Sodexo India GCC Model Scales with Corporate Food Demand

Sodexo India’s GCC Growth: A Recipe for Post-Pandemic Workplace Success

New Delhi / Hyderabad / Bengaluru – As India’s corporate landscape evolves, Sodexo India, a leading provider of food and workplace experience services, is sharpening its focus on the country’s booming Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem. The company is not just following the trend, it’s strategically investing in it.

Scaling Up Master Kitchens for GCC Support

Over the past three years, Sodexo has built master kitchen infrastructure in Hyderabad and Bengaluru to cater to rising demand from GCCs. The Hyderabad facility, launched about 20 months ago, now delivers thousands of meals daily. In Bengaluru, a kitchen started in 2023 and currently serves 25,000 meals per day, with plans to scale up to 40,000 by year-end. Each kitchen is designed for 20,000–40,000 meals daily, delivering consistency and reliability for corporate clients.

Johnpaul Dimech, Sodexo’s Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Brazil & Latin America zone president, noted that growth in GCCs across manufacturing, healthcare, tech, and education are directly benefiting their business.

Sodexo From Utility to Strategic Engagement

In a post-pandemic workplace, meals aren’t just sustenance; they’re strategic assets. Rakesh Agarwal, Sodexo India’s COO for business food, explains:

“Earlier, food was just a utility. Today, organizations are using food as a big tool to attract talent, retain talent and, most importantly, bring employees back to office.

Meeting employee preferences for health and transparency, Sodexo now provides calorie counts, avoids palm oil and artificial colors, and places chefs at the forefront,connecting directly with employees.

Sodexo’s Chef Talent Pivoting to Corporate Catering

Sodexo’s approach is now a magnet for culinary talent. Former hotel chefs are shifting to GCC-focused kitchens, drawn by better work-life balance, dependable hours, and the chance to drive innovation in central culinary hubs.

These kitchens are also innovation centers, where chefs experiment with new recipes and formats to engage employees across sectors.

Meanwhile, Sodexo’s offsite kitchens, serving clients beyond cafeterias and corporate campuses, now contribute nearly 10% of the company’s revenue, with growth expected to continue into FY2025.

GCC Ecosystem Powering Sodexo’s India Strategy

Sodexo isn’t alone; its peers like Compass Group are also doubling down on GCCs, with Compass planning to boost its India workforce by up to 75% as GCC clients become a major part of their growth strategy.

At a strategic level, this aligns with India’s rapidly expanding GCC environment: more than 1,700 GCCs now operate across industries, contributing to $65 billion in revenues and employing 1.9 million professionals as of FY2024, with projections to hit $100 billion+ by 2030.

Why This Matters

• Institutional Catering Evolves: Sodexo is transforming meals into strategic tools for employee experience and retention.
• GCC Reliance Growing: Sustained investments in master kitchens underline GCCs’ demand for quality workplace services.
• Talent Reinvention: Chefs are transitioning from luxury sectors to corporate kitchens, signifying a cultural shift.
• Broader GCC Ecosystem: Sodexo’s trajectory reflects India’s intensified momentum toward becoming a global GCC powerhouse.