Why is a catering giant like Compass relying on AI?

Present in more than 25 countries and employing approximately 590,000 people, Compass Group generated over $46 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year. And within this British multinational, artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role. Not only as a tool for internal optimization, but also as a new customer market.

Dominic Blakemore © COMPASS GROUP

“We feed people every day in mainly captive environments, from school to retirement, wherever they learn, work, play or heal. Humans are social beings. Wherever people come together they eat and drink and we're there to serve them. We don't believe that fundamental need will change, regardless of how the world evolves or how AI transforms the economy,” said Dominic Blakemore, CEO of Compass Group, in his opening remarks before presenting the half-year results for the fiscal year.

The world's largest catering provider reported revenue of $25 billion (+9%) for the year ended March 31, along with operating profit of $1.84 billion (+12%). These strong results contrast sharply with those of its French competitor Sodexo, which lowered its annual sales and profitability targets, citing execution challenges and contract revisions.

And, after being criticized by investors in February at the mere mention of the risks artificial intelligence poses to office jobs – 20% of Compass's revenue comes from white-collar workers – Dominic Blakemore took the initiative this time. The head of the catering group commented on the strategies for actively adopting and integrating AI across all of its operations to boost growth and productivity.

“To spend more time with clients and consumers”

“We see significant opportunity across the AI ecosystem and it's broader than big tech. The AI buildout spans everything,” he stated, adding that Compass already supports more than sixty clients within this ecosystem. As startups specializing in this technology grow, small teams are rapidly transforming into campus-like structures. This, in turn, creates a timely need for integrated services.

If the Chertsey-based company is investing in AI and data, it's primarily to improve in the areas of sales, loyalty, and operations. "Freeing up our unit managers to spend more time with their clients," explains Dominic Blakemore.

Compass leverages over a decade of proprietary sales data to power AI-driven tools that support bid preparation, predict the likelihood of success, and guide best course of action. "We're using data and AI to drive consistent execution of the sales funnel, which we expect to translate into higher conversion over time," he continues.

AI contributes to maintaining a historical customer retention rate of over 96%

Similarly, in terms of retention, the institutional caterer applies AI throughout the entire lifecycle, combining customer, consumer, and operational data. The company tracks customer sentiment, monitors issues and resolution times, and uses predictive models to flag at-risk accounts. "Giving our teams the opportunity to intervene earlier, address issues proactively and increase pre-emption rates over time," explains the CEO.

In parallel, the group is deploying its own internally developed Centric OS operating system to support its managers. This program is said to provide better data for demand forecasting, menu and inventory planning, reporting, and workforce optimization. "Enabling unit managers to continuously improve the o^er for clients," claims Dominic Blakemore.

A sub-sectoral stratego

The artificial intelligence ecosystem represents a new competitive arena for all major players in the contract catering industry. This is being achieved through aggressive marketing, particularly in public relations. Press releases from competitors have already relied on sensational announcements, highlighting the revenue that AI-dedicated data centers are expected to generate as early as this year.

Compass already occupies this new sub-sector, albeit with a less blatant approach to communication. However, the CEO did point out that the group is "pretty much the exclusive partner of five of the six MAG7 that outsource today." In other words, the multinational serves the employees of tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

That said, Compass already managed canteens for workers building data centers, typically located in remote areas with no other dining options. And the company makes no secret of its search for more contracts of this kind. To meet the demands of this emerging market, the institutional caterer has developed a customized offering combining on-site catering, micro-market concepts, cleaning, and other support services.

In Belgium, the Compass Group subsidiary generated €237.43 million in revenue in 2025, with a profit of nearly €15 million. This is a market where artificial intelligence is not yet widely discussed, but where "customers have increasingly high demands, while they are negotiating more and more competitively in terms of price, which increases pressure on margins," acknowledged the Belgian directors.