A global tech company saved more than $300,000 in its first year by replacing headcount-based ordering with production based on actual consumption.
The Challenge
When a global tech company evaluated its food program, it discovered a costly pattern: its catering vendor, Andros, was preparing meals for the full office headcount rather than the number of people actually eating each day.
With roughly 700 employees assigned to the building but only about 525 showing up for lunch, the company was paying for hundreds of unnecessary meals every week.
The mismatches didn’t stop at attendance.
Nearly 70% of employees preferred protein-forward meals, yet Andros continued producing large volumes of starches and salads that were consistently under-consumed.
High-demand items ran out early while low-demand items went untouched, driving both waste and frustration.
The Approach
Sifted was brought in to rebuild the program from the ground up using precision portioning, its data-driven model that aligns production with real consumption patterns.
“We studied historical attendance and then adjusted portion ratios for proteins, starches, and greens. This gave a much more accurate forecast for each element, ” says Cody Legge, Director of Analytics at Sifted.
The Results
The impact was immediate.
Daily food costs fell by nearly 30%.
Even though Sifted’s per-person pricing was higher, waste dropped sharply. The company saved more than $300,000 in its first year.
The result is a catering program that is more efficient, more sustainable, and far more attuned to the people it serves.
The Takeaway
Smarter forecasting reduced cost without reducing quality.
By producing around actual attendance and consumption rather than theoretical headcount, the program became more efficient, less wasteful, and better aligned with what employees actually wanted.
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