The organisation commissioned three independent studies, gathering insight from around the world. The studies cover, USA student food trends, catering for international students and global food trends.
The first study, looking at USA student food trends, looks at how the eating habits of UK students compare to their US counterparts. It found that the UK is ahead on healthy eating, with 59% of UK students saying they eat what they consider to be a healthy diet but only 35% of US students say campus does a good job of offering healthy foods.
UK campuses are also following in the footsteps of the US with Mexican food rapidly growing on their menus, and students from both sides of the Atlantic cite a low price point as the most important factor when purchasing food.
The students surveyed saw eating occasions as less defined than the traditional three meals a day with meals extending to five smaller meals per day, suggesting an opportunity for caterers to drive new revenue through snacking.
The second study looks at how the number of overseas students eating on campus has changed the way universities approach their catering facilities. Key findings in the study included 67% of international students like to try different dishes that they may not have tasted before.
The top three cuisines international students would like to see more of on university menus were Chinese (42%), Italian (31%) and Japanese (30%). The most common dietary requirement for international students was Halal food, with 14% of students mentioning it.
Only 5% of those surveyed want to eat British food, whilst 84% want to eat a ‘mix of foods from home and elsewhere’.
The third and final study from TUCO examined global food trends by exploring the current and emerging states in 36 cities across five global regions and the menus of 2,305 outlets.
The study identifies 12 macro food trends, including over-arching casual, fine dining, on-the-go and leisure feeding, and 84 micro trends which underlie these.
Students have come to expect customisation with their meals, but the research found an increase in single speciality outlets. Food and eating is no longer just about consumption but experience and students are also looking to be immersed and stimulated when dining out.
Phill Rees-Jones, chair of the research committee at TUCO, said: “With representation from over 100 universities in the UK, we pride ourselves on being pioneers within the Higher Education catering sector. This study will, for the first time ever, collate the eating habits of students across the World.
“The insights gathered will shed true light on modern-day student’ eating habits and offer all our members a new level of intelligence which will help drive positive business growth planning.”
Julie Barker, TUCO chair, said: “The results from the reports offer a full and in-depth look into the true eating habits of students – and equally areas where university caterers can look to the future and amend their offering to meet the ever-changing demands of university students and remain competitive against off-campus outlets.
“What we have seen is that there are areas of competitive advantage that university caterers can capitalise on such as providing value meal plans that can help students control spending; a unique situation that can’t be offered by the High Street.
“We have also found that, with an increasing number of international students, university caterers need to ensure the tastes and habits of those from overseas are catered for, as they offer a growing, potential revenue stream which will help to boost the bottom line.”