Promoting healthier, responsible lunch breaks and fighting food waste
Edenred has been committed to promoting healthy eating right from the start. Today, we have made combatting food waste a top priority too. As the world leader in meal benefits, we use our solutions to connect players throughout our ecosystem, striving to make lunch breaks an increasingly innovative – and sustainable – experience.
In 2021, Edenred introduced the first fully virtual meal benefit, available directly on a smartphone and offering all the same features as a conventional card – but without the plastic. Thanks to this solution, users can take their lunch break in the office or at home and charge their meal to their Edenred account, either in person at all affiliated establishments (using contactless payment), or in “Canteen 2.0” mode via more than 200 meal delivery platforms, such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Dejbox (using in-app payment).
Edenred and sunday have joined forces to develop a pay-at-table solution for restaurants in France. Using a QR code, diners can obtain the check without having to wait, split the amount between several people, pay for their meal in one click with their Ticket Restaurant account and leave a tip – all 100% digitally. For restaurants, the solution brings them in step with new consumer behaviors while saving them time when closing out checks.
In the first quarter of 2021, alongside the UK Department for Education, Edenred extended a meals program for people hardest hit by the Covid-19 epidemic in the United Kingdom. It involved Edenred distributing funds in the form of digital vouchers for use in a network of partner food stores. Thanks to the program, 1.3 million children who no longer had access to a free canteen lunch due to school closures were guaranteed a midday meal each and every day.
Available in some 30 countries, Edenred’s digital solutions for food and meals, such as Ticket Restaurant, improve the daily work lives of millions of employees. They promote access to quality products and services, which are healthier and better for the environment. They are also digital and tax-exempt, meaning they cater to changing eating habits and directly increase users’ purchasing power.
Edenred’s digital solutions helped countless restaurant owners diversify their offering during the health crisis and start their business back up again when the economy reopened. We also carry out initiatives to raise partners’ awareness about healthy eating and food waste.
Edenred contributes to the vitality and appeal of corporate clients. We strengthen their employer brand with solutions that promote well-being and motivation among employees, while improving workers’ purchasing power. We also support our clients’ digital transformation by providing solutions in line with new hybrid ways of working.
Edenred supports public policy by encouraging healthier eating and efforts to combat food waste. Our food and meal solutions also contribute to the development of the local economy as well as job creation and protection.
According to the International Labour Organization, workers with access to balanced nutrition can be 20% more productive and less prone to accidents
In 2021, more than 34 million people were reached by Edenred communications about healthy eating
68% of workers say that the Covid-19 crisis made them aware of the need to protect the environment, particularly by limiting food waste (2021 FOOD survey)
In France, meal benefits are the No. 1 – i.e., most beneficial – digital tool for restaurant owners in terms of extra business and cost control (Roland Berger, 2021)
2022