FoodStorm Dropping Catering Support — How Puree Can Help You Make the Switch

We've been hearing from caterers that FoodStorm is stepping back from the independent catering market to focus on supermarkets and grocery retail. If you're one of the caterers affected, you're probably wondering what comes next — where do you move your data, how do you keep things running, and how long will the transition take?

We built Puree specifically for independent caterers — event catering, corporate delivery, drop-off, staffed events — and we'd love to help you make the switch. This article covers what's happening, how Puree compares, and how we make the onboarding process as painless as possible.

What's Happening with FoodStorm?

FoodStorm has been a well-known name in catering software for over 15 years, originally built in Australia as a flexible catering management platform serving independent caterers, corporate caterers, and event companies. In 2021, Instacart acquired FoodStorm, bringing the platform under the umbrella of one of the largest grocery technology companies in the world.

Since the acquisition, FoodStorm's direction has shifted significantly. Instacart's focus is grocery — supermarket perimeter counters, deli departments, bakery, prepared meals, and large-scale food production across retail chains. As a result, FoodStorm is winding down support for its independent catering product and concentrating entirely on the grocery retail market.

For caterers who've relied on FoodStorm to manage quotes, orders, and operations, this means finding a new home for your business — ideally before support dries up and you're left managing things manually.

We'll Help You Get Set Up — Fast

The biggest concern when switching software is the effort involved. You've spent years building up your item catalogue, categories, and pricing in FoodStorm — and the thought of re-entering it all manually is enough to put anyone off.

That's why we handle the heavy lifting for you. Export your items from FoodStorm as a spreadsheet, send it to us, and we'll bulk upload everything into Puree. Your items, categories, descriptions, and pricing — all imported and ready to go. Most caterers are fully operational within a day or two.

We also walk you through the setup process personally. Puree isn't a faceless platform — we're a small team built by caterers, and we'll make sure you're comfortable before you go live.

Puree Has All the Features You're Used To

If you've been using FoodStorm for catering, you'll find that Puree covers the same ground — and in many cases goes further. Here's how the key features compare:

Quotes & Orders

Puree's quoting system lets you build detailed proposals with itemised pricing or package pricing (or both on the same quote). Customers receive a professional quote they can accept with a single click, and the order flows straight into your operations pipeline. You can manage multiple delivery times, add staff costs, apply discounts, and track every revision.

Online Order Forms & Menus

Puree provides customer-facing online order forms where people can browse your items, select what they'd like, and submit an order request. We also offer online menus for read-only browsing. Puree designs these pages to fit the style of your website, so they feel like a seamless extension of your brand.

Kitchen Dockets & Operations

Chef dockets, driver run sheets, consolidated item views, event briefs — Puree generates all the operational documents your kitchen and delivery team need. The consolidated items view shows your chefs exactly what needs to be prepared across all orders for any given period.

Calendar & Google Calendar

Puree includes a built-in calendar showing all your upcoming orders, plus direct integration with Google Calendar. Every accepted order syncs automatically as a colour-coded event with full item details, contact information, and a link back to Puree. Your team can see the schedule from their phones without needing a Puree login.

Customer Management

Manage your customer database, track order history, store multiple contacts per customer, and maintain delivery addresses. Puree keeps everything organised so you can see a customer's full history at a glance.

Enquiry Forms

Puree offers Typeform-style enquiry forms that walk prospective customers through a series of questions about their event. Enquiries arrive in Puree with all the details neatly organised and ready for you to follow up. The forms are designed to match your brand.

Integrations

Puree integrates with Xero for accounting, Google Calendar for scheduling, and Stripe for credit card payments. These aren't bolt-on extras — they're built into the platform and work seamlessly.

Reporting

Financial reports, sales summaries, item popularity, and operational insights — Puree's reporting gives you visibility into how your business is performing without needing to export data to spreadsheets.

Significantly More Affordable

One of the most common things we hear from caterers switching from FoodStorm is the difference in cost. FoodStorm's pricing was built for enterprise grocery chains with hundreds of stores — and the price tag reflected that. Puree is built for independent caterers, and our pricing reflects that too.

Puree's subscription is a fraction of what most caterers were paying for FoodStorm, and there are no per-store fees, no setup charges, and no long-term contracts.

What About Your Existing Orders and History?

One thing to be upfront about: any forward orders you have in FoodStorm will need to be re-entered in Puree. There's no way to automatically migrate live orders between platforms. However, many caterers who've made the switch have told us this is actually a great training exercise for the team — it gets everyone hands-on with the new system quickly, and it doesn't take as long as you'd expect.

You will also lose the customer history of previous quotes and orders from FoodStorm. Puree starts fresh with your item catalogue, and your history builds from there. For most caterers, the trade-off is well worth it — a modern, affordable platform that's actively supported versus clinging to a system that's no longer being developed for your needs.

Built by Caterers, for Caterers

Puree was created by someone who ran a catering business and couldn't find software that actually fit the way caterers work. Every feature in Puree exists because a real caterer needed it. We're not trying to serve supermarkets, restaurants, food trucks, and caterers all at once — we're focused entirely on catering, and that focus shows in the product.

We also listen. When our users need something, we build it. Puree is actively developed and improving every week, with new features driven directly by feedback from the caterers who use it daily.

How to Get Started

If you're a FoodStorm user looking for a new home, here's how to make the switch:

Export your data from FoodStorm — Download your item catalogue as a CSV or spreadsheet. If you're not sure how, we can guide you through it.
Send it to us — Email your export to email@puree.app and we'll bulk upload your items, categories, and pricing into a new Puree account.
We'll set you up — We'll walk you through the platform, help you configure your settings, and make sure everything looks right before you go live.
Start using Puree — You'll be up and running with all your items in place, ready to send your first quote.

The whole process typically takes a day or two. No lengthy onboarding programmes, no implementation fees, no waiting weeks for a project manager to get back to you.

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