Top five things to do in 2026 to help manage your procurement costs

The new year is well underway, so it’s the ideal time for catering and hospitality teams to take stock of their procurement strategies. With continued pressure on food prices, labour costs and margins, small changes made early in the year can have a significant impact on overall spend.

Here are five practical actions to help you get on top of your procurement costs and set yourself up for a more controlled, cost-effective year ahead.

1. Review last year’s spend – line by line

Before you can make meaningful savings, you need a clear picture of where your money is going. Start by reviewing your procurement data from the past 12 months, looking closely at:

• Key categories with the highest spend
• Products with frequent price increases
• Variances between sites or contracts
• Increases in the number of lines/products bought

This process often highlights ‘silent cost creep’ – small increases across multiple lines that can add up to a substantial overspend over time. A detailed review provides a strong baseline for informed decision-making in the year ahead.

2. Benchmark your catering procurement

One of the most effective ways to identify savings is to understand how your costs compare to the wider market. Requesting a free benchmarking report from us allows you to see where you’re paying more than necessary and where you’re already performing well.

Our independent benchmarking compares your catering procurement against relevant peer groups, helping you:

• Identify immediate and longer-term savings opportunities
• Validate whether you’re receiving competitive pricing
• Prioritise categories that will deliver the greatest impact

With clear, data-led insight, benchmarking removes guesswork and gives you confidence in your procurement decisions.

3. Re-engage with suppliers and contracts

The start of the year is an excellent time to re-open conversations with suppliers. Many contracts roll on without regular challenge, meaning opportunities for renegotiation can be missed.

Consider reviewing contract terms and break point, discussing volume commitments and consolidation opportunities and challenging specifications where appropriate. Even small adjustments to pricing, rebates or service levels can generate meaningful savings over the course of a year.

4. Rationalise ranges and specifications

An overcomplicated product range often leads to higher costs, inefficiencies and waste. Reviewing and rationalising your range can help you reduce spend without compromising quality.

For example, you could look at reducing duplicate or low-volume SKUs or switching to seasonal or more readily available alternatives.

Simplifying your offer can improve buying power, reduce waste and make procurement easier to manage day-to-day.

5. Build cost control into your ongoing strategy

Managing procurement costs shouldn’t be a once-a-year exercise. Build regular review points into your strategy so you can respond quickly to market changes and protect margins throughout the year.

This could include:

• Quarterly spend and price reviews
• Ongoing benchmarking and market insight
• Clear reporting and accountability across sites

Don’t have time?

We know that for many organisations, finding the time and resource to dig into procurement data, challenge suppliers and analyse the market simply isn’t realistic. In fact, many of the organisations we work with come to us because procurement cost management is important, but not something they can do themselves alongside day-to-day operational pressures.

That’s where we can help. We act as an extension of your team, using independent data, benchmarking and sector expertise to quickly identify savings opportunities and support smarter procurement decisions – without adding to your workload.

Get in touch with us here if you’d like to hear more and request your free consultation.

The Quenelles team