In the search for the most effective methods of attracting and retaining the best people, a cool food offering is emerging as a key way to signal commitment to staff wellbeing and engagement. Canteens that occupy quirky, comfortable and social spaces become both important collaborative work areas and places where people want to get together and socialise.

According to Robin Weckesser, Managing Principal at San Francisco Bay Area Project Management Group, the trend is noticeable on the US West Coast where lunch for many staff will be a choice of locally sourced dishes prepared by talented chefs.

A recent study in the US by peapod.com and ORC International, meanwhile, shows that the happiest employees are those with free snacks in the workplace. However, while more than half are given free beverages, only 15 per cent receive snacks free of charge. The research also found that the 18-34 age group valued this perk three times higher than the 45+ age group.

For companies who don’t ‘in house’ their food offer help is at hand in the form of pop-up street food markets. KERB, for example, currently brings lunchtime markets to West India Quay, St Mary's Axe, King's Cross, Paddington and Spitalfields. The stalls offer office workers in the immediate vicinity a cool place for lunch, while developers can benefit from the ‘place-making’ implications as people start to travel to the area to eat. King’s Cross is a prime example of this happening.

However, it isn't only the office sector that is focussing on food offerings. In China, food is a principal factor in a competitive employee market: evidence suggests that where salary levels are equal, the food offer is the decider. Not surprisingly, China's new food providers and start-ups catering for factory workers look set to be a massive growth area.

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