Stroud food supplier invests £1 million in new technology strategy

A certified B-Corp, Green Gourmet, based in Stroud, has over 30 years of experience supplying schools and educational institutes in Gloucestershire and the UK with school lunches and college catering.

Since 2022, the firm has worked with digital partner, Emerge Digital, to help the business's technology run seamlessly.

In the last 12 months, Green Gourmet has invested over £1 million in its tech systems, which has helped supply over 36 million meals to education centres, with the business also increasing its turnover by 10 per cent over that period, too.

With growth at the forefront of its strategy, it hopes to deliver over 1.5 million meals a week over the next three years.

Robin Bussey, CFO at Green Gourmet, said: 'There is a steep learning curve when it comes to IT strategy, so it was essential we found a technology partner that understands our business model and how we are looking to grow. 

'Our mission is to deliver more meals to education centres across the UK, while keeping our headcount and overheads at a sustainable level – technology is allowing us to do this.'

Green Gourmet's technical improvements include a SharePoint restructure; cyber security strengthening, achieving Cyber Essentials certification, the introduction of business intelligence tool ‘Power BI’ for more agile data reporting and deploying Microsoft Copilot to every member of its team.

Tom Henson, managing director of Emerge Digital, said: 'From automation to cyber protection, everything we’ve implemented has had a clear purpose; to remove friction, empower staff, and help Green Gourmet scale efficiently. 

'We are living in an era of AI-driven growth and for companies that are slow off the mark to start their innovation journey, it can be easy to fall behind. Green Gourmet is a company that understands the benefits of being innovative and is using tech to drive growth across the business.'

Green Gourmet's goal is to double revenue by 2028 through its technology investments. Robin added: 'We’re growing, but our values haven’t changed. We still believe in being fun, agile and ensuring we can deliver sector-leading services and high-quality meals to students across the UK.'