London-based catering company’s new name reflects Indian roots.
London-based caterer Pure Catering & Services has rebranded to AN&, pronounced as Anand, to highlight its family heritage.
The company’s legacy dates back to the 1940s in Patiala, Punjab, India, where the grandfather of AN&’s founders, brothers Sumit and Avi Anand, ran a small shop called ‘Anand Refreshments’ to provide for his family of seven.
AN& was established as Pure Catering & Services in 2012 and specialises in providing a fusion of Eastern and Western flavours in office, corporate and mobile catering, with offerings in the aviation and construction sectors. It began as a local business and now serves London Gatwick and Stansted airports as well as DHL and Tempur Mattresses. It also caters for Netflix crew shoots as well as doing contingency work for London Heathrow Airport Directory.
Sumit and Avi, directors of business development and sales, respectively, at AN& said: “We felt we had a great backstory of our AN& heritage and wanted to pay tribute to our grandfather’s legacy. Despite the struggles that loomed over him from the post-partition of India, where the family was uprooted from a small village in Rawalpindi (Pakistan) overnight, he set up his small refreshments shop and sold hot brewed chai and local savoury snacks.
“The legacy continued in the 1980s in London when our parents set up a mobile catering business from their garage, serving the same savoury snacks our grandfather sold, fused with Western-influenced menus to local offices, which then developed into Pure Catering & Services in 2012.”
Looking ahead, AN& aspires to become an established brand within the food and beverage retail sector, catering to diverse demographics at London’s busiest transport hubs.
Sumit further underlined that the caterer wants to explore more avenues and build a brand which can “present our customers with a story deeply rooted in our heritage”.