Dive Temporary:
- Sodexo, a campus foodservice firm, introduced on Jan. 2 that it plans to open almost 100 “Meals Hive” campus comfort shops via 2026.
- The shops are modular and may incorporate Mashgin’s AI-powered, self-checkout expertise, an organization spokesperson confirmed. Fee choices might be custom-made to every campus and may embody not solely conventional types of cost but additionally campus playing cards.
- The corporate plans to debut 30 of the modular, scalable places in the course of the 2024-2025 tutorial 12 months.
Dive Perception:
Sodexo’s announcement comes as Amazon is increasing using its frictionless Simply Stroll Out expertise on campuses, underscoring the truth that colleges have turn into engaging places for tech-focused c-stores.
Sodexo in-house analysis discovered that 70% of Gen Z faculty college students store at campus comfort shops no less than just a few occasions a month. The identical report famous that 57% of these surveyed prioritize selection and 47% search for availability of wholesome choices.
Catering to those tendencies, the Meals Hive places will function merchandise from native firms and minority- and women-owned companies, in accordance with the announcement.
The modular websites can embody every thing from small shops with a restricted assortment to bigger footprints that embody ready meals and groceries, in accordance with Sodexo’s web site. Roughly half of the shops are anticipated to include Mashgin’s frictionless checkout expertise, an organization spokesperson stated.
A number of the earliest colleges with Meals Hive places are Morehouse Faculty, College of Illinois Chicago, Northern Arizona College, Texas Christian College and Hamlin College.
“This modern c-store won’t solely present our college students with a various choice of cold and hot meals choices but additionally meet their private and grocery wants,” stated Rose Wilson, district supervisor for Sodexo at Northern Arizona College. “The trendy movement of the shop, together with self-checkout, will improve effectivity and comfort for everybody.”