"Food is a big draw." How one London office manager gets a remote-first team in the building twice a week

Alex is the office manager at Veeva Systems' London office. Veeva is a global software company serving the life sciences industry. As a remote-first organisation, Veeva needed a compelling reason to bring their London team into the office consistently. The answer was food. We spoke with Alex about hybrid working, healthy office lunch catering, and what it really means to find a corporate catering supplier in London you can genuinely trust.

arch: Tell us a bit about Veeva and what the company does.

Alex: Veeva are a software company that works in the life sciences industry.

arch: Why is having good food in the office such a priority for a remote-first company like Veeva?

Alex: Veeva is a remote-first organisation so in order to bring people into the office we need to make sure that our offices are offering things like food.

arch: How does the weekly lunch programme fit into your thinking around hybrid working and getting people through the door?

Alex: Food is a big draw for people and having good food brings people in regularly. We use Veeva Lunch as a way for people to interact with their colleagues, step away from the desk and have a break. Feeding people in the right way is very important.

arch: How did you find arch and what led you to choose them as your corporate catering company in London?

Alex: I found arch online after some searching. arch were actually part of a trial that we did against a competitor and arch just blew them out the water.

"arch just blew them out of the water."

arch: What was it about arch's approach to sustainable and healthy catering that got you on board?

Alex: arch is a great sustainable company from the way that they deliver their foods to the way they think about the menus, there is sustainability throughout the process. Creating a healthy menu is also quite important for us as well to make sure that our teams are fueled in the right way and arch provided that.

arch: What does a typical week of office lunch catering from arch look like at Veeva?

Alex: We have our lunches twice a week every Tuesday and every Thursday and we also do special occasions like Pancake Day. Having those treats and options really helps make the office an engaging place.

arch: What qualities matter most to you when choosing a corporate catering supplier?

Alex: Something that I was really looking for was mainly the ability to sit in the background while the caterers do their thing and being able to trust in arch to do our lunches without having to get involved had been great. They're a great partner to work with.

arch: How have you found working with the arch team day to day?

Alex: Everyone has been super helpful and is willing to go the extra mile. I work with Ellie a lot behind the scenes and she's been super helpful with last minute requests. They've become a partner that I can rely on when I need to.

arch: As the person responsible for the lunch service, what does a well-run catering operation look like in practice, and how does arch deliver on that?

Alex: Having the ability to be able to take a step back and allow arch to do their thing. Completely running lunch service from start to finish is super important, I can trust that they've got everything handled. The service that they provide really speaks for itself.

arch: What has been your personal food highlight from the arch menu?

Alex: My highlight's probably the pork kra pow and the desserts every week are fantastic.

arch: In one sentence, what does working with arch mean for Veeva?

Alex: It means energising our team in a healthy and sustainable way.

arch: What would you say to another office manager in London who is considering working with arch?

Alex: Go for it. arch will completely blow your expectations out of the water. You can trust that they will have things handled and they will deliver week after week.

"It means energising our team in a healthy and sustainable way."

About arch: sustainable corporate catering for London offices

arch provides healthy, seasonal, fully managed lunch catering for corporate offices and hybrid teams across London. The service covers everything from food sourcing and preparation to on-site setup, full lunch service and clear-down. Office managers who work with arch hand over full responsibility for their lunch service and trust arch to deliver, week after week.

If you manage a London office and are looking for a sustainable catering partner that handles everything, get in touch.

You can read the full Veeva Systems case study, or find out more about our corporate catering offering.