our senses: whether it’s a vibrant food display, a dramatic show of cooking or tantalising smells. By bringing street food into the office canteen with pop ups, it recreates that very same thrill.
3. It’s an inclusive way for teams to socialise at work
From our years of experience running pop ups, we know that they have the power to make a day in the workplace feel special for employees. A great thing about celebrating with pop ups is that they are not centred around drinking and not exclusively evening events. This makes them an inclusive way for a company to mark a particular milestone or celebrate an event. Want to know about making eating social in the office? Read our other blog here – which covers the issue in more detail.
4. Keeps the workplace a creative and collaborative environment
Ensuring that your workplace has a stimulating atmosphere will encourage your employees to think creatively and collaboratively. Mixing up your employee’s lunch routine with a pop up will keep things fresh in the workplace, creating that office feeling that no day is ever the same.
5. Helps to sync hybrid-working teams for their ‘in-office day’
Sometimes getting teams into the office on the same day can be a bit like herding cats. We’ve noticed how pop ups improve office attendance on the day, especially when it’s been well promoted through internal channels.
6. The way certain food types are meant to be served
Tacos, pad thai and loaded vegan hot dogs aren’t meant to be served on a silver platter. Street food is best enjoyed away from the buffet in a more casual and fuss-free environment. In our opinion, pop ups are the only way for some meals to be served.
7. No on-site kitchen and minimum facilities are required
A wonderful thing about running pop ups on site is how care-free they are for facilities management. All we ask of our clients is a space to set up, serve, clean up, and pack down. No kitchen is needed. We don’t even need washing-up facilities (we take everything home after service – like we were never there).
8. Chance for catering chefs to meet the people they feed
On a regular day at a client site, our superb front-of-house teams directly engage with our client’s employees whilst our chefs are busy cooking at our central production kitchen. A pop up allows a moment for employees to connect with the chefs who make their food. This also gives employees a chance to ask any questions.
9. Pop ups: It’s not just a lunch thing
Pop ups can be adapted to provide cuisine to match the time of day the client wishes it to run. Need something for around 10AM? How about a loaded pancake or fresh smoothie pop up? But what about mid-afternoon? We’ve got an ice cream sundae pop up that’ll hit that spot. And for events at the end of the day, we reckon your teams will love our sliders and sides pop up. With pop ups, the sky’s the limit – with options for every hour of the day (including THESE ones in our Events Selector).
10. Employers can gauge the positive impact of offering free food
Maybe we’re a bit biased, but since we began our contract catering operations in 2005, we have seen how a free food offering can transform an office into a more productive, social and happy space. Pop ups are an excellent way for workplaces to test the waters for providing an on-site free food offering – without needing to commit to contracts or extra kitchen space.
If you hadn’t guessed already, we love throwing a pop up for offices in London. We’d be happy to chat about the options we can offer you – with no expectations of commitment from your side. To get in touch, send a line over to our friendly events team: events@fooditude.co.uk
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