Sodexo, the world’s largest services company, has partnered with Costa to open its first franchised outlet

Former Rugby World Cup winner and Sodexo health and wellbeing ambassador Matt Dawson cut the ribbon in September on the milestone Costa at Queen’s Hospital, Romford. Sodexo provides a wide range of facilities management at the hospital, including catering, portering, cleaning and maintenance services. Sodexo operates over 150 ‘Costa – proud to serve’ outlets across its healthcare, defence, education and corporate services sites. For the last 10 years these outlets used Costa products and branding, but the branch in Queen’s Hospital is the first full franchise – which reflects the customer experience at a high street outlet. This includes the full range Costa food and drinks offer, from paninis and cakes to Flat Whites and Cappuccinos, all served by baristas trained to Costa level. The Queen’s Hospital store is also one of the first to open with Costa’s new contemporary design. Matt Dawson also visited the staff and visitor Yoo Restaurant at Queen’s Hospital, to launch his new range of recipes for Sodexo’s ‘be part of it’ campaign, which encourages a healthy, seasonal diet as part of achieving a balanced and active lifestyle. Paul Larson, head of retail for healthcare at Sodexo, said: “We’re bringing what customers want in the high street into this site to improve the experience of staff and visitors to the hospital. Many of the staff at Queen’s Hospital work unsocial shift patterns and many visitors are seeing relatives at all times of day and night, so a having a coffee brand people recognise can only improve their experience. “Costa and Sodexo share core values around responsibly-sourced coffee and we look forward to opening more franchises at our sites.” Russ Hartland, national account manager at Costa, said: “The opening of Sodexo’s first fully-licenced store marks a new chapter for Costa and Sodexo. The team at Queen’s Hospital has not only provided Costa with a first class addition to its full store estate, but they are delivering Costa’s stringent brand standards, providing every customer with a great coffee experience.”