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The rapid expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) has given a boost to the corporate catering industry in India with large catering service providers noting a growth of GCCs share in their overall institutional clients, as GCCs focus on providing varied food experiences at the workplace. Speaking to businessline, food service companies and corporate catering firms say that unlike traditional service sector organisations, GCCs today demand global, diverse and healthy food programmes tailored to suit their multi-generational and multicultural workforces. Rohit Sawhney, CEO, Elior India, says that GCCs consider food to be more than something put on the plate. “Food is something that is a very key aspect of the employee life cycle with these clients and they expect constant innovation and changes in their food services, unlike traditional industry or corporate clients, where it is a simple, straightforward meal without a lot of change. GCCs account for around 80 per cent of Elior India’ revenue. Sawahey says that in the past 3-4 years, the company’s revenue from this segment has grown by about 120 per cent, driven by deeper partnerships with GCCs and new business from these emerging sectors. GCCs also consider longer-term contracts in the range of 3-5 years, unlike traditional industry, where the contracts are in the 1-3 year range, he added. Growth is also being driven by GCCs who have ramped up their workforce significantly over the past few years. ”For a client that is just starting out, it could be anything between 100 and 200 meals, but as they scale, this number increases very quickly. Some of our larger clients now have a ticket size of about 12,000–13,000 meals per day,” Sawhney said. Vikas Chawla, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Compass Group India, also notes long-term relationships being built with GCCs. “We are seeing them invest in premium, tech-enabled solutions for food services, with an uncompromising emphasis on HSEQ standards and operational excellence,” he said. With over 125 GCC clients, Chawla says that over half of Compass Group’s India business comes from GCCs, and the company has seen this segment grow at a 51 per cent CAGR over the past 3 years. Consequently, food service providers have also scaled their kitchen facilities in key GCC hubs. Elior currently operates 6 kitchens, with 3 in Bengaluru and 1 each in Hyderabad, Delhi and Pune. Sawhney added that the company is also opening new kitchens in Bombay and Chennai within the next year. Likewise, Compass currently operates 10 central kitchens across India, including recent expansions in Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi, to serve geographical high-density workforce hubs efficiently. Globalised menu The diversity in employee demographics has led to food service providers offering globalised menus. Compass currently has over 200 curated food programmes that cater to both Indian and international cuisines. Sawhney said that even within Indian cuisines, there is great diversity being offered, especially with people migrating from different States. Published on November 4, 2025
