EF Group has announced the acquisition of menu planning, nutrition and allergen management service provider Catercost.
Through this acquisition, The EF Group, which trades as e-foods, plans to expand its software platform to offer fully integrated menu planning, allergen compliance, purchasing and supply for all types of catering.
Development has already begun on a new version of the Catercost cloud-based menu planning software which is planned for launch in early 2020. This will include enhanced allergen management to ensure ingredient compliance across the supply chain and other intuitive catering efficiency enhancements.
Combined, the two businesses serve hundreds of organisations’ catering needs, from contract caterers, leisure and hospitality to care homes, schools and hospitals. Catercost’s clients can gain the benefits of The EF Group’s own e-foods’ purchasing software, allowing them to buy from over 600 approved and vetted suppliers, with just one invoice to pay.
“Profit pressures, food safety compliance, allergen awareness and the threat of supply disruption from Brexit are putting all types of caterer and their ability to deliver a quality and value service to their customers under pressure,” says Paul Mizen, CEO, The EF Group.
“The sector is increasingly in need of integrated software solutions, to help reduce costs and risk while ensuring customer satisfaction and availability of ingredients. Our ambition through this acquisition is to meet all of these needs so caterers of all types can focus on what they are great at.”
