Usually reliable earners such as hospitals and prisons have dried up, while home-working has nibbled at growth
, after months spent at home, reluctantly concede that they are missing their colleagues, few will admit any longing for the office canteen. Companies that cook up meals for workers, pupils and hospital patients have been hit by covid-19 just as hard as restaurants open to the public. As employees trickle back to cafeterias, their prospects look no less mixed than those of other eateries.
Lockdowns have brought short-term pain and long-term uncertainty. Beyond offices, food outlets everywhere from schools to stadiums and conference centres are shut. A few usually reliable earners have dried up: hospital catering has slowed as beds were freed up for covid patients and visits banned. Even some prisoners, literally captive consumers, have been let out because of the pandemic. Compass, the biggest of the big four, said in May that half its 600,000 staff were on furlough.
Because of high fixed costs, losing a few diners can eat into margins . Operating profits are already wafer-thin: around 36 cents per meal, or roughly $100 per site per day, in the case of Compass. Rising expenses, such as hiring more staff to enforce stricter cleaning protocols, will not help. Passing the costs on to clients is tricky in a recession. A slower economy will weigh on consumers; overpriced stadium hot dogs are an easy luxury to forgo in a downturn even once live sports return.
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