Google Food fuels over 100,000 people every day. Since the first executive chef joined the company in 1999, food and how it helps build collaboration and innovation have been at the heart of the culture. Google Food today includes over 200 cafes and restaurants globally serving over 150,000 meals in over 56 countries every day. The food program is free for employees, but it’s not free for Google. Google invests in this program because it sees how important food is to its company and to the Google culture.
It puts a tremendous amount of thought into the food and beverage it serves, which includes its approach to culinary, nutrition, responsible procurement, and resource utilization. At the core foundation of its integrated food and beverage approach is the Menus of Change Principles, a modern, thoughtful mindset on menu planning and responsible business. Its unified approach is what guides Google to ensure that it works towards the singular goal of enabling Googlers to experience the joy of food that enables them to be at their best.
Over the past few years, in collaboration with the CIA, the Google Food team conducted several pilots to develop methods it has begun to operationalize in its dining program. It focused on the following key areas:
• Globally inspired, balanced, plant-forward menu concepts support users in making better choices
• Right-size portions using the “Flip” & combo plates
• Designing operations for the future to “nudge” users toward healthier balanced plant-forward options
• Culinary interaction (watching chefs cook your meal; chef recommendations)
• Plant-forward merchandising for priming
• Thoughtful menu planning and menu labeling
• Guided customization
• Placement/size of plates, service design/flow, etc.
Google Food is constantly growing and evolving to create engaging and inspiring food experiences that provide fuel for big, innovative thinking and collaboration among employees. It fuels Googlers around the world to be at their best today, tomorrow, and over the long haul.