From Baguettes to a Complete Service for Companies
Catermat.com wasn’t created as just another catering company. Its story began much earlier, combining experience in gastronomy, technology and entrepreneurship with one simple ambition: to make everyday life easier for companies and their people.
From a Sandwich Shop to Corporate Catering
Catermat’s roots go back to the entrepreneurial journey of its founder, Lukáš Nejezchleb. After studying in the US, Lukáš worked in investments and IT before founding the first “sandwich shop” in the Czech Republic.
The company that would eventually grow into Catermat had been operating in Prague’s Brumlovka business district since 2009 under the Express Sandwich brand. We made baguettes and other fresh food, gradually focusing more and more on corporate clients.
And that’s when we started hearing one particular request:
“Could you deliver it directly to our office?”
So we did.
Delivery was soon followed by catering, service and more requests related to company meetings and events. In many ways, our clients themselves showed us what they really needed: one reliable partner who could take care of as much as possible.
An Automatic Machine That Cares
In 2016, these experiences developed into the idea behind Catermat: to create “an automatic care machine with a human touch.”
The name itself reflects this idea:
CATER = to take care of
MAT = automatic machine
The goal was to use technology and automation to make ordering catering and organizing corporate events as simple and efficient as possible without ever losing the personal, human approach.
The idea fully came to life in 2020. Catermat officially launched during Prague Design Week, just one week before the second COVID lockdown.
The pandemic dramatically changed our original team. Only three of us remained. But new people gradually joined - people who believed in the idea and wanted to take it further. That experience became part of our DNA: overcoming challenges, finding solutions and doing things with a smile and humility.
Today, It’s About Much More Than Food
Catermat has gradually evolved from catering into a platform where companies can arrange everything from office breakfasts to complete corporate events.
Food was joined by events, unique venues, workshops, team-building activities and networking all with the same goal: allowing our clients to handle more through one trusted partner.
Technology remains an essential part of our DNA. We develop our own internal systems, applications and e-shop to automate routine processes and make life easier for both our team and our customers.
Sustainability is equally important to us, from composting and hydroponically growing our own herbs to upcycling and generating energy through our own solar panels.
In 2023 alone, Catermat completed more than 2,500 orders for over 200 companies.
We’ve come a long way since those first baguettes, but the original principle remains the same: to take care of as much as possible, simply and efficiently, without losing the human touch.
Because that’s what Catermat was always meant to be an automatic machine that helps take care of people.
