The Washington Post reports that “the last decade has brought huge changes to many campus dining halls, as colleges ramp up the quality and variety of food to attract an increasingly sophisticated -- and picky -- generation of students.”
Rather than the mystery meat and fat-laden products that so many boomers remember from their college years, the Post writes, “Think sushi, Moroccan stew, brick-oven pizza and Asian grills where students can choose their own ingredients and sauce. Food is often paid for with a debit card system that allows students more flexibility than the old three-meals-a-day plan. And instead of cafeterias with harsh lighting and minimal decor, schools are replicating food courts and marketplace designs that offer different food venues with bright colors and comfortable seating.”
Rather than the mystery meat and fat-laden products that so many boomers remember from their college years, the Post writes, “Think sushi, Moroccan stew, brick-oven pizza and Asian grills where students can choose their own ingredients and sauce. Food is often paid for with a debit card system that allows students more flexibility than the old three-meals-a-day plan. And instead of cafeterias with harsh lighting and minimal decor, schools are replicating food courts and marketplace designs that offer different food venues with bright colors and comfortable seating.”
- KC's View:
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We find these kinds of stories interesting because they suggest that these students, when they join the working world and begin to raise their own families and become the center of the target for supermarket retailers, will bring a greater level of culinary refinement to the shopping and meal experience.
Which could change the game for many retailers, especially those who depend on lowest common denominator marketing and merchandising.
This could, in fact, be an explanation for why retailers like Wal-Mart have decided to make a major investment in natural and organic food selections – because this is what the customers of the future are likely to want.
