FoodSpace

What FoodSpace does

FoodSpace is a B2B contract catering company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, operating as an internal division of Apleona HSG Limited - Food Services. The company provides on-site staff restaurants, client hospitality, event catering, and specialised healthcare food services to corporate enterprises, healthcare facilities, and education institutions across Ireland and the United Kingdom, with site capacity for 50 to 1,200 employees per client.

The core technology stack combines in-house scratch cooking operations with a sustainability-anchored digital layer, including AI-powered point-of-sale tills, a smart digital meal ordering system (with IDDSI compliance, dietary filtering, and live tracking for healthcare), a HACCP digital food safety system, and Positive Carbon food waste tracking. FoodSpace's differentiated offering rests on its "Loyal to Local" supplier network sourcing produce within a 50-mile radius, 100% daily scratch preparation, and a zero-waste operational philosophy that has eliminated over 3.5 million single-use plastic bottles.

FoodSpace's revenue model is entirely B2B contract-based, with no public pricing. Revenue streams comprise managed services (on-site staff restaurant contracts and healthcare catering) and professional services (event catering). The company goes to market through direct enterprise field sales, supported by content marketing, social media, and earned media via industry awards. As an internal division of Apleona HSG Limited, FoodSpace operates without independent external funding and is wholly controlled by its parent conglomerate.

Name

FoodSpace

Legal name

FoodSpace

Website

https://food-space.ie

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FoodSpace is a Dublin-based B2B contract caterer serving corporate workplaces, healthcare facilities, and corporate events across Ireland and the UK with on-site staff restaurants, healthcare food service, and event catering built around 50-mile local sourcing and zero-waste operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Catering Services

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Contract Foodservice Management (Outsourced Catering) (THAFAIAH)

Keywords

• Contract catering services
• Workplace dining solutions
• Healthcare food service
• Sustainable catering operations
• Corporate hospitality catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. On-Site Staff Restaurant Catering: FoodSpace operates daily staff restaurants within corporate workplaces, serving freshly prepared meals to employees. This is an ongoing contractual service covering workplace dining across client sites.
2. Event Catering: One-time and recurring event catering services for corporate occasions including casual dining, formal lunches and dinners, canapé receptions, and bespoke menus. Pricing is tailored to each event.
3. Healthcare Catering: Specialised food service for healthcare settings including hospitals, residential care, and specialist units, with compliant and future-focused catering solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FoodSpace is a B2B contract catering company that operates on-site staff restaurants, corporate hospitality, event catering, and healthcare food services for workplaces and healthcare facilities across Ireland and the UK. It prepares 100% of food from scratch daily using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients within a 50-mile radius, and supports clients with inclusive dietary menus, zero-waste practices, and digital compliance systems.

Product overview

FoodSpace is an award-winning sustainable workplace food company operating as part of the Apleona Group, offering a portfolio of catering services across Ireland and the UK. The core offering comprises Staff Restaurants (daily workplace dining), Client Hospitality Services (corporate events), Event Catering (special occasions), and Healthcare Food Service (hospitals and care facilities). Two signature sub-products differentiate the portfolio: the 50-Mile Menu initiative that stamps dishes using locally sourced produce within 50 miles, and the Loyal To Local Program that cultivates partnerships with regional farmers and producers. The company prepares 100% of food from scratch daily, emphasizes seasonal ingredients, and operates with sustainability at its core.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Staff Restaurants Daily on-site restaurant and café services for workplace employees, serving freshly prepared meals made from scratch using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. Designed for corporate clients with 50 to 1,200 employees per site across Ireland and the UK.
• Client Hospitality Services Corporate hospitality catering for meetings, business functions, and client-facing occasions, including formal lunches, dinners, and bespoke menu offerings tailored to client needs and brand.
• Event Catering Specialized catering for corporate events ranging from intimate gatherings to large-scale functions, offering casual dining, gourmet canapés, and formal sit-down meals with bespoke themed menus.
• Healthcare Food Service Specialized catering solutions for healthcare settings including hospitals, residential care facilities, and specialist units, featuring inclusive menus for diverse dietary needs, a Smart Digital Meal Ordering system with IDDSI compliance and dietary filtering, HACCP digital food safety, and dietetic support.
• 50-Mile Menu A sourcing and labelling initiative that highlights dishes made with fresh produce sourced within 50 miles of each kitchen location, supporting local suppliers and reducing food miles across FoodSpace's menus.
• Loyal To Local Program A supplier partnership programme sourcing ingredients from local farmers, growers, and producers within 50 miles of each kitchen, building community relationships and ensuring ethical, sustainable produce across Ireland and the UK.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminated over 3.5 million single-use plastic bottles and removed cling film equivalent to wrapping Croke Park pitch 10 times over
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Waste to Wonder WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodSpace collaborates with Waste to Wonder Worldwide on the Gambia Cookery School Project, providing culinary education, sustainable food practices, and empowering local communities in Gambia to grow and prepare their own food effectively. Conor Spacey (Culinary Director) has been integral to the project, infusing zero-waste principles into the curriculum and practices taught at the school.
• Waterfall FarmscoreOthersTrevor and Nigel Martin of Waterfall Farms supply fresh fruit, vegetables, salad leaves, and herbs to FoodSpace locations in Cork. The Martin family provides end-to-end service from ploughing and sowing to peeling, slicing, and dicing, supplying bars and restaurants within a 50-mile radius. The farm employs 15 people.
• Burke's Fruit and VegcoreOthersEstablished in 1971, Burke's Fruit and Veg (Frank Burke, now Niall Burke) supplies all fresh fruit and vegetables to FoodSpace cafes on the NUI Galway campus, delivering daily to ensure the best quality produce.
• Bell Lane CoffeecoreOthersBell Lane Coffee is a Coffee Partner supplying FoodSpace locations nationwide. Founded in 2012 by Stephen and Denise Bell in Mullingar, County Westmeath, they hand-roast award-winning coffee blends in small batches.
• Hickey's BakerycoreOthersHickey's Bakery, established in the 1900s in Clonmel, is a four-generation family bakery delivering fresh bread and pastries daily to FoodSpace locations in Clonmel. Current owner Nuala Hickey has been in the business for over 20 years with multiple awards.
• Jinny's BakerycoreOthersJinny's Bakery, run by Sinead and Pascal Gillard in Drumshambo since 2003, supplies bread and bakery products to FoodSpace locations in Clonmel, Longford, and Sligo. The business grew from a family experiment to supplying over 30 outlets across Roscommon, Sligo, Longford, and Leitrim.
• The Friendly FarmercoreOthersThe Friendly Farmer is a Poultry Partner raising slow-maturing poultry in the Galway area using traditional farming methods passed down through generations, delivering the best taste experience for FoodSpace customers.
• The Butcher's DaughtercoreOthersThe Butcher's Daughter (Una), based in Cashel, supplies sausages, cured bacon, and black and white puddings to FoodSpace, all made on her father's farm using his pork. The partnership began in early 2016.
• O'Dwyer ButchercoreOthersMartin O'Dwyer (O'Dwyer Butcher) raises his own cattle, pork, and lamb on his farm in Cashel, supplying FoodSpace daily with beef, pork, lamb, and chicken for the Clonmel kitchen. The partnership began in early 2016 with close collaboration on cut selection.
• Stickleback Fish CompanycoreOthersThe Stickleback Fish Company is a fishmonger partner in the UK, an independent business based in Hertfordshire founded in 2005. They provide sustainably sourced, responsibly caught seafood of the highest quality to FoodSpace locations in Southern England.
• KeelingsminorOthersKeelings is an apple supplier featured in FoodSpace's 'Eat an Apple Day' 2025 campaign, supporting the celebration of local agriculture and Irish growers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Atalian Servest: UK and Ireland facilities services group offering contract catering alongside cleaning, security and maintenance. Direct competitor in multi-service corporate bids where FoodSpace is embedded within its parent Apleona's facilities management offering.
• Compass Group (Eurest): World's largest contract caterer; its Eurest brand serves workplace dining globally including in Ireland and the UK. Overlaps with FoodSpace in corporate staff restaurants and healthcare, but with procurement scale and balance sheet FoodSpace cannot match.
• Sodexo: Global contract catering and facilities services major with a substantial UK and Ireland footprint across workplace, healthcare and education. Competes with FoodSpace on enterprise contracts but at vastly greater scale and with broader service offerings.
• Bidvest Noonan: Ireland and UK facilities services provider with a contract catering arm serving corporate clients. Comparable on integrated FM-and-catering bid structure and Irish market presence, though broader than pure workplace catering.
• Elior UK: International contract caterer with UK and Ireland operations spanning workplace, healthcare and education. Comparable on customer verticals and managed-services revenue model, though broader portfolio than FoodSpace's niche focus.

Direct peers

• CH&CO: Independent UK contract caterer focused on workplace, hospitality and venues with a strong sustainability and local-sourcing narrative. Directly comparable on service mix, customer type and sustainability-led positioning.
• Baxter Storey: UK-based premium workplace and hospitality contract caterer serving corporate clients across the UK and Ireland. Closely comparable to FoodSpace on customer vertical (corporate staff dining), premium positioning and bespoke on-site operating model.
• Caterleisure: Ireland-based contract caterer providing workplace, hospitality and event catering. Closest Ireland-headquartered direct competitor to FoodSpace, overlapping on customer verticals and geographic market.
• Dine Contract Catering: UK workplace contract caterer serving corporate and education clients, with comparable bespoke menu design and on-site staff restaurant model. Competes for the same enterprise RFPs as FoodSpace in the UK.

Others

• Positive Carbon: Food waste tracking technology provider that FoodSpace uses operationally. Adjacent enabling technology player rather than a competitor, but thematically relevant as the digitisation layer increasingly embedded into modern contract catering economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FoodSpaceIrlanduk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foodspaceirlanduk
• Instagraminstagram.com/foodspaceirlanduk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FoodSpace