Sodexo’s FöD Wins Food Management Magazine’s Best Concept Award

(3BL Media) Gaithersburg, MD - October 4, 2012 - Sodexo, Quality of Daily Life Solutions provider, has been recognized by Penton Media’s Food Management magazine as one of eight winners of the publication’s 2012 Best Concept Awards for its FöD (Food on Demand), a unique, technology-focused, casual-dining experience for its customers at college and university campuses.

Sodexo's FöD restaurant was selected as the Best Management Company Concept for displaying bold tactics, outstanding creativity, and strong performance in a persistently sluggish economy. This marks the third consecutive year that Sodexo has claimed top spot in the award’s Best Management Company Concept category with previous honors going to the be…and Fresh Inspirations concepts respectively.

"We are always looking to develop new ways to create exceptional experiences for the college students we serve and FöD enables us to deliver made-to-order meals in smaller spaces that don’t traditionally accommodate that level of customization," said Tom Post, president, Sodexo Education - Campus. "Students also love the fact that they can use their handheld technology to create unique and personalized meals. FöD is a hit on many different levels."

The program is customizable for each campus and includes whatever food the school chooses to offer, including a database of 400 recipes. Guests order digitally from either their smartphone or a touch-screen kiosk on site. Each dish is then individually prepared, and the customer is notified via smartphone or pager when the meal is ready. FöD is operating at Academy of Art in San Francisco, Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., University of Missouri-St. Louis, and University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. Additionally, Sodexo will launch FöD this fall at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., and Weber State University in Ogden, UT.

"FöD really enables us to customize meals to individual student tastes while providing more options than ever before," said Jeff Pente, Sodexo's senior director of brand management. "FöD also makes it easier for us to increase our support of farmers and food producers by providing additional opportunities to showcase the fresh seasonal or sustainably grown or raised products available in the communities we serve across the country.”

A team of Sodexo experts collaborated with both Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. and Starfish to research and development this concept for two years. Sodexo currently uses FöD in small accounts and as a secondary restaurant option for diners. Sodexo expects the demand for this concept to grow as it meets customer demands for healthy, delicious food that is prepared while you wait and ready in minutes.

Click on these links to learn more about Sodexo’s 2010 and 2011 Best Concept Awards winners. 

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Sodexo in North America

Sodexo Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, delivers On-site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government and Remote Site segments, and Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $17 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions

Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo acts as a partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and employee well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo’s 413,000 employees in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled array of Quality of Life Services. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the fulfillment of its employees and the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates.