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Sodexo's Vitality now on the menu at 500 sites across Europe
7/9/2009
Sodexo developed its Vitality offer in 2006 specifically suited to employees eating in company restaurants who would like to put the emphasis on balanced nutrition.
Paris - July 9, 2009 - A world leader in Food and Facilities Management services, Sodexo developed its Vitality offer in 2006 specifically suited to employees eating in company restaurants who would like to put the emphasis on balanced nutrition. First tested in Sweden, Vitality is now offered at more than 500 sites in several European countries (France, Finland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain and Portugal among others) and has just been launched in Russia.
Blending pleasure and understanding
Though Vitality recipes are adapted to appeal to the varying tastes and expectations of each country's consumers, the original concept remains the same: “Poor eating habits at lunch time can negatively affect employee well-being, which impacts productivity. In response, we not only offer lighter meals, we also educate consumers about the long-term benefits of eating more balanced meals in general, not just the lunches we serve,” explains Laurent Cousin, Sodexo's Senior Vice President, Marketing Offer - Research & Development. “In blending pleasure and understanding, our Vitality offer shows that eating healthy can also mean eating well.”
The Vitality offer is built around three key aspects:
- Taste: Vitality recipes use herbs, spices or lemon to make dishes rich in taste while avoiding salt and fats;
- Variety: each person's imagination is stimulated by using several varieties of the same product (different colored peppers, different kinds of lettuce or varied tastes based on cooking methods);
- Culinary and nutritional information: consumers are provided with detailed information about the nutritional qualities of Vitality dishes as well as general information cards (product descriptions, recipes and cooking techniques) or, at some sites, short presentations on video screens.
In company restaurants featuring the offer, chefs present the main course in a designated area and Vitality starter courses and desserts are clearly labeled among the menu choices.
Promoting Balanced Nutrition
For Sodexo, which serves more than 60 million consumers around the world each day, balanced nutrition is one of the top priorities. “Today, 98% of our sites worldwide inform and teach their clients, consumers and employees about good eating habits. In addition, we are the world's largest private employer of dietitians,” said Damien Verdier, Sodexo's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (Offer Marketing, Supply Chain and Sustainable Development). Vitality is one of numerous Sodexo initiatives (such as Your Health Your Way, Natural, Simply-To-Go, Create your Weight, Smartfuel and Nourish) throughout the world to promote balanced nutritional habits and to fight against obesity.
About Sodexo
Sodexo, founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, a world leader in Food and Facilities Management services, with more than 355,000 employees on 30,600 sites in 80 countries, as of August 31, 2008. For Fiscal 2008, which closed August 31, 2008, SODEXO had revenue of 13.6 billion euro. Listed on Euronext Paris, the Group has a current market capitalization of 5.6 billion euro.
