In 2022, Matthew Mealing, Associate Director of Campus Services for Estates and Facilities at the University of Salford, commissioned Bremner & Co to conduct a review of the campus food and beverage offer. At that time, catering, retail and hospitality conference facilities had been outsourced to Chartwells for nearly 10 years, with the contract soon up for renewal. It provides its 23,000 students and 2,500 staff with a range of food and beverage options, including branded outlets like Subway, Starbucks and Tortilla. It also has an established hospitality function, providing catering services ranging from simple lunches to VIP events. The university board had asked for a strategy paper with options for the future food and beverage offer, with goals to raise standards, achieve best value for money, and improve dwell time on campus (known as having a ‘sticky campus’).
Our Approach
We conducted a review that combined quantitative and qualitative research to understand the campus community’s needs and expectations. An online survey was distributed to students, faculty, and administrative staff, to understand how they felt and what changes they wanted to see. We also interviewed stakeholders who experienced Salford’s food offer from different perspectives, including student representatives, event organisers, the Students’ Union and members of the University’s senior management team.
Key Outcomes
Our findings were summarised in a series of reports, and delivered alongside case studies from other universities to help illustrate what was possible. The Estates & Facilities team used our research to underpin a strategic plan to improve food on campus, including innovative ways to deliver a high-quality offer at times, places and price points to suit Salford’s wide range of diners.
Our evaluation informed the University of Salford’s decision to transition from an outsourced model to a hybrid approach, bringing operations partially in-house. This shift allowed the university to implement a more tailored food and beverage strategy that better aligned with the needs of its diverse community.
Testimonials
Much like the wider food and hospitality sector, university catering is under increasing pressure to deliver a high quality, affordable customer offer while experiencing cost pressures, labour shortages and supply chain challenges. Like many universities, Salford has recognised the importance of increasing the amount of time students spend on campus, a concept known as ‘the sticky campus’. We talked to a range of stakeholders to understand how best to encourage dwell time through provision of tasty, affordable and convenient options to suit a wide range of customers.
Rob Kidd, Lead Consultant
Our food and beverage offer is really important to our university community. Working with the team at Bremner allowed us to capture as many voices as possible, so when it was time to make decisions we felt confident all stakeholders had been listened to. Asking challenging questions is never easy, but the team supported me to have open and frank conversations which helped to change mindsets on how catering should be perceived on campus. I’m delighted this resulted in us taking the exciting step to bring our operation in-house and the development of a hybrid model. It was useful to take learnings from Bremner’s previous case studies and apply them to our new catering model – I’m proud that the end result is an enticing food and drink offer which appeals to our students, colleagues and the wider community.
Matthew Mealing, Associate Director Campus Services
Our Services
A well-designed food strategy goes beyond operations – it strengthens community engagement, improves user experience, and aligns with institutional goals. By combining stakeholder insights with industry best practices, we help organisations like the University of Salford make informed, strategic decisions about their food and beverage offerings. Whether it’s transitioning service models, improving engagement, or enhancing sustainability, we create tailored solutions that drive real impact. If you’re looking to optimise your food strategy and enhance engagement experiences, we can help.
Looking to optimise your food and beverage offerings? Partner with us to create tailored solutions that elevate your services and meet the needs of your community.
