Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has introduced a new catering brand, Nourish Event Catering, positioning it as a dedicated service for events, corporate functions and private occasions across Edinburgh. The new venture is built around a commitment to high-quality food, locally sourced ingredients and more sustainable catering practices.
Rooted in Scotland and leveraging EICC’s existing venue operations, Nourish Event Catering aims to extend beyond the conference centre itself to serve organisations and clients across the city. The brand brings together Scottish produce, a focus on culinary innovation and the operational capabilities of Levy, the hospitality and foodservice specialist.
Background and industry context
The launch arrives at a time when venues and event organisers are under growing pressure to reduce environmental impact, improve transparency in supply chains and demonstrate tangible sustainability credentials to clients and attendees. Catering is a central part of that conversation, from food miles and waste reduction to menu design and dietary inclusivity.
Across the business events and exhibition sector, there has been a visible shift toward local sourcing, seasonal menus and measurable sustainability targets linked to catering contracts. For many venues, food and beverage offerings are now a differentiating factor in bids for international conferences and large corporate events, especially when aligned with broader ESG objectives.
Within this context, EICC’s move to introduce a dedicated catering brand focused on Scottish produce and greener operations reflects a wider trend among destination venues to reposition their food services as strategic assets rather than purely operational functions.
Key elements of the Nourish Event Catering launch
Nourish Event Catering has been created as a standalone catering proposition associated with EICC but designed to operate across multiple event formats and locations. While detailed menus and operational frameworks have not been fully disclosed, the initiative is framed around three core pillars:
- Local and Scottish produce: The service prioritises ingredients sourced from within Scotland, showcasing regional suppliers and seasonal products. This is intended to reduce transport-related emissions while reflecting Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s food culture to visiting delegates and local clients.
- Culinary creativity: Nourish Event Catering is positioned to deliver tailored menus for conferences, exhibitions, gala dinners, meetings and private celebrations. The emphasis is on inventive dishes that can be adapted to different event formats, dietary needs and service styles, from formal plated dinners to more informal receptions.
- Sustainable operations: Sustainability is described as a central focus, covering areas such as responsible sourcing, waste reduction and more efficient kitchen and service practices. While specific targets are not detailed, the brand signals an intention to align catering operations with broader sustainability expectations in the events sector.
The operational delivery of Nourish Event Catering draws on the expertise and infrastructure of Levy, a specialist in venue and event catering. By combining Levy’s scale and systems with EICC’s local market knowledge and Scottish supplier networks, the new brand aims to support both in-venue events and offsite catering across the city.
Industry impact
EICC’s decision to create a named catering brand underscores how large venues are recalibrating their approach to food and beverage. Rather than treating catering solely as a back-of-house service, many conference centres are giving their culinary operations distinct identities, using them as a lever for differentiation in a competitive global events market.
For Edinburgh’s business events ecosystem, a catering brand rooted in Scottish sourcing may help strengthen the city’s positioning as a destination that offers both high service standards and a clear sense of place. International organisers increasingly look for authentic, local experiences for delegates, and food is often a primary channel for that.
The sustainability dimension is also likely to resonate with event planners. As more organisers adopt frameworks for measuring event impact – including carbon accounting, food waste tracking and responsible procurement – catering partners that can support these goals are gaining strategic importance. The creation of Nourish Event Catering signals that EICC intends its food offer to align more closely with these evolving requirements.
Why this matters for event professionals and technology providers
For event professionals, the emergence of specialised catering brands such as Nourish Event Catering has several implications for planning and delivery:
- Integrated sustainability planning: Planners increasingly need catering partners that can provide data on sourcing, waste and emissions to feed into overall event reporting. Brands with a stated sustainability focus may be better positioned to deliver the transparency and metrics clients now expect.
- Menu flexibility and attendee experience: Greater emphasis on creativity and local produce can support more engaging delegate experiences, including tailored menus for specific audiences, cultural programmes and sponsor-led hospitality moments.
- Alignment with hybrid and tech-enabled formats: As hybrid and technology-driven event formats evolve, catering must adapt to more varied schedules and layouts, from extended exhibit hours to informal networking hubs. Providers operating under a dedicated brand often have more scope to design flexible service models that complement digital and onsite elements.
For technology providers working in the event space, the launch of a distinct catering brand opens opportunities to integrate operational and sustainability data. Catering teams increasingly rely on tools for forecasting attendance, pre-ordering meals, managing dietary requirements and minimising waste. When a venue frames catering as a strategic pillar, there is often greater appetite for adopting digital solutions that link catering data with registration platforms, event apps and sustainability dashboards.
Additionally, enhanced catering offerings can influence how venues present themselves within event technology marketplaces and venue sourcing platforms. A clear food and sustainability proposition may become another data point in venue selection tools, alongside connectivity, AV capabilities and hybrid event infrastructure.
Conclusion
The launch of Nourish Event Catering by Edinburgh International Conference Centre signals an evolution in how venues approach food and beverage, with a stronger emphasis on local sourcing, culinary innovation and sustainability. By anchoring the brand in Scottish produce and aligning with an established catering operator, EICC is seeking to respond to changing expectations from event organisers, delegates and corporate clients.
As the events industry continues to prioritise environmental performance and attendee experience, catering is likely to become an even more prominent component of venue strategy. For event planners and technology suppliers alike, developments such as Nourish Event Catering highlight the growing need for integrated, data-aware and sustainability-focused approaches to how food and drink are planned, delivered and measured at modern events.