For the Love of Food: Q&A with Henry Watts on the vision behind Angel Hill Food Co.

What inspired the relaunch of Angel Hill Food Co.?

Angel Hill Food Co. sits on strong foundations, but it reached a natural moment of change. The business OCS acquired in 2012 had served the B&I market well for many years, but the brand no longer reflected where the offer had grown to or where it was heading.

The Angel Hill name itself is rooted in heritage. It comes from Bury St Edmunds, where the Servest business, a forerunner of OCS, began. Angel Hill is the street where that story started, being one of the oldest food markets in the country and a centre of culinary excellence and exploration. The relaunch reconnects the catering offer to its origin, while giving it a clearer, more contemporary identity that reflects the quality of food and service now being delivered.

What will customers notice first about the new brand?

The most important change is not visual; it is experiential. Food is centre stage. Angel Hill Food Co. is about fresh ingredients, freshly prepared food, and menus that change and evolve.

Food plays a much wider role in people’s lives than simply sustenance. It brings people together, marks occasions, reflects culture, and creates moments of connection. That belief underpins the strapline ‘For the Love of Food’. It is a simple expression of why the offer exists and of the teams that deliver every day.

Customers should see food that looks appealing, tastes good, and is prepared with care, using responsibly sourced ingredients. The branding supports that story, but the proof sits on the counter.

How important are people in bringing the brand to life?

People are fundamental. Frontline colleagues are the face of the business. They interact with customers every day, they understand local preferences, and they shape the experience far more than any brand asset ever could.

The focus is always on having the right people in place. When colleagues share the right values, skills can be taught, and knowledge can be developed. That means investing in training, support, and the tools that make it easier to deliver great food and great service.

There is a simple truth behind the model. Great food leads to happy customers. Happy customers lead to strong customer relationships. None of that happens without colleagues who care about what they do.

How are teams empowered while maintaining consistency and safety?

Food safety and allergens are non-negotiable. Those standards create clear boundaries. Within them, colleagues are trusted to apply their local knowledge.

What works in Scotland may not work in Cornwall. Preferences vary by region, site, and customer group. Teams understand that detail better than anyone and are encouraged to adapt menus within agreed frameworks. That balance between consistency and empowerment is essential to delivering a safe, relevant, and engaging food offer.

What makes Angel Hill Food Co. different in a crowded catering market?

Angel Hill Food Co. benefits from being part of OCS while retaining the agility of a specialist catering business. That combination matters.

The business operates with the flexibility and responsiveness often associated with smaller operators, while drawing on the scale, resources, and support of a wider facilities management group. This allows Angel Hill Food Co. to work successfully as a standalone catering partner or as part of a broader, integrated offer.

For customers, it means access to a catering brand that feels personal and focused, but is backed by resilience, governance, and long-term capability.

What do you want customers and colleagues to feel when they experience the brand?

For customers, the experience should feel personal. Catering is the one service on-site people actively choose and pay for, which makes quality and value highly visible.

When people see the Angel Hill Food Co. name, they should associate it with fresh food, great service and food crafted with care and purpose. That means menus shaped with nutrition in mind – not as an add-on, but as part of how food supports people through their day, whether they’re working, learning or delivering essential services.

For colleagues, the brand should feel inclusive and supportive. Investment in training, development, and tools helps teams feel included in a greater entity, even when they are geographically distant from the head office. That sense of being part of a team directly influences consistency and pride in delivery.

How will the brand continue to develop over time?

Consistency matters as much as creativity. The ambition is not to have peaks and troughs, but to deliver a steadily improving service. New concepts, chef development, and menu evolution are all part of that journey, designed to keep customers engaged day after day.

Feedback from sites already shows growing confidence in the offer and stronger customer response. That momentum comes from clarity of purpose and having the right people delivering it. Retaining existing partnerships and earning new ones flows naturally from doing the basics well, every day.

Angel Hill Food Co.’s relaunch is about reaffirming a simple idea: when food is prepared with care by people who are supported and trusted, it creates better experiences for everyone.