Flexeserve wins Queen’s Award for Innovation

Flexeserve’s groundbreaking developments in hot-holding technology have received royal recognition with a Queen’s Award for Innovation.

The world expert in hot-holding, Flexeserve, a brand of The Alan Nuttall Partnership, has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2022.

Hailed by CEO, Jamie Joyce as “Flexeserve’s greatest achievement to date”, the award will be marked with a reception hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on 12th July.

Recognising and celebrating business excellence across the UK, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses. They were first awarded in 1966 – the same year Alan Nuttall founded his business – with Her Majesty The Queen personally approving the winners.

The business, then known as ‘Alan Nuttall Ltd – Fresh Food Solutions’, won an award for innovation in 2005, and now the revolutionary Flexeserve Zone has achieved this incredible accolade.

Jamie Joyce said: “Winning this national award, recognised around the world, is overwhelming – it’s a dream come true for the business.

“This award is won by every single Partner in the Flexeserve team, as well as our wider Partnership and customers. This has been made possible by the belief of all these groups of people in our flagship product, Flexeserve Zone.”

What is Flexeserve Zone?

Flexeserve Zone is the world-leading heated display and the only unit capable of hot-holding food-to-go products with different temperature requirements at the same time.

The patented unit creates a consistent air temperature throughout each shelf, which can be individually controlled. This unlocks new opportunities for major operators to expand product ranges, achieve unrivalled hold times and reduce food waste, whilst maintaining excellent food quality – for the best possible customer experience.

The unit can be found in a range of foodservice operators – large and small – in the UK and globally, including Pret A Manger, Greggs, M&S, Sainsburys, Circle K and Amazon Go – to name a few.

How Flexeserve Zone came to be

Flexeserve Zone was developed in consultation with key customers that still work with the business today. The challenges that the design of Flexeserve Zone had to overcome were in direct response to demands and aspirations of the food-to-go industry.

The first challenge was the need to hold a diverse range of food types within one unit, as the market demanded complex and even delicate dishes to be hot-held. Then there was the need to maintain a consistent temperature within a heated display that is open-fronted, to perform efficiently in any self-service store environment. Lastly, to provide a green solution – with high energy efficiency, reduced food waste and limited impact on store conditions.

Flexeserve’s team of culinary, technical and in-store service experts help customers use Flexeserve Zone to expand menus, improve operational efficiencies and increase sales and profit – transforming how they serve hot food.

Impact of this innovation

Jamie said: “What our customers have achieved with Flexeserve Zone is central to us receiving this award. You can only see the full value of an innovation when it is put into practice, and its potential is realised.”

Flexeserve Zone has made a considerable impact on the landscape of food-to-go – fundamentally advancing the hot food operations of many of Flexeserve’s customers.

Jamie continued: “It’s deeply fulfilling to see our product lines in stores all over the world that have only been made possible with our technology. We thank every customer that believes in our business and shares our passion – our success and the success of our customers are one and the same.”

A reflection

When Flexeserve Zone was developed, it existed within a business – then called Foodservice Solutions – alongside a variety of foodservice equipment. Today, it is the flagship product of a business that has seen exponential sales growth for several years.

Jamie said: “It feels right to reflect on our journey at this time. There was a point at which we took a leap of faith. We saw how Flexeserve Zone was transforming hot food-to-go, how it stood out within the marketplace. Though sales were modest, we took a decision to go ‘all in’ on this product – when its name was beginning to precede us.

“Whilst some of us – myself included – believed that we could build a strategy for the business on Flexeserve Zone and its technology, we could not have imagined where that journey has now taken us. We have created a pioneering business with amazing potential ahead of it – founded on this innovative game changer.”

Flexeserve, which has evolved its brand design this week to align with its increasing global presence, is an employee-owned company based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, employing 90 Partners.