Why Beans Might Be the Most Scalable Solution for Workplace Catering
When we talk about improving food at work, the conversation often centres around cost, convenience, or dietary trends, but there’s a quieter, more powerful solution sitting in plain sight, one that addresses nutrition, sustainability and scalability all at once.
Beans.
The problem with workplace food today
Most workplace catering systems weren’t designed with longterm performance in mind.
They’re built around:
Speed
Convenience
Predictability
Which often leads to menus that are:
Low in fibre
Reliant on refined carbohydrates
Built for short-term satisfaction rather than sustained energy
The result is something most teams recognise:
Energy dips mid-afternoon
Reliance on caffeine
Inconsistent focus across the day
And the numbers around this are now hard to ignore. The CIPD’s 2025 Health and Wellbeing at Work survey found that 87% of UK organisations observed presenteeism, employees working while unwell or sub-par, in the previous twelve months, while average sickness absence has climbed to 9.4 days per employee, the highest level in more than 15 years. Deloitte has separately estimated that presenteeism alone costs UK employers around £24 billion a year in lost productivity.
At scale, this becomes a performance issue, not just a food one.
Why beans change the equation
Beans offer something very few ingredients can.
They are simultaneously:
Nutritionally dense
Environmentally efficient
Cost-effective
Highly versatile
This combination makes them uniquely suited to workplace catering, where consistency and scale matter.
1. Sustained energy, not spikes
From a nutritional perspective, beans are one of the most effective ingredients for supporting steady energy.
They provide:
Complex carbohydrates for gradual energy release
Plant-based protein for satiety
High levels of fibre to support digestion
This slows down the rate at which energy is released into the bloodstream, helping to avoid the sharp peaks and crashes that are common with more refined meals.
In a workplace setting, that translates directly into:
More stable focus
Fewer energy dips
Better cognitive performance across the afternoon
2. Gut health at scale
Fibre is one of the most under consumed nutrients in modern diets.
In the UK, the picture is striking. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommends 30g of fibre a day, but the average adult consumes just 19–20g, and only around 9% of UK adults actually meet the target. SACN has linked meeting that 30g threshold with significant reductions in the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.
Fibre plays a critical role in:
Digestion
Immune function
Even mental clarity, via the gut-brain connection
Beans are one of the richest natural sources of fibre available, and the NHS Eatwell Guide counts an 80g serving of pulses as a full portion of 5 a day.
Incorporating them regularly into workplace menus is one of the simplest ways to improve overall gut health, without asking employees to change their habits dramatically.
It’s not about telling people what to eat. It’s about making better choices the default.
3. A sustainable ingredient that actually scales
From a sustainability perspective, beans are hard to beat.
They:
Require significantly less water than animal protein, beef protein production uses more than six times the water per gram of protein than pulses
Enrich soil through nitrogen fixation, reducing reliance on synthetic fertiliser
Have a lower carbon footprint than most protein sources
In the UK specifically, the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) is leading a £5.9m Nitrogen Climate Smart project, working with 200 UK farms and 17 industry partners to scale pulse and legume cropping from around 5% to 20% of arable rotations, a shift that could cut up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂e a year from British agriculture alone.
But the key point is this: they scale.
Unlike many “sustainable” solutions that are difficult to implement at volume, beans can be:
Easily integrated into existing menus
Sourced reliably, including from a growing UK pulse-farming base
Prepared in multiple formats across cuisines
This makes them a practical, not theoretical, solution.
4. Cost without compromise
One of the biggest barriers to improving workplace food is cost.
High-quality, nutrient-dense ingredients are often seen as a premium, and the pressure is real. The Food and Drink Federation has forecast UK food and non-alcoholic drink inflation could reach 9–10% by the end of 2026, while the National Living Wage rose to £12.71 in April 2026, squeezing caterers on both food and labour costs simultaneously.
Beans challenge that assumption.
They allow caterers to:
Improve nutritional quality
Maintain strong margins
Offer more accessible price points
All without compromising on taste or experience.
This is where real change becomes possible, when better food is not only healthier and more sustainable, but also commercially viable in a tightening procurement environment.
5. Versatility across global menus
Perhaps the most overlooked advantage of beans is how adaptable they are.
They sit naturally within:
Mediterranean dishes
Middle Eastern plates
Latin American cuisine
British seasonal cooking, from baked beans and broad beans to runner beans, marrowfat peas, and a new wave of UK-grown haricots and fava beans
This means they can be integrated into menus in a way that feels familiar, not forced.
From slow-cooked stews to fresh salads and warm bowls, they offer variety without complexity.
From trend to infrastructure
There’s a tendency to treat ingredients like beans as a trend, something to add in occasionally, but in reality, they offer something much more valuable: a foundation.
A way to build menus that:
Support energy and performance
Improve nutritional quality at scale
Reduce environmental impact
Remain commercially sustainable
What this means for workplaces
For organisations thinking about wellbeing, productivity and sustainability, the opportunity is clear.
Food is not just a perk. It’s part of the infrastructure that supports how teams feel and perform, and sometimes, the most effective solutions aren’t complex.
They’re just applied consistently.
A simple shift with outsized impact
At Pow Food, we see beans not as an alternative, but as an essential part of how we build menus.
Because when you find an ingredient that supports:
People
Performance
The planet
and does so at scale, t’s not something to use occasionally.
It’s something to build around.
Sources & references
Deloitte UK, analyses of mental health and presenteeism cost (£24bn pa estimate).
NHS Eatwell Guide — pulses as protein, 80g portion = 1 of 5-a-day.
Food and Drink Federation (FDF), 2026 UK food inflation reforecast.
UK Government, National Living Wage rate (£12.71, April 2026).
SDG2 Advocacy Hub — Beans Is How; Food Foundation & Veg Power, Bang In Some Beans (UK campaign).