Workplace Nutrition Takes Centre Stage as the UK’s Pow Food Achieves Global First with ‘Works with Well’ Designation
London, March 11 2026: Workplace nutrition has been recognised as a critical factor in employee health and performance by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the global benchmark for healthy buildings. UK wellness workplace catering company Pow Food has become the first firm worldwide to achieve the ‘Works with WELL’ designation, placing food alongside established environmental factors such as light and ventilation in shaping healthier workplaces.
Pow Food has been recognised for its healthy, nutrient-optimised menus offering full ingredient transparency, an emphasis on whole foods, responsible sourcing, and preparation to maximise health benefits. Works with Well is an evidence-based certification system recognising work environments that support human health, wellbeing and performance criteria.
Emily Warburton-Adams, Co-founder and Head of Sustainability at Pow Food, added: “Modern workplaces rigorously measure air and light, but rarely food – a fundamental blind spot. If workplace health truly matters, good food shouldn’t be an optional perk; it should be built into the infrastructure of the building. This status elevates catering from a background service to a strategic contributor to healthier, higher-performing workplaces. Pow Food now offers a proven, certified way to close the ‘food gap’ in building wellness for organisations seeking a healthier workforce and WELL accreditation.”
Good nutrition in the workplace is a powerful driver of employee health, performance, and organisational success. Research consistently shows that balanced, nutrient-rich diets, emphasising whole foods, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and stable-energy sources, help maintain steady energy levels, enhance cognitive function (including focus, memory, and problem-solving), and prevent the afternoon slumps caused by high-sugar or processed foods.
Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace report reveals that lost productive days per employee doubled to 50 days annually, with working while unwell accounting for nearly 90% of losses; driven heavily by poor diet and inactivity, costing employers thousands per worker in hidden productivity drag. Employees with unhealthy diets are 66% more likely to report productivity loss, while healthier eating links to up to a 27% reduction in absenteeism and 11% higher job performance. UK employers can foster higher morale, better retention, and measurable bottom-line improvements in a competitive talent landscape by addressing nutrition as a core element of wellbeing.
Food and catering services have not previously been formally recognised within wellness frameworks, despite being a daily cornerstone of workplace health. The Works with Well programme changes this by allowing suppliers to be verified if they demonstrably support certain WELL attributes. To achieve the verification Pow Food’s operations were independently reviewed by third-party Green Business Certification Inc. the body that administers WELL. This makes Pow Food the only WELL-designated catering partner in the UK for developers, landlords, employers and facilities teams pursuing Gold or Platinum WELL certification levels, the gold standard for employees unlike many catering providers that only reference WELL principles without formal validation.
Jessica Cooper, IWBI Chief Product Officer, commented: “Congratulations to Pow Food for becoming the world’s first catering company to earn the Works with WELL designation by aligning its food practices with WELL Nourishment features. Now a board-level priority – driven by talent retention, performance metrics and ESG goals – nutrition is an essential part of a healthy work environment, Pow Food is setting a new global benchmark for the food industry by achieving Works with WELL status and demonstrating leadership in creating food environments that are transparent, inclusive and supportive of better outcomes for people and organisations alike.”
Key highlights of Pow Food’s menus include:
Over 75% of daily ingredients are organic.
Priority avoidance of high-pesticide “Dirty Dozen” produce to minimize exposure.
No hidden sugars, preservatives, or excessive salt – focusing on stable energy, cognitive support, and long-term health.
For more details, visit powfood.co.uk or contact alyse@powfood.co.uk
About Pow Food Catering
Founded in London by mother-daughter duo Ali Warburton and Emily Warburton-Adams, Pow Food Catering is a nutrition-first, sustainability-led workplace catering company. The business was the UK’s first female-founded catering company to achieve B Corp certification and is now the first catering company globally to achieve the Works with WELL designation. Pow Food designs chef-led, nutritionist-built menus that position workplace food as infrastructure for human performance and environmental responsibility.
About WELL Building Standard
The WELL Building Standard, created by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), is the world’s leading evidence-based certification system for creating spaces that actively support human health, well-being, and performance. Unlike traditional “green” building ratings (such as LEED, which emphasise environmental sustainability), WELL focuses on people – measuring how buildings impact occupants through 10 core concepts, including air quality, water, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind (mental health), community, and nourishment (access to nutritious food, hydration, and transparent eating environments).
WELL Certification is awarded to buildings after rigorous third-party verification of design, operations, and measurable outcomes. Thousands of offices, schools, hospitals, and other spaces worldwide pursue WELL to drive real benefits: studies show WELL-certified environments can deliver 10-15% productivity gains, reduced fatigue, lower absenteeism, and fewer symptoms linked to “sick building syndrome”.
