How We Started

Sodexo was founded in Marseille, France. We signed our very first food services contract with the French Research Institute for Atomic Energy (now known as the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) or CEA. 

We signed a historic contract with the French Space Agency to service its spaceport in Kourou, a French administrative district located in South America.

Sodexo expanded internationally with outposts in Belgium, Italy and Spain and early developments in Africa and the Middle East.  

Sodexo landed in Asia Pacific, with the opening of our office in Singapore.

Sodexo acquires the Bateaux Parisiens, the high-end fine dining cruises along Paris’ River Seine. We also officially launched our Sports and Leisure segment. 

For the first time, Sodexo took on food services for all the athletes, staff and journalists at the Winter Olympics in the city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. In the same year, Sodexo also began its operations in Malaysia. 

We held our first Global Innovation Forum, bringing together 250 Sodexo employees from 19 countries. Since then, we've continued to regularly hold the event and innovation has been embraced as a lasting strategy for the group.

Sodexo became the world’s biggest food services company. We doubled our revenue by acquiring Garner Merchant, the caterer that managed prestigious sites like the Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Sydney Opera House. 

Sodexo started Stop Hunger, our platform for fighting world hunger and malnutrition. In 2018, Stop Hunger supported 1,200 NGOs and served 5 million meals worldwide. 

We acquired Radhakrishna Hospitality Services Group (RKHS), a leading provider of on-site services in India. This tripled Sodexo’s size in this high-potential market. 

In India, we acquired MacLellan and rapidly grew our multi-technical expertise in facilities management.

Sodexo’s first Quality of Life Conference took place in New York City.

Our Asia Pacific regional hub was established in Singapore. 

Sodexo entered a new joint venture with Globeship Corporation, a Japanese leader in facilities management services.  

We were awarded a 10-year contract – the largest of its kind – with a large global mining company to deliver integrated FM in Australia. 

In Australia, we acquired contracts and selective assets of Morris Corporation, reinforcing our position in the mining sector. 

We acquired Centerplate, Inc. a provider of food and beverage, merchandise and hospitality services at sports facilities, convention centers and entertainment facilities in the US, the UK, Canada and Spain.

Sodexo entered a new phase of digital transformation. This marked the start of collaborations with several tech start-ups and incubators including AEYE-GO, neoBay and XNode in China and Zone in India to support new innovations and bring them to market.

Sodexo takes action to proactively manage the impacts of COVID-19 with a focus on the safety and health of our employees, clients, consumers and the well-being of the communities we serve.

Sophie Bellon becomes Interim Chief Executive Officer in addition to Chairwoman of Sodexo’s board of directors.

On January 31 Sodexo’s Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Pierre Bellon, passes away aged 92.