Edinburgh Zoo appoints Sodexo Live! as catering and hospitality partner
Sodexo Live! has been appointed the catering and hospitality partner for Edinburgh Zoo following a competitive tendering process. Their specialist event catering brand Heritage Portfolio will be elevating the experience at a local level with a core team based in Edinburgh.
This partnership marks the beginning of a new era in the zoo’s food and beverage experience, with a focus on quality, consistency, and alignment with the values and mission of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) which operates the zoo. Together, Edinburgh Zoo and Sodexo Live! will shape a distinctive on-site food culture that celebrates Scottish ingredients, supports local producers, and enhances the visitor experience.
With a food and beverage plan built around conservation, community, and engagement, early priorities the team will focus on will be improving quality and consistency across the site, refreshing menus with seasonal produce in collaboration with local suppliers, and embedding a service culture that mirrors the zoo’s educational and conservation values.
Adding to the list of iconic Sodexo Live! client partners across Scotland, including Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Hampden Park, this collaboration will celebrate and strengthen the zoo’s unique identity, making food and drink an integral part of its story.
Edinburgh Zoo is a world-class visitor attraction, and this partnership gives us the unique opportunity to really transform the catering offering to reflect RZSS’s vision.
By positioning Edinburgh Zoo as a place of global exploration and education – a living classroom for all – we want to create a sense of culinary adventure and discovery through exciting, diverse global flavours aligned to the animals’ natural habitats.
We want our food to be more than just a service – we want it to add joy and make visitors’ zoo experience even more immersive and meaningful.
The collaboration represents a truly local partnership, combining the extensive Scottish hospitality knowledge of the Sodexo Live! team with RZSS’s mission to ‘protect, value and love nature.’ Inspired by the zoo’s animals and their habitats, a ‘Feeding Natural Curiosity’ philosophy will be implemented, guiding menu development, emphasising global flavours, from-scratch cooking, zero-waste initiatives, and community partnerships.
We want to provide visitors to Edinburgh Zoo with the very best experience as this will encourage more people to learn about and protect our natural world.
Catering is an essential part of that, and we are looking forward to working in partnership with the Sodexo Live! and Heritage Portfolio team to develop an exceptional offer which celebrates local, high quality and sustainable produce.
Sodexo Live! supports some of the UK’s most iconic music, cultural and sporting events, plus conference centres and airport lounges, by delivering world class hospitality and food services. Producing outstanding catering and event services, it serves some of the most prestigious venues across Britain, delivering amazing experiences that go beyond the remarkable food it creates. Globally, partners include The Scottish Open, Royal Ascot, the Tour de France, and exceptional venues such as the Eiffel Tower Restaurants, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Hard Rock Stadium, and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Find out more about Sodexo Live!