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Avendra International is expanding its Culinary Innovation Group to better serve clients and brands around the world. The expanded group brings together culinary expertise, procurement intelligence, consulting, and technology-enabled tools, including a broader Culinary Co-Pilot, to strengthen operators' menus, sourcing, and procurement decisions across international markets.
"Hospitality operators need to balance a growing number of priorities, including compelling menu creation, responding to guest preferences, managing ingredient costs, and navigating a dynamic supply chain," said Autumn Bayles, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain & Group Purchasing Organizations, Aramark. "Our expanded Culinary Innovation Group brings together deep culinary and operational expertise, procurement intelligence, responsible sourcing, and emerging technologies into one integrated framework to create a stronger platform to support client growth across global markets."
As part of the expansion, Paul Carr has been appointed Chief Culinary Officer for Global Supply Chains and GPOs for Aramark + Avendra International, and Paul Bloxham has been appointed Chief Culinary Officer for Avendra International Europe, newly created leadership roles. Both leaders have decades of culinary experience and will work together to drive a connected culinary strategy for clients and brands around the world.
The investment in Avendra International's Culinary Innovation Group builds on its longstanding culinary consulting capabilities. In a July 2026 customer satisfaction survey, Avendra clients identified food and beverage expansion as a top five business priority, highlighting the need for greater alignment across menus, sourcing strategies, and operations.
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The expanded services within Avendra’s Culinary Innovation Group include:
- Culinary and operational excellence consulting, including menu development, recipe optimization, food-cost management, and trend analysis.
- Procurement intelligence and category expertise, including purchasing trends, supplier insights, and product availability guidance.
- Technology-Enabled Culinary & Procurement Innovation combines culinary expertise, procurement intelligence, and AI-powered capabilities; clients gain access to Hospitality IQ solutions, including Mosaic AI Supply Chain and Culinary Co-Pilot, helping operators optimize menu planning, sourcing, and purchasing decisions.
- Responsible Sourcing solutions enable clients to access guidance on local, inclusive, and sustainable sourcing strategies, supported by analytics and reporting capabilities. The program is further enhanced by Sourcient, an AI-powered sourcing intelligence platform that provides greater visibility into purchasing activity and sourcing attributes to support reporting and decision-making.
Avendra's Culinary Innovation Group helps clients align menu strategies, procurement decisions and operational priorities while balancing quality, availability, cost, guest appeal and environmental, social and governance priorities. Capabilities continue to evolve across our international markets, with services and technologies introduced in line with local market readiness and client needs.
Through this expansion, clients and brands around the world gain access to integrated culinary expertise, strategic consulting, procurement intelligence and technology-enabled decision support designed to help them adapt and grow in today's operating environment.
About Avendra International
Avendra International is a leading strategic procurement and supply chain partner serving hotels, hospitality and leisure resorts, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions worldwide. Leveraging approximately $21 billion in procurement power and backed by Aramark's global footprint across more than 40 countries and territories, Avendra International helps clients reduce costs, improve efficiency, drive innovation and advance sustainability goals through tailored solutions, advanced technology, and industry expertise.
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