Office Lunch Ordering System

Whether you are ordering a weekly lunch for your team or planning a special luncheon for the entire office, coordinating a meal for a group of people tends to feel like such a heavy responsibility. However, it doesn’t need to be. If you are tasked with ordering team lunches, you can make it easier on yourself with the right office lunch ordering system.

Common Office Lunch Ordering Challenges

Ah, the office supplied lunch. Get it right, and you’re the hero. Get it wrong, and well… let’s just focus on making you the hero.

It can quickly become overwhelming when it's time to coordinate lunch. You may be thinking: “I’ll just get a variety of things. That’ll make everyone happy!” But behold, too many options can make planning stressful, and there’s no guarantee that you will meet everyone's food preferences or dietary restrictions. We’re here to simplify the process, take the pressure off, and ensure you have always satisfied, always happy employees.

Here are a few tips to help you find the most efficient office lunch ordering system so you can be the office hero at your next team lunch, client meeting, or special event.

There are many factors to consider when ordering for a diverse group of individuals, so look for ways to overcome potential challenges before they occur. Below, we will outline some tips and tricks to help you save time and make the ordering process more convenient for you and your team.

How to Order Office Lunch Delivery

Once you’ve become the person in charge of feeding your team, you have three choices: go through the hassle of hunting everyone down for their orders, tell everyone what they’re eating, or work with a professional to do the heavy lifting for you.

Identify Your Targets

If you’re always ordering lunch for your team, you've probably realized that everyone has their favorite restaurants. So how do you ensure everyone is satisfied?

Consider Individual vs. Group Orders

First, determine whether you need to place individual orders or group orders.

• Individual Orders - Some restaurants make it simple for everyone to place their own order. Others, not so much. Instead of worrying about taking everyone’s orders and individual payments, leave it to the pros.
• Group Orders - If you are providing for large groups or do not have time to take individual orders, a group order may be the way to go. Professional catering lets you include various menu items with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options to accommodate any dietary restrictions or allergies.

Coordinate Your Menu

Once you have selected your favorite restaurants and made the choice of where to order, it's time to coordinate the menu.

If you are taking individual orders, you will need to find an efficient way to take them all down. You can email your team the menu and ask them to reply with their order. Another option is to create a poll or survey, describe the event, and give a few options. Each person can still have their meal catered in individual boxes.

Depending on the size of the group or the type of event, you may decide that a buffet-style meal is a better option. Having a variety of choices will satisfy most people, but it can help to check with the restaurant or caterer to find which menu items are popular with groups similar to yours.

Offer your team at least a few choices, but not too many, so they don't get overwhelmed. Decision fatigue is real!

Consider the Location

Before taking lunch orders, consider the venue location. Will everyone be eating in a conference room together? Is this a business lunch where people need to focus on a presentation or be able to dialogue throughout? Will an aromatic meal cause smells to linger for hours? Is this a relaxed, outdoor event? When making your list of local restaurants, notate which ones are best suited for casual occasions, which offer contactless delivery, which ones provide corporate catering services, and any other important notes.

Set a Deadline

We get it. One of the biggest pains about ordering lunch for a group of people is getting everyone’s order in on time. To make sure lunch arrives on time and fresh, we recommend setting a designated time for everyone to put their orders in 30-45 minutes ahead of when you plan to place the order. This cushion of time gives a few minutes' grace period for anyone who gets tied up and allows you enough time to make sure you have all the orders.

Meal Delivery Service Considerations

Determining the best office lunch ordering system and which service to use is not a quick decision. You must figure out which service works best for your group dynamic, budgetary limits, and dietary restrictions.

Budget

A good caterer will do what it takes to craft an amazing menu every time and keep you within your target budget.  

If there is no set budget but you want to be mindful of spending, there are a few things you can keep in mind if you’re planning the lunch on your own:

• You can lower costs by doing a buffet-style meal or group order.
• A weekly appreciation lunch may cost around $15 per person, depending on the type of cuisine and other factors.
• More formal lunches may run you $25+ per person, especially if you order desserts.
• An all-day event that serves multiple meals per person will increase your costs.
• Take time to research local restaurants and find out which options will work within your budget.

Dietary Restrictions and Allergies

There’s nothing worse than showing up to a group lunch and not being able to eat. If you have team members that are gluten-free, vegan, or have common food allergies like nuts, dairy, or shellfish – no doubt you’ve felt this pressure.

Maybe in the past you’ve kept a spreadsheet of everyone’s favorite cuisines or allergies. In theory, this sounds like a good idea, but can easily become a daunting task, especially as your team grows and scales. Look to work with a partner like Crafty that can manage these specifications and confirm there is no issue with ingredients or cross-contamination with your order.  

Healthy Office Lunch Delivery Options

While we understand that taste is king when it comes to the office lunch, it’s important to make sure that the food you serve your team fuels their body, in addition to appealing to their taste buds. We love a good treat, but when it’s paired with a nutritious meal – everyone wins. Ordering healthy options that are still delicious is essential.

Fortunately, providing nourishing, well-rounded meals that also factor in the gluten-free, vegetarian, or other dietary needs to meet everyone's eclectic tastes is easy with a service provider that specializes in managing corporate food and beverage.

Top Office Lunch Delivery Service Providers

Crafty x ezCater

Crafty partners with ezCater to go beyond convenience and efficiency, offering the best catering solutions to support your goals. Check out our recent webinar to learn how our partnership makes mealtime at the office a little more magical.

Unleash the Power of ezCater
Get an unparalleled catering experience with ezCater's expertise and cutting-edge technology. Say goodbye to the hassle of coordinating multiple vendors and hello to streamlined efficiencies.

Crafty's Central Billing & Reporting
Crafty's integrated platform allows you to consolidate your ezCater billing and reports into the Crafty dashboard. No more juggling spreadsheets or searching for lost invoices.

Enhance Culture & Relationships
Whether you're hosting a corporate event, a team meeting or a special celebration, our combined expertise ensures that every detail is taken care of, so you can focus on what matters.

GrubHub

GrubHub may offer an office food program, but they really specialize in-home delivery service.

Foodify

Foodify allows different departments to manage their own team lunch meetings and lets a business use multiple company cards.

Sure, there are other meal services out there that may work for occasional lunch deliveries or office meals, but when it comes down to it, you really need a service that specializes in corporate food programs. Crafty does more than just deliver your food. We use food as a means to bring your employees together. We’ll stock your kitchen and pantry, ship snacks to your employee’s home, and handle every last detail of  catering team lunches or events  – so all you have to do is enjoy your food and get back to what matters most.

One last word of advice – frequenting favorite restaurants is great, but finding a service that will let you keep your food options fresh with different menu options or restaurant selections is even better. Crafty helps you craft a better workplace by allowing you to customize your food and beverage program.