By WesleyAnne Rodrigues, Director of Marketing and Adam Friedman, VP Foodservice
If you want to understand where foodservice is heading, spend some time on a university campus. We’ve been in the higher education market for years, and it continues to teach us a lot about how younger consumers are changing. Not just what they want to eat, but how, where, and even why.
Ten or 20 years ago, packing a lunch was common and anything that wasn’t a sandwich could feel almost taboo. If you had to eat on campus, something convenient, affordable, and filling generally checked the boxes. Hello, pizza!
It’s quite a different landscape today. Students have more discerning tastes. They’re pressed for time and constantly toggling between phones and laptops, while a steady stream of trending content has opened their horizons to global cuisines. Campus dining has moved beyond a simple gut fill. Food today needs to be diverse, convenient, and increasingly Instagrammable (a word which didn’t even exist 20 years ago).
Here are the biggest lessons we’ve learned over the years from campus dining.
Students want food that fits their day
A student may have five minutes between classes, so speed matters enormously. But that doesn’t mean they want to sacrifice quality. At Bento, sushi from a main retail location can be delivered daily to convenience stores across campus, giving students the opportunity to grab a meal quickly wherever they happen to be. Sushi, poke, onigiri, seaweed salad microwavable rice bowls all work because they’re portable. Students might be eating in the cafeteria, in their dorm, before sports practice, in their car, or on the way to meet friends for a study session. Foodservice has to fit into those moments.
Sushi also brings something different. It has a certain “premiumness” that many traditional grab-and-go foods don’t. It also doesn’t feel greasy or like you’ve sacrificed eating well for convenience.
Your menu needs to reflect who is on campus
University campuses are among the most culturally diverse communities in North America. Students are more familiar with global cuisines than ever before, making them more open to diverse flavours. Food also plays a key role in helping people feel welcomed. For an international student, a bowl of ramen isn’t just satisfying. It can be comfort food and a connection to home.
That’s why we’ve learned that choosing the right campus, and the right offering for that campus, requires looking beyond enrolment. We consider the makeup of the student body, how many students live on campus, whether it is commuter-based, what food choices already exist, whether students are asking for sushi, and even whether the university is in an urban, suburban, or rural community.
All these factors play a role in deciding what will work best. Bento is also present in the grocery environment; however we can’t assume what works in grocery will automatically work on campus. Universities need innovation. It has pushed us to move quickly with launches such as bubble tea and onigiri, while also evaluating our hot-food program, and looking at additional protein options specifically for campus dining.
Value goes beyond the lowest price
With tuition, housing, and living costs continuing to rise, value is obviously under increased focus. But students are evaluating value beyond price. An inexpensive meal can still lack true value if it lacks quality, taste, or simply doesn’t meet their needs.
We’re seeing students become much more intentional about what they eat. They want food that helps them perform well at sports, stay energized for a long day of classes, and fuel brain power for exams. High-protein goals and reading ingredient labels are not just trends we’re seeing in grocery. Students are looking for the same things on campus.
That crossover is particularly interesting for us. We have the privilege of a continued relationship with the same consumer, from the grocery environment to campus dining and eventually back to grocery as they graduate and become household purchase decision makers.
Innovation goes beyond what’s on the plate
One of the areas we’re leaning into more heavily is the overall campus experience. Since launching our brand refresh earlier this year, we’ve turned our attention to campus locations, with Durham College, Mohawk College, and Humber’s Lakeshore campus among the schools where we’re piloting the refreshed approach.
From a marketing perspective, we genuinely believe innovation starts with how we present ourselves. You can’t expect product innovation from a station with white walls. That means thinking about more than the food itself.
We saw a need for better wayfinding, so we’re supporting campuses with location-specific banners that make Bento easier to find. We’re adding sampling and other activation initiatives. Sustainability is part of that evolution too. We’ve been exploring a reusable-container trial for campus dining as more universities move in that direction. And yes, free merch — because which student doesn’t want merch, especially when it’s a Cali roll plushie or a sushi themed keychain for their backpack.
All of this is what makes higher education such an interesting channel. You have an opportunity to engage with the same consumer almost daily, hear quickly what they like and what they don’t, introduce new concepts, and build a relationship over several years. For us, campuses are a place to drive engagement and showcase brand and menu innovation. But they are also something bigger. A place to build brand love early on.