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August 6, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Clarion Group, consultants to companies, colleges and institutions in food service operations, has joined Food Consultants Group, an alliance of independent consulting firms that specialize in food- and food service-related disciplines, Tom Mac Dermott, Clarion Group’s president announced.
Colleges and Universities benefit from a consultancy firm that has a specialty at improving the processes, marketing and design of the specific industry that requires these services.  College food service consultants assist cafeteria and dining halls of an academic institution or on campus grounds.  A college food service consultant works with their clients to improve upon the overall business.  This includes the internal processes, up to the marketing and other external driving forces of success, such
February 10, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Colleges and companies can make expensive mistakes when they’re planning a new dining facility or renovating an existing one if they haven’t first planned carefully for the operation and services they want, says Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm.
Trusted Kingston, NH-based corporate food service consultants, Clarion Group are now providing their regulatory expertise to clients across the marketplace. The company’s experts can advise clients on issues such as regulations regarding nutritional information on menus and guide companies to successful compliance within the current market.
To deliver a standout experience to employees within their buildings, companies must work with corporate food service consultants to analyze the latest trends and implement strategies based on emerging data. With decades of food service market experience to their name, the team at corporate food service consultants Clarion Group has a finger on the pulse of the industry. And within this article, they take a look at four important trends set to take hold within the 2015 marketplace. 1. Quality Service Defines Value
A company’s food services area is a critical element of its day-to-day operations. The options available and the design of the food services area can impact how employees experience their time at work. These factors can also influence visitors to the building. And therefore growing organizations about to select a food services vendor might consider the following three tips from corporate food services consultants Clarion Group for building a strong foundation for food service success 1. Create a Watertight Contract
Kingston, NH-based food service consultants, Clarion Group are now offering a comprehensive corporate event service. Through the company’s hospitality management service, they can help improve the management, planning and execution of a broad range of events. It’s a service designed to reduce the costs and challenges associated with organizing dynamic business events.
Kingston, NH-based dining service consultant, Clarion Group is now working with businesses across the region to help reduce the cost of their food services. The company’s team has several years’ experience within the marketplace, and can help clients negotiate their food services contracts and reduce costs related to labor, management and food preparation. It’s a service that will allow clients to streamline the delivery of high quality food products within their facility.
By working with specialist corporate food service consultants, growing organizations can create a food service that meets both the needs of their in-house teams and their emerging operational requirements. Enterprises must be proactive in analyzing their current food service strategies and by working with corporate food service consultants they can analyze the areas in which improvements can be made to ensure goals are met over the long-term. In analyzing client objectives, corporate food service consultants will build an actionable strategic business plan.
College food service operators face an array of challenges in responding to the evolving needs of students and school faculty. They must continually add to their services suite in order to engage these customers and enhance their revenues. Often, many food services vendors find themselves focused on simply delivering a standard level of service rather than approaching declining sales figures with strategic forethought. And so many food services teams work with college dining consultants to bring a greater return for their business.
September 3, 2014   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Companies, colleges and others who have outside contractors operating their on-site food services should beware of the risks they face in the rapidly evolving arena of employment law advises Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, president of food service consulting firm Clarion Group. The widely publicized finding of the National Labor Relations Board General Counsel that McDonald’s is responsible for the employment actions of its franchisees is a warning, Mac Dermott says.
Today’s growing companies are under ever-greater pressure to reduce their expenditure while expanding the level of service they provide to their in-house employees. In order to maintain an effective balance between costs and service, businesses often turn to consulting companies who can help ensure that business facilities are designed and planned with efficiency as a foremost concern.
July 7, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “Customer-facing technology is opening new opportunities for corporate food service operators,” says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm.  “As companies evolve and the ways people work changes, operators have to adapt to provide meals and services to meet new needs and preferences.”
Corporate food service is an employee amenity that can be a success if the company planning to provide the service get started on the right foot by hiring a firm of corporate food service consultants to overcome the learning curve and to make the right decisions the first time. Corporate food service consultants that specialize in food-based businesses have the experience, insight and proven successes to make any corporate cafe a success with services such as menu planning, layout design and market research.
The managers of corporate food services and related hospitality services often make a mistake when they outsource these services by accepting the vendor’s “standard contract,” says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service management consulting firm.
Companies whose food service operations are managed by contractors on a subsidized basis may not be receiving full value financially or the best possible meals and services, warns Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service management consulting firm.
Running and managing a food service business within a corporate facility is a niche market that can be improved with the assistance of corporate food service consultants. There are unique needs that a food based facility requires when the business’s target market is professionals that are dining in their workplace location. One of the main goals of corporate food service consultants is to keep employees at their workplace to dine and to avoid having staff leave the building to find their meals.
Food service operators who are worrying about a possible increase in the minimum wage are looking in the wrong direction,” say Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service management consulting firm. “The federal government’s proposal to tighten regulations on exemptions from overtime pay has received little attention, but if implemented, will have a greater and more immediate impact on corporate and campus food service operations,” he says.  “It will require operators to rethink and restructure their on-site food service management teams.”
“Among the fastest-growing solutions in corporate food services is the micro-market,” says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food services consulting firm. A micro market is an unattended convenience store, typically located in a workplace setting where there’s not enough population to support a food service operation and vending machines by themselves are not adequate.  Customers select food, snacks and beverages from refrigerated display cases and racks, just as in any c-store or a dining center’s grab-and-go section. 
There are many food businesses that have been long-established but have noticed a decrease in their customers and return business. This is becoming the norm for corporate food facilities as more options become available to employees. Many companies have been partnering with corporate food service consultants to assist with modernizing their facility to attract more corporate customers, to save on costs and to gain retain employees.  There are a number of benefits to hiring corporate food service consultants and three of these include:
There are a number of food businesses that operate within a facility such as a corporate headquarters, hospital or campus and want to increase their base of customers and improve their revenue. This is a business that does very well when dining service consultants are hired with a niche specialty in the food business that can provide key insights and an experienced approach to improving operations overall. There are a number of ways that dining service consultants can assist with growing and improving food based businesses: 1. Offering a Professional, Outside Prospective
December 2, 2013 “Be careful what you ask for,”  Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, president of Clarion Group, a food service and hospitality services consulting firm,  warns college and university administrators, referring to college food services.  “You might get it, and a lot more in the bargain.”
December 2, 2013 “The signs are pointing upward for corporate food services,” says Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, president of Compass Group, a food service and hospitality services consulting firm, citing two recent surveys of the industry, “but not for everyone.  The story’s a little different at every company.”
There are many food businesses that have been long-established but have noticed a decrease in their customers and return business. This is becoming the norm for corporate food facilities as more options become available to employees. Many companies have been partnering with corporate food service consultants to assist with modernizing their facility to attract more corporate customers, to save on costs and to gain retain employees.  There are a number of benefits to hiring corporate food service consultants and three of these include:
The operators of corporate food services can look forward to a good year in 2014, according to Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm.  Even some of the bad news for the year has a silver lining, he says. 
Corporate food business operations differ from restaurants and fast food chains in that the market is very specific and getting to know the customer and what they want most out of a dining facility is of utmost importance. Corporate food service consultants can assist with a range of competencies that increase the overall performance of the food business. There are questions that every dining facility should ask to determine if corporate food service consultants are the right choice for increasing business and overall growth of the company:
Food service consultants are an asset to any dining facility that works within an organization or enterprise such as corporate and school-based companies.  The goal of food service consultants is to improve operations on all levels of internal and external matters of the business of food services including: market research, menu planning, facility design, management analysis and more.  When consultants are hired for a food service facility they provide their clients with many valuable tools to ensure their success.  Some of the strategi
“Convergence is a term usually associated with communications, the blurring of lines between television, the internet, smart phones and the like.  Now convergence has come to corporate food service,” says Tom Mac Dermott, president of food service consulting firm Clarion Group.  “The line between staffed employee cafes and vending is being blurred with the emergence of the unattended food service option called micromarkets.”
Starting a corporate food service business should be a guaranteed success when your clientele are located within the same building but many corporate dining facilities fall short due to a lack of data-driven decisions, goal setting and professional planning techniques.  There are corporate food service advisors that can assist with establishing the business and getting it off to a great start with menu planning, layout design and market research.  Hiring these professionals ensures a professional, u
September 12, 2013 -- Kingston, NH -- With low interest rates and the Federal Reserve’s easy money policy, the major food service contractors have been more generous in offering financial investments to potential college and university clients, according to Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm.
When the new school year starts campus food facilities need more than their strategy from last year to do better this year.  There is campus food service consultants that can assist with making this school year the most profitable yet by offering a variety of services including management consultancy, facility design and hospitality management.  With these services a campus food service firm can assist at any stage of business planning and management from opening a new facility to improving the internal operations of a long-established facility.
August 26, 2013 -- Kingston, NH -- Should a college or university operate its campus food services on its own, or turn the role over to a food service contractor?  That’s question with an ambiguous answer, according to Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, President of the dining service consultant firm, Clarion Group.
Campus food service consulting has benefited many dining operations and helped expand their customer base and increase student participation in meal plans.  This is achieved through a variety of services that provide a well rounded and comprehensive approach to campus food consulting. 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 9, 2013 - Kingston, NH -- College food service operators are finding a new competitor for their voluntary meal plans, according to Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a campus and corporate food service consulting firm. “In addition to the usual off-campus restaurants, fast food, pizza and deli outlets, there now are a growing number of off-campus student residences, some of which have an in-house dining operation,” he said.
Attracting and retaining the attention of young adults can be a challenge for many campus-based facilities. These establishments need to offer an ideal layout and an exciting menu to keep customers satisfied and willing to return on a daily basis. 
May 29, 2013 Kingston, NH -- “Food service consultants frequently aren’t used to their full value by their corporate clients,” Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a corporate food service consulting firm, says.  “Often, we’re brought into a project too late to provide maximum benefit for our client.”
Kingston, NH, April 15, 2013 -- The managers of corporate food service operations are optimistic about the prospects for their businesses, according to a nationwide survey conducted jointly by Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm, and Food Management, the magazine of the on-site food service, industry. “These are the people on the front lines,” commented Tom Mac Dermott, Clarion Group president. “They’re managing their company’s food services every day, and have the pulse of their operations.”
April 1, 2013 - Kingston, NH - “Maybe the outgoing tide of more employees leaving the office to work at home is starting to reverse,” says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm.  “That would be good news for the operators of corporate food services.”
February 25, 2013  Kingston, NH - Companies that once considered low cost meals an employee benefit sometimes now are revising their attitude and thinking of food service as a convenience that should be self-sustaining, according to Tom Mac Dermott, FCSI, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm.
January 8, 2013 - Kingston, NH - Food service contractors and employed operators of corporate food services may face further diminishment of their customer bases in 2013, Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm, warns. “In addition to continued slow recovery in the economy, companies now have new ways to outsource even highly skilled work to freelance workers all over the world, reducing the need for – and cost of – on-site employees,” he said.
December 3, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Breakfast sales at employee food services have significantly diminished over the past five to seven years, endangering the viability of corporate food services, research by Clarion Group, a food service consulting firm, has found.
Dining consultants can assist on-site food facilities with internal operations and management, to improve the business from the inside-out.  On-site food services such as on college campuses and in corporate offices can benefit from dining consultants with decades of experience in: business plan development, operational and financial consulting, employee relations and customer research. 
November 12, 2012 - Food service operators in the corporate and school/college markets are facing a dilemma, says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a dining and hospitality consulting firm. “After absorbing a year’s worth of rising wholesale prices, the food service operator can expect that food costs will still keep going up well into 2013.  The dilemma is how to recoup the higher costs in the face of customer resistance.”
Will college food service follow corporate food service down the path to fewer customers and declining revenue?  That is a real possibility, says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a food service and hospitality services consulting firm. “Mobile technology untethered employees from the office,” Mac Dermott said, “and the rise of internet-based education, called ‘distance learning,’ may do the same for college students.”
July 20, 2012 - Kingston, NH - The food service management and consultancy company Clarion Group has just unveiled their new website layout and design.  The new site offers an improved user experience, with easier navigation, a crisp look and a wide variety of ways to learn about the company and their services, including a blog. 
Running a dining business within an organization can be a challenging task, especially in the academic atmosphere.  College and university students provide a lot of diversity for a manager.  Students come from all different demographics and their tastes and budgets can differ dramatically.  Not to mention, there are other factors at play to ensure the success of a dining business including: a great marketing campaign, healthy food and a logical floor plan. College dining consultants are becoming a staple to any manager’s operational
With the opening of the 2012-13 academic year, college food service operators face the  twin, and conflicting, challenges of rising expectations and rising costs, says Tom Mac Dermott, president of Clarion Group, a college food and hospitality consulting firm.
Corporate and campus food services can be vastly improved with the assistance of a food service consulting management team.  Every client of a food service management consulting firm is listened to in terms of visions, obstacles and goals and then the team creates a customized solution that works toward an improved overall operation, whether it is through business development, financial consulting or customer research. 

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CLARION GROUP
Food Service Consultants,
P.O. Box 158,
Kingston, NH 03848-0158

Phone: (603) 642-8011   
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