How Mescladís Digitized Its Internal Operations (and What We Learned Along the Way)

At Mescladís, we have been working for 21 years within the social economy to help people in vulnerable situations find employment. We know a lot about cooking, training, and support. But like many organizations in our sector, for years we managed much of our internal processes manually: purchases recorded on paper, shifts coordinated via text messages, and restaurant reservations made by phone.

In 2025, with support from the Barcelona City Council’s Enfortim L’ESS program, we took the step we had been putting off for some time: truly digitizing our operations.

“It wasn’t just about installing software. It was about changing the way the team works every day.”

— Olivia Torres, Head of Sustainability and Experience Management

The four tools that changed the way we work

The project focused on consolidating and integrating four digital tools, each designed for a specific area:

The key player: an intern from CETT-UB

One of the most important lessons learned from the project was that implementing digital tools is not just a technical matter. It requires time, support, and people who are fully committed to the effort.

That is why the addition of Alexander Ribacour, an intern from the CETT-UB hospitality school, was essential. Over the course of 660 hours, Alexander worked alongside Olivia on setting up Tsoonlab: reviewing cost sheets, organizing data, preparing internal documentation, and training the team. It was a mutually beneficial collaboration: Mescladís was able to implement the system successfully, and Alexander gained real-world experience in digitalization within a social economy enterprise.

What did we achieve?

At the end of the project, the results were concrete and measurable:

What We Learned

Digitization does not have to conflict with the values of the social and solidarity economy. On the contrary: having reliable inventory data allows us to reduce food waste; better shift planning improves work-life balance for team members; and systematizing participant tracking allows us to support them in a more equitable and personalized way.

We also learned that timelines can be extended. The process of getting the team up to speed took longer than expected, and that’s okay. It’s not about installing it and forgetting about it, but about truly integrating it.

If your organization is considering taking this step, we hope our experience will be helpful to you. This project was made possible thanks to the support of the Enfortim L'ESS program of the Barcelona City Council, as part of the #ESSBCN2030 strategy.