NEW PRODUCTION MODEL IN CORPORATE CATERING: TENSIONS BETWEEN RELOCALISATION, INDUSTRIALISATION AND WORK ON AGRIFOOD TRANSITIONS

Thomas Faget; Leïla Boudra; Adelaide Nascimento

Todos os Trabalhos

Trabalho

DOI

10.29327/9786527226680.1441802

Título do Trabalho

NEW PRODUCTION MODEL IN CORPORATE CATERING: TENSIONS BETWEEN RELOCALISATION, INDUSTRIALISATION AND WORK ON AGRIFOOD TRANSITIONS

Autores

Thomas Faget
Leïla Boudra
Adelaide Nascimento

Modalidade

IRSA - Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (01/10/2025 a 20/01/2026)

Área temática

IRSA 28 - Pathways for food democracy and agrifood justice in territorial food systems

Data de Publicação

06/08/2026

País da Publicação

Brasil

Idioma da Publicação

pt-BR

Página do Trabalho

https://www.even3.com.br/anais/sober-irsa2026/1441802-new-production-model-in-corporate-catering--tensions-between-relocalisation-industrialisation-and-work-on-agrif

ISBN

978-65-272-2668-0

Palavras-Chave

work; organizational change; corporate catering; relocalisation; industrialization; agrifood transitions

Resumo

Current debates on territorial agrifood transitions increasingly question the assumption that relocalisation inherently fosters sustainability. While public policies commit socio-economic actors to integrating such goals and have become a policy and managerial mantra, their concrete implications for work, organizational forms within food systems remain underexplored. This communication analyses this issue through intervention-research conducted within a multinational corporate catering company. Since late 2024, the company has been deploying a New Production Model (NPM) combining upstream off-site production with downstream on-site preparation (initially dedicated solely to the business sector and Paris region). Two newly created Food Processing Facilities perform washing, peeling, preparation of base sauces, and (pre-)cooking. Semi-processed products are delivered in 1.5-kg pouches with shelf lives ranging from 7 to 21 days, while final cooking, seasoning, and plating remain on restaurant sites. Currently, 30-40% of restaurant supplies originate from these facilities, reconfiguring procurement processes, work organization, and daily activities. Based on interviews (with project designers, managers, chefs and service staff) and on-site observations, the research examines how the NPM reshapes work, skill requirements, coollaboration, autonomy, and the perceived meaning of work. Its deployment was conditioned by several criteria: acceptance by Regional Operations Directors and clients, site-specific constraints, and its capacity to reduce on-site staffing in response to labour shortages and rising wage costs. To secure the occupancy rates necessary for facility profitability, where these conditions were not met, the company redirected the NPM toward other market segments or regions raising questions about the limits of relocalisation and the balance between centralization and territorial proximity. While promoted as a lever for relocalisation, quality, and ecological transition, the NPM reveals both sustainability opportunities and new social, economic and environmental tensions. These findings contribute to broader debates on the conditions under which organizational innovations can support genuinely ecological and socially just agrifood transitions.

Título do Evento: 16th World Congress of Rural Sociology and 64th Congress of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Management and Sociology
Cidade do Evento: Porto Alegre
Título dos Anais do Evento: Anais do 64º Congresso da SOBER e XVI Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (IRSA)
Nome da Editora: Even3
Meio de Divulgação: Meio Digital
DOI

Como citar

FAGET, Thomas; BOUDRA, Leïla; NASCIMENTO, Adelaide. NEW PRODUCTION MODEL IN CORPORATE CATERING: TENSIONS BETWEEN RELOCALISATION, INDUSTRIALISATION AND WORK ON AGRIFOOD TRANSITIONS.. In: Anais do 64º Congresso da SOBER e XVI Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (IRSA). Anais...Porto Alegre(RS) UFRGS, 2026. Disponível em: https//www.even3.com.br/anais/sober-irsa2026/1441802-NEW-PRODUCTION-MODEL-IN-CORPORATE-CATERING--TENSIONS-BETWEEN-RELOCALISATION-INDUSTRIALISATION-AND-WORK-ON-AGRIF. Acesso em: 22/09/2026