French employee benefit specialist enters RP market

A large French employee benefit management specialist, Sodexho Pass International, has announced its entry into the Philippine employee benefit market.

Sodexho Pass, which is an affiliate of the French multinational company, Sodexho Alliance, is bringing initially the concept of providing local companies with the meal and food voucher system for their employees.

Frans Tiebout, Sodexho Pass Philippines general manager, explained how the concept works. "It is quite simple: Sodexho issues the Meal and Food Pass to client companies, tailor fit to their requirements of face value, mode of delivery, and other added service. The client companies then distribute these Passes to the employees. To respect the purpose of the benefit, yet leaving freedom of choice to the employee, they then use the voucher to purchase meals and food from restaurants, groceries, supermarkets or any other food outlet that comprise of the Sodexho Pass network.

Tiebout said that Sodexho then reimburses the accredited establishments on behalf of its corporate clients.

Through its Philippine subsidiary, Sodexho Pass Inc., where the SM Group is a minority partner, Sodexho Pass International marks its first operation in South East Asia. The Philippines is the 25th country where it operates.

Explaining why Sodexho Pass chose to invest in the Philippines, Pierre Henry, area director for Europe, Africa and Asia said, "There is evidently a strong culture of giving employee benefits here in the Philippines. Sodexho Pass is here today, to offer a better solution to managing these benefits. Moreover, Sodexho Pass International found in the SM Group a strong local partner."

"As in most of the countries where Sodexho Pass is present, the first service we shall offer here in the Philippines is the management of meal and food benefits. Employers may give the Sodexho meal and food pass as a tax-free benefit to their employees." Companies can now concentrate on their respective core businesses and do not have to fuss over how to administer a meal and food benefit – they can now outsource it to Sodexho Pass," he added.

Sodexho Pass International is present in 25 countries with 126,000 corporate clients and eight billion beneficiaries with 800,000 accredited establishments worldwide.

Its mother company, Sodexho Alliance, is listed in the Paris and New York Stock Exchanges and is one of the firms in Fortune 500.

Sodexho Alliance has three lines of businesses and operates in more than 75 countries:

Its Food and Management Services is its core business. It is engaged in the supply of food and management services to companies, public agencies, institutions, schools, healthcare establishments and retirement communities.

Sodexho is also engaged in river and harbor cruises, offering gourmet and cultural services in France, United Kingdom and the United States.

The other line, which is the Service Vouchers and Cards and which has been discussed earlier, is the concept being introduced in the Philippines.