[In the picture] Colruyt goes B2B with automated catering concept

Belgian retailer Colruyt Group has launched Spar For You, aiming to supply businesses with foodservice now that staffed company canteens are becoming too expensive post-pandemic.

Post-Covid market

“Almost one in two Belgian employees are no longer in the office every day”, says a Colruyt press release, so “traditional company catering – including fresh lunches served at set hours – needs to be reconsidered in many organisations.” Hence, the Belgian retailer is rolling out a B2B catering service with unmanned kiosks that are open 24/7.

Three concepts are on offer, depending on the client’s needs: smart refrigerators, a food corner and a minimarket. Pharmaceutical company Union Chimique Belge has agreed to be the guinea pig, opening all three concepts in its site in Braine-l’Alleud (near Brussels).

Three concepts

The smallest of the three concepts are the smart refrigerators, like those we already know from competitors Exki and Foodmaker. These refrigerated pantry cabinets were developed in-house by Smart Technics. The food corner not only has two smart refrigerators, but adds a coffee machine, water tap and industrial microwave ovens. The minimarket, the biggest of the three, aims to be a “total self-service solution”, that allows employees to do their grocery shopping at work.

Spar For You has launched a number of test projects in recent months, including the installation of smart refrigerators at ISS and SN Brussels Airlines headquarters. Plans are also in the works to implement the service “in more public places”, such as railway stations and hospitals.