Coombs Catering Partnership
Success Story:
Bespoke Menus Made Possible With IndiCater
Coombs Catering Partnership company overview
Coombs Catering Partnership is a family-owned contract catering company operating for over 15 years. What started as a venture focusing on business and industry catering has grown into a multi-sector, multi-site operation, now serving delicious food in over 55 schools, nine homeless shelters, and multiple business sites.
Coombs Catering Partnership are an incredibly passionate team, priding themselves on delivering fully bespoke menus. Their client-centric nature allows the Coombs Catering team to meet diverse cultural and dietary needs at each one of their sites, especially within schools where preferences and requirements can vary widely.
The challenge:
As Coombs Catering Partnership expanded their business and increased the number of sites they served, they recognised the need for catering management software to streamline their processes. They required a solution that could efficiently manage dietary information, ensure compliance with allergen regulations, and coordinate staff operations effectively – without relying on multiple spreadsheets and documents to keep everything running smoothly.
With the growing emphasis on nutritional transparency and the importance of catering to diverse dietary needs it became clear that Coombs Catering needed a dependable platform to support their growth. As well as a trusted partner to provide help and guidance when it mattered most.
The outcome
Coombs Catering Partnership partnered with IndiCater, to access tools such as recipe planning, menu management, allergen tracking, compliance and much more. This partnership has helped Coombs Catering to keep doing the things they love – providing bespoke, quality food that exceeds their clients’ expectations every time. With IndiCater they’ve been able to streamline their operations and improve flexibility, safety, and nutritional accuracy for their clients. They’ve saved time, money and staff sanity by partnering with IndiCater.
"IndiCater has been phenomenal. It's true value really shows when a problem arises – it's then that we see just how much it adds to our business. IndiCater has saved us time and money, and it gives us a more professional edge. Instead of manually checking allergen information from supplier spreadsheets, we can confidently and quickly answer any query with details about what’s in each meal, making it reassuring for clients and parents and helping us build trust.”
Challenge #1: Keeping everyone safe with accurate allergen management
Coombs Catering needed a better way to effectively and easily manage allergen compliance standards and ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone they catered for, including immediate response capabilities for unexpected allergen alerts or site requested changes.
Solution:
IndiCater’s allergen tracking and reporting tools have enabled Coombs to identify and update dishes with specific allergens in minutes, allowing for quick recipe adjustments. IndiCater’s Recipe and Menu Manager supports the Coombs team in creating their signature tailored menus for diverse dietary needs. Direct supplier integrations also helps the team deliver a professional response when clients – or parents – request detailed ingredient and allergen breakdowns.
“Recently, the FSA issued an emergency allergen alert, but thanks to IndiCater, we ran a report and, within minutes, identified exactly which sites had dishes containing the ingredient. We updated the recipes straight away, and within a day or two, the issue was fully resolved. I honestly don’t know how we’d have managed that so quickly without IndiCater."
Challenge #2: Creating bespoke, flexible menus in the most efficient way
Coombs Catering’s unique approach required curated, site-specific menus with a range of dietary options and preferences – particularly for their school locations. Creating these bespoke menus efficiently and consistently was essential to maintain their personalised service and business sustainability.
Solution:
IndiCater’s sofware enabled Coombs to create and update their bespoke menus with ease. By centralising and standardising recipe creation, IndiCater’s Recipe and Menu manager enabled the team to make quick, tailored adjustments, supporting their commitment to a personalised approach and helping them manage multiple sites.
Challenge #3: Resource heavy menu planning
Coombs Catering faced a time-consuming menu planning process, especially over the summer, with operations teams spending weeks finalising menus. This process not only pulled valuable staff resources away from other important projects but also put extra pressure on the team, affecting their overall operations.
Solution:
“Before IndiCater, the operations team spent long hours manually creating menus. Now IndiCater has made this process so much easier, especially when it comes to managing special diets, since each site has its own bespoke options. The time savings have been substantial, it’s easy to say it’s saved weeks just over the summer! And the flexibility IndiCater has given us to produce accurate information quickly has transformed our process – everything we need is now right at our fingertips.”
Challenge #4: Limitations on suppliers and supplier negotiation power
Coombs Catering previously relied on a single national supplier for ease and consistency. However, this limited their flexibility, prevented potential access to competitive pricing, and created a dependency on one source for deliveries. This meant potential risks to their service operations and ability to cut costs and improve sustainability.
Solution:
Challenge #5: Scaling the business and ensuring staff engagement
As Coombs Catering expands, they need a tech stack that supports growth and doesn’t hinder their staff in their operations and day-to-day enjoyment of their role. They needed solutions that are user-friendly for all staff levels, especially for team members who weren’t as comfortable with using new technology.
Solution:
“Our team used to spend their entire summer creating menus – now they're actually free to go on holiday! Making changes is really easy, too, since we’re always keeping an eye on meal numbers. If a dish isn’t popular – like the sweet and sour chicken that doesn’t go down well on Tuesdays – it’s so easy to spot and swap it out. Updates are live instantly, and the kitchen receives the information straight away, so schools and sites are always up-to-date. We’re absolutely chuffed with IndiCater – it’s been a fantastic addition!”
Unlocking more advantages with IndiCater
Further compliance support:
IndiCater provides Coombs with a centralised location for all compliance documents, including risk assessments and safety manuals, accessible at every site. This ensures up-to-date safety practices across locations, enhancing compliance while significantly cutting down on paper use.
Staying true to Coombs core values:
IndiCater’s support has helped Coombs expand without sacrificing its core value of bespoke service. The platform’s adaptability has enabled Coombs to add new sites seamlessly, maintaining high standards and service consistency.
Future growth plans:
Coombs Catering plans to integrate further with IndiCater, especially as they expand into new areas with even more clients under their belt. The finance module will be implemented to streamline financial tracking, and Coombs is exploring IndiCater’s P2P and supplier ordering features to improve procurement efficiency. Coombs’ long-term vision is to continue expanding their bespoke model across diverse sectors, ensuring that each new client benefits from their customised, high-quality approach.
The IndiCater team is both proactive and responsive and has always been incredibly helpful. They’ve been great at adapting the product to suit our needs as we’ve grown. We’ve never felt left on our own or in the dark; no question has ever been dismissed, no matter how simple it might seem. The team's background in contract catering makes a real difference. They understand the unique challenges we face in the kitchen, and that’s not something you find with just anyone. It’s been a huge help having someone on the team who really gets it. Honestly, I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg, and there’s so much more potential to explore as we keep growing."
If you’d like to dive deeper into this case study or explore how IndiCater can support your catering team, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us below – we’d love to support your team.