ezCater CEO Nihad Rahman Talks Workplace Catering

Summary

Bloomberg Talks — Episode Summary

Episode: ezCater CEO Nihad Rahman Talks Workplace Catering
Date: May 28, 2026
Host: Matt and Alexis (Bloomberg)
Guest: Nihad Rahman, CEO of ezCater

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the evolving role of food in the workplace, focusing on how catering services are adapting to changing expectations and hybrid work trends. Nihad Rahman, CEO of ezCater, discusses the logistical and cultural challenges of delivering meals at scale and highlights the growing importance of individualized catering solutions for businesses, universities, and organizations across the United States.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Central Role of Food in Workplace Culture

• Food as an ROI Driver:
  Nihad emphasizes that “food is the highest ROI investment” companies can make for employees, enhancing morale, productivity, and culture (01:14).
• Beyond the Office:
  Catering isn’t limited to traditional offices, but also includes warehouses, distribution centers, labs, universities, and even sports teams (01:14).

2. ezCater's Business Model and Logistics

• Connecting Employers and Local Restaurants:
  ezCater acts as a tech platform connecting employers with a network of 125,000 restaurants nationwide to build custom meal programs (01:55).
• No Central Kitchen, All Restaurant Partners:
  Alexis clarifies, and Nihad confirms, that ezCater does not operate its own kitchens but leverages existing restaurants, offering more variety and supporting local economies (02:48).
• Tech Integration and Streamlined Processes:
  ezCater integrates food ordering with clients’ procurement and expensing systems, removing chaos from the catering process:
  “There’s no chief food officer, right? … That’s where we bring structure, that's where we bring our technology.” — Nihad Rahman (03:26).
• 15+ Years of Experience:
  The technology and data platform has been honed since 2007, tailored to various client needs—from FedEx to Johns Hopkins (05:02).

3. The Evolution and Resilience of the Company

• Startup Origin:
  The founders identified sales reps’ need for seamless food delivery, so client meetings could focus on business, not logistics (05:58).
• Pandemic Impact and Recovery:
  COVID-19 was an existential threat for the sector: “One of those classic businesses that should die during a Covid situation. But we survived, and now we're thriving.” — Nihad Rahman (06:20).

4. Trends and the Future of Workplace Catering

• Hybrid Work Changes:
  Despite fewer people in offices, 60–70% of Americans still work in roles requiring on-site presence (06:49).
• Top Trend:
  Demand for “individualized packaged food delivered at scale, at a price point that matters” (07:19).
• Personalization:
  Employees increasingly want meal choices tailored to the individual, not just buffet-style options (07:25).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Food is the highest ROI investment that they can make for their employees. It boosts morale, productivity. It helps you build culture, bring people together.”
  — Nihad Rahman (01:22)
• "The cafeteria was built for a different era and people love restaurant food... businesses want to actually help the local restaurants. And so at ezCater, that's what we do."
  — Nihad Rahman (01:51)
• “There’s no chief food officer, right? But there is a way you want to do it. And so that's where we bring structure, that's where we bring our technology.”
  — Nihad Rahman (03:26)
• “Our co-founders...really saw this well before a lot of us...sales Representatives would bring in food to prospects and clients. But they wanted to sell the product...not deal with food. And so that was the original use case through which this started.”
  — Nihad Rahman (05:58)
• “Covid did a number on us...But we survived, and now we’re thriving.”
  — Nihad Rahman (06:20)
• “Number one trend, individualized packaged food delivered at scale, at a price point that matters.”
  — Nihad Rahman (07:19)
• Lighthearted close:
  “Me and Nihad are going to go out for some...We’re gonna go grab some food at Haiku. We’re gonna go Westchester.”
  — Matt (07:30)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:14 – Nihad introduces the scale and mission of ezCater
• 02:48 – Explaining the restaurant-powered model
• 03:26 – Importance of structured, tech-driven processes
• 05:02 – Proprietary technology and adaptability
• 05:58 – ezCater origin story: from sales reps to national network
• 06:20 – Pandemic impact and recovery
• 06:49 – Discussion of the hybrid work landscape
• 07:19 – #1 trend: individualized, scalable catering

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Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is lively and practical, blending workplace trends with personal anecdotes and candid business insights. The hosts keep it light, wrapping up with a joke about food cravings, while Nihad delivers strategic and tactical perspective on how workplace catering is transforming to meet employees’ evolving preferences and companies’ operational demands.

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In essence: ezCater’s model is all about making it convenient and cost-effective for employers to offer restaurant-quality, individualized food at work—regardless of location, workplace type, or industry—by leveraging tech, logistics, and a massive network of partner restaurants.

Transcript

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[Matt]

One of the other benefits that we have working here at Bloomberg is a ton of food. If you've been to our food court up on the sixth floor, you know that we have as many snacks as you could possibly eat.

[Alexis]

There is fruit tossed in there, though,

[Matt]

to be fair, a lot of fresh fruit, delicious yogurts and food. Workplace food is becoming no longer a nice to have, but a must have to bring in the kind of workforce that you need. And our next guest is in charge of doing that on a B2B level. Nihad Rahman joins us, CEO of Easy Cater. Great to have you in here. Also a fellow Westchester resident. Talk to us about your business. I mean, how many businesses, how many universities, how many organizations are you bringing food to every day at lunch?

[Nihad Rahman]

Yeah, at the highest level, Matt, we help organizations feed their people at their workplaces. And workplaces can be office buildings, warehouses, distribution centers, universities, labs, even sports teams when they're on the road. You said it so well. Food is so central to the workday, to the workplace culture. I'm often reminded what our customers often remind us. They say food is the highest ROI investment that they can make for their employees. It boosts morale, productivity. It helps you build culture, bring people together. And oh, by the way, food at the workplace is deceptively complex. I mean, imagine if you were standing at a factory floor having to feed 300 workers in a 20 minute lunch break. Food has to show up on time, as ordered. Every minute counts, at or under budget. Sort of a logistically complex operation. And our customers often remind us the cafeteria was built for a different era and people love restaurant food and people and businesses want to actually help the local restaurants. And so at Easycator, that's what we do. We embed directly with our, with our customers, like those universities, like those large employers across the nation. We connect them with 125,000 restaurants across the US and we build meal programs for them.

[Alexis]

Okay, so. Oh, I didn't realize this. So you're not. You don't run the kitchens close to your clients and you're making the food yourselves. You are contracting with restaurants in the area to supply the food.

[Nihad Rahman]

That's right. So we are a technology platform. We're connecting the employers who want to bring food in for their employees. With these restaurants, and we're really making it easy for them. So we're embedding with their procurement systems, we're embedding with their expensing systems. We're allowing them to bring in food in a controlled, structured way. I mean, if you think about it, food at the workplace can get pretty chaotic, right? Multiple vendors, how do you expense? Who wants to eat what? Everybody has a point of view on food. So a structured way to do this is essential. That's what our customers say. You know, there's no chief food officer, right? So, but, but, but there's a way you want to do it. And so that's where we bring structure, that's where we bring our technology. And, and turns out that when you've done it for over 15 years, you've learned how to do it really well.

[Matt]

It also can be a productivity tool, right? Because I don't know why we have so much food at Bloomberg, but it has been suggested to me that the boss didn't want everybody leaving the office for an hour every day at lunch. Better if you just go up to the link and grab your lunch and come back to your desk, then you can get straight back to work, right? I mean, cafeterias, we're really a different generation. That's not something that financial institutions in New York really have so much of anymore. So having a business like yours that can deliver to me what five guys I can get, like Pizza Hut, I can get whatever. Even local restaurants that are only downstairs really solves two problems with one stone. You're helping the local economy, and you're helping increase productivity at the business.

[Nihad Rahman]

And for another thing, I would say mat, I think people are looking for a technology asset, light way to do this, versus a heavy asset, intensive, logistically challenging way where variety is not really there. You're not helping the local economy. So, yeah, you said it well, said it better than I did.

[Alexis]

Do you have proprietary technology that's helping you do this and give us a feel for what that tech is like.

[Nihad Rahman]

Proprietary data, proprietary technology that has been perfected over 15 years now. More than 15 years. We were founded in 2007. And, you know, I think one of the things, Alexis, is everyone does food differently. What's Most important for FedEx is different from Johns Hopkins. And we have built a set of tools that enable these organizations to pick the things that's most important for them, whether it be technology, access, governance, guardrails, budgets, and create the program around it and then switch it on. And then they trust us to really do this at scale across the nation.

[Matt]

So give us your origin story or the Ezcader origin story. Did you bootstrap this business? It's grown to an institutional size now. And how do you finance, how do you fund this business? And what's the growth look like to you?

[Nihad Rahman]

Our co founders, Stephanie Amelette and Briscoe Rogers really saw this well before a lot of us, you know, a lot of us saw it. And they really started from a place of sales. Representatives would bring in food to prospects and clients. But they wanted to sell the product. They wanted to talk about what it is, you know, that they were selling, not deal with food. And so that was the original use case through which this started, and it was growing spectacularly. Well, Covid did a number on us, and turns out that business catering was one of those classic businesses that should die during a Covid situation. But we survived, and now we're thriving.

[Alexis]

But let me ask this. Fewer people are going into the office post Covid. It's a fact.

[Nihad Rahman]

How has that impacted your business in the offices? Potentially, yes, you're right. Some of the return to work mandates have really, I think, subsided. But you know, Alexis, there's 7 out of 10Americans, 6 out of 10Americans hold positions that require them to be at their workplace. Think about the distribution center workers. Think about transportation, retail, media, universities.

[Alexis]

We're here all the time. I want a number one trend in food catering right now for businesses.

[Nihad Rahman]

Number one trend, individualized packaged food delivered at scale, at a price point that matters.

[Alexis]

Individualized.

[Matt]

Very cool.

[Alexis]

You. You want a roast beef sandwich? I take.

[Matt]

I'm so hungry.

[Alexis]

I know you are.

[Matt]

You know, me and Nihad are going to go out for some. We're gonna go grab some food at. At Haiku. We're gonna go Westchester. Yeah, we'll go to the. To the Eastchester Haiku. It's too packed. It's too full at all times. And Haiku is delicious if you've never had it before. Niha, thanks so much for joining us. Nihad Ramen there from Easy Caterpillar.

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