School Catering

Client: Regional School Catering Company
Sector: Education | School Catering | Public Sector Procurement

The Challenge

Our client, a regional school catering provider, was bidding for a large contract with a multi‑academy trust covering multiple primary and secondary school sites.

The bid was complex. It required the client to:

  • Demonstrate the ability to deliver consistent, high‑quality catering across a wide geographical footprint

  • Address different types of provision, reflecting the needs of both primary and secondary schools

  • Clearly articulate mobilisation, staffing, compliance, and quality assurance at scale

Given the size and importance of the opportunity, the client wanted hands‑on support to ensure nothing was missed.

Our Approach

We delivered a fully managed bid service, taking responsibility for the entire process while maintaining close and regular communication with the client.

Our support included:

  • End‑to‑End Bid Management: We coordinated the full submission, ensuring compliance, consistency, and clarity throughout.

  • Regular Client Engagement: We scheduled twice‑weekly check‑ins with the main client contact, enabling rapid decision‑making and continuous refinement.

  • Three Iterative Drafts: Each draft strengthened the bid, improving structure, detail, evidence, and alignment with the Academy Trust’s evaluation criteria.

  • Graphic Development: We created clear, professional graphics to support complex information and improve readability for evaluators.

  • Polished Presentation: We packaged the final submission to a high standard, ensuring it was easy to navigate and professionally presented.

Our approach ensured the bid not only met requirements, but also stood out.

The Outcome

The results were excellent:

  • The client was invited to interview

  • They won the contract, securing a major multi‑site Academy Trust engagement

  • The Trust specifically commented on how impressed they were with the level of detail and the quality of presentation within the submission

This win reinforced the value of combining robust bid content with strong visual presentation and structured project management.

Why This Matters

Education catering bids are increasingly complex, particularly where delivery spans multiple sites and age groups. Success depends on more than just compliance—it requires:

  • Clear operational planning

  • Strong communication

  • Evidence‑led responses

  • Professional presentation

At BidVantage, we help education providers translate their operational capability into compelling, high‑scoring submissions that evaluators can trust.