Flexeserve toasts team’s success with Sammies award win

The Sandwich & Food to Go Industry Awards, affectionately known as the Sammies, named Flexeserve amongst its 2024 winners in its recent prestigious awards ceremony.

The world-leader in hot-holding and food-to-go has taken home the Sammies Business Development Award for its cloud-based hot-holding service, Connect by Flexeserve.

Hailed ‘the Grammy’s of the sandwich world’, the Sammies is organised by the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association (BSA), which champions excellence across the food-to-go industry – from small independents to established sector giants and nationwide chains.

This year’s awards ceremony brought together 500 retail, manufacturing and supplier peers at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The Sammies prestigious awards ceremony is organised by the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association (BSA), which champions excellence across the food-to-go industry

Sammies award for innovations leading the way

The Sammies’ Business Development Award recognises innovations that have helped progress the industry.

Holly Francis, Flexeserve’s Head of Customer Development, commented: “We’re thrilled to have won the Business Development Award for Connect and receive such positive feedback from the judges.

“They described Connect as being ‘vitally important’ for the sector, recognising how the service drives in-store efficiencies, making it easier for operators to manage their products from a quality and temperature perspective.

“We were delighted to also be shortlisted as a finalist for the New Product (Packaging/Equipment) Award for Connect. The judges highlighted the flexibility of our cloud-based technology as a ‘great step forward’ for hot-holding, helping offer a ‘truly full-service solution’ to our customers.”

Holly Francis holding the Sammies Business Development Award, together with members of the Flexeserve team and Adele Rooney, King's Fine Cooked Meats (sponsors of the award) and celebrity chef, Theo Randall — [L-R] Holly Francis holding the Sammies Business Development Award, together with members of the Flexeserve team and Adele Rooney, King’s Fine Cooked Meats (sponsors of the award) and celebrity chef, Theo Randall

Sammies award shared by Flexeserve team

The award for Connect by Flexeserve follows the company’s success at lunch! 2023, where the hot food-to-go specialist won a Gold Innovation Challenge Award when the service was first showcased in London, UK.

Holly continued: “The Sammies is always a brilliant celebration with the best of the foodservice industry. Winning this award was the perfect opportunity to raise a toast to the entire Flexeserve team, whose collective enthusiasm and expertise help us lead the way in the world of hot food-to-go.

“As an added bonus, we were also able to celebrate with some of our customers, who joined us in raising a glass and enjoying a great evening!”

The Sammies Business Development Award 2024 presented to Flexeserve in recognition of Connect, the world's first cloud-based service for hot-holding — The Sammies Business Development Award 2024 presented to Flexeserve in recognition of Connect

Ahead of the curve

Connect helps operators see their hot-holding operation like never before, using remote, cloud-based technology to control, automate and optimise their entire hot-holding estate.

Dirk Wissmann, Flexeserve’s Operational Support and Development Manager, said: “With our unwavering focus on foodservice innovation, culinary expertise and solving the pain points of customers, Flexeserve continues to advance the world of food to go.

“Connect is a forward-thinking solution, and customers using this service have already seen significant operational and energy savings. Highly compatible and ready to be integrated with other cloud-based services, our customers are also requesting us to host their services on the platform we’ve developed for Connect.

“This brings all aspects of their operation closer together on a single platform – for even greater efficiency. The Sammies judges were impressed by this and could see the overall value Connect can offer, helping businesses enhance sales and reduce waste.”

With Connect by Flexeserve, you can control and automate units remotely so you can sell more and waste less at every location

Another element of the submission that impressed the judges was Flexeserve’s ongoing expansion across the Americas. They noted the ‘huge market opportunity’ with the Grand Opening of Flexeserve Inc.’s U.S. HQ and Culinary Support Center in Southlake, Dallas (TX).

Transforming hot food

Holly concluded: “It’s a privilege to be recognised for the way we’re supporting the progression of the industry. Connect is already achieving incredible results and fits perfectly with our global value of ‘shaping a sustainable future’. As the latest element of our hot-holding service, Flexeserve Solution, Connect helps our customers embrace true hot-holding sustainably, efficiently and profitably.”