‘Nothing tastes like your mum’s cooking!’ Whether that be good or bad, it’s true – the sense will often transport you back to a moment in time. Yet when it comes to office design, taste isn’t something we often think about.

Does that mean we can forget about it and move on then? No! Because taste – food and drink – plays a huge role in our life experience. From birthdays to weddings, we use taste to celebrate and bring us together. So, can we apply that to workplace design? Let’s see. 

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Changing taste expectations

There was a time when coffee was purely functional. A spoon out of a glass jar, and you’d shove it in your mug with hot water. But now? We want more, and we’re not afraid to ask for it! 

Now employees think of work as part of their life story – their ‘lived experience’. Often not just a desk job to pay the bills, work is part of their identity. And coffee can be a part of that. Can the workplace appeal to this contemporary need and offer coffee that is as good as – or if not better –  than you’d get at home? 

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Different tastes

Not everyone likes the same tastes! Add options to appeal to a diverse team. 

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Food, community and wellbeing

With food and drink integral to human survival, it’s no wonder they are also integral to a happy, healthy and thriving workforce. Remembering this is key to nurturing a productive workforce. 

We want to make your workplace a destination people want to come to. Taste is where you can offer them something that the home environment can’t, like the extra-special coffee. 

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Did you know that at Dr. Oekter HQ, they have pizza – an integral part of their brand identity – every Friday. This delicious event encourages people to visit the office and come together in a world where remote working is more common and accepted.

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Tasty placements

It’s not just about purchasing the latest coffee machine and hoping for the best. Instead, it’s about seamlessly integrating any food or drink elements into your workplace so employees can enjoy the experience – without it being a distraction or a complication to their working day. 

Ask yourself how your new coffee machine can encourage connections among employees. How will it be part of the flow of everyday working life? You’ll often need to zoom out and look at your floor plate as a whole. For example, you may put the social space – a breakout area or an informal coffee area – in the centre of the floor plate to drive people up from the lower floors and down from the upper floors. Then, on other floors, you may decide to have no food stations as it could disconnect people and cause friction. 

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Did you know that flavour is the combination of taste and smell? Consider the scents in your workplace, too – and make sure these two senses work well together to create a thriving environment.

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Branded mugs?

Branded mugs are a go-to for many corporate environments. They’re a quick, fairly inexpensive way to infuse your brand into your employees’ everyday life. It makes sense – yet the strategy behind the branded mug is often relegated to the physical: how the cup looks.

What if you considered branded mugs, cups and tableware as part of the taste experience? Drinking a fine wine, a craft beer or a shot of espresso requires a certain cup or glass to bring out the flavour. This adds to the experience. So before ordering your branded mugs, think about how they fit in with the food and drink experiences you offer employees in your workplace.

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Tasteful improvements

A famous brand slogan is ‘Taste the difference!’ – and while you may be thinking of supermarket produce right now, you can apply this to your workplace design. A few enhancements can elevate the humble office job into a workplace experience, creating happier, more motivated and even excited staff members. Because who doesn’t get excited for ‘Pizza Friday’?

Our top 5 sense of taste considerations:

• Ditch the instant coffee and invest in barista-style options
• Offer variety to appeal to diverse needs
• Remember how scents can have an impact on taste, too
• Design floor plates around communal food and drink areas
• Elevate the workplace experience with branded mugs and tableware 

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Let’s talk taste solutions

Our team is always happy to discuss how we can help with your workspace solutions. You can get in touch with us here.

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Keep reading the Making Sense(s) of the Workplace series.

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