Transforming Brunel Universities Food Offering

We Are All Creatures Of Habit…

Consider your personal experience: have you ever contemplated ordering a different meal, just to end up eating the same old dish you have every time?

University students are no exception; they, too, are creatures of habit...

They seek convenience, choice, speed, and taste at their fingertips. These factors are key to influencing the student experience.

But How Do You Ensure Your Offering Is Consistent And On-Trend?

At Brunel University our longstanding partnership has enabled us to really understand the student population and their needs and desires. Taking the courageous decision to remove all food off the counters, we’ve enabled our students and staff to use cutting-edge technology solutions such as Uni Food Hub to access fabulous food choices finished to order.

Our pre-order kiosk allows students and faculty members to have access to a system that provides a digital end-to-end journey; ordering from a kiosk, table scanning, and mobile ordering, allowing for a more efficient operation within the kitchen and significant labour savings. To create a completely frictionless experience, we removed all obstacles associated with hybrid food operations.

The Rough With The Smooth

This wasn’t a completely smooth process; some students had never experienced anything other than a hybrid or counteroffer, and we needed to convince them.

You have probably heard the adage "if it isn’t broken don’t fix it," but while change might be uncomfortable, it's never as uncomfortable as being in an uninspiring food environment…

Was it worthwhile? Yes, 100%. Not only did Brunel's ATV grow from £4.72 to £6.65 in the first year, but food waste dropped by 55% in 2019. Technology is a given in enhancing the student experience and this integration was needed at Brunel. 

Keep On Developing

As the sole catering provider with autonomy over our innovative digital platform, our staff can fulfil the 15-minute SLA and provide an amazing experience that is in keeping with the digital world we live in; an experience that is meeting those students’ needs and often exceeding them. Huge steps have been taken to shift Brunel's operational paradigm.

“The digital offer that Chartwells has developed and brought to Brunel University London has proved to be a huge success. Gone are the days of our students wanting canteen-style food and with high street off-campus kitchens offering a huge culinary offer delivered to campus becoming more and more popular a downward trend of our on-campus offer, following the pandemic, was almost a certainty.

The app and e-kiosks that were rolled out on campus were already familiar to the university population as they had used similar platforms, Deliveroo, Just Eats and kiosk ordering in numerous fast-food restaurants, so the challenge of change had already dissipated. Chartwells offer gives the students the chance to pre-order, collect and eat within their own timescales and not the break times that the university and caterers typically offer, giving the students added flexibility. In house delivery across campus further extends the student experience. With the wide range of offers being made to order, food wastage has seen a huge reduction which has obvious environmental benefits and financial savings to the university both in stock ordering and recycling collections.” Tim Jones, Catering Support Manager, Brunel University London.

Looking to stay ahead of your competition with the latest, operating solutions backed by advanced technology? Connect with liam.brill@compass-group.co.uk.