Smart Food For Smart Students
Context
From in-depth market research and primary data collection over several months, we have created a snap shot of the landscape and consumer wants that current industry leaders have the chance to capitalise on.
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The current economic landscape has put students in a difficult position trying to manage spending and healthy eating choices. When asked, students identified the lack of time, good cooking equipment and utensils in student accommodation as restricting their cooking abilities, plus 47% of students say that their diet suffers as a result of money worries about their student loans.
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These factors have created a consumer group searching for a product to help with their very specific set of needs.
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Opportunity
The reason these needs have not already been met is due to a gap in the market. The majority of the brands in the recipe kit sector are following a high cost high quality model, especially when catering to a specific demographic, for example All Plants which is exclusively vegan. The pandemic has accelerated e-commerce pushing years of change into months meaning the sector is becoming increasingly saturated. Although there are brands in the lower quadrants, they are either only available abroad, extremely limited in supply, or not targeting the right demographic.
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This showcases an obvious gap for expansion, products that teach cooking skills, are accessible in price point and marketed to students.
86%
of 18-25 year olds surveyed showed
substantial interest in learning to cook
97%
of 18-25 year olds surveyed thought
food companies should be doing more to help students in the cost of living crisis
The Marketplace
Looking specifically at the current offerings there are several key issues, first off in their marketing. There is an underlying corporate gloss. There is a lack of realism to any of the imagery and all are positioned to an audience older and of higher socioeconomic status than students. Price is another big issue, the majority of key players in the sector are out of the price point of students, this is also coupled with a lack of portion sizes an suitability for cooking by yourself simply making buying these boxes not worth the expense.
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Importantly thought, there is a distinct lack of any product specifically marketed to the student demographic. Currently there are over 2.5 million students in the UK, from our research over 70% are spending between £20-£40 a week on food. that's a lot of students that need feeding and who hold substantial spending power.
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What students want.
The brands chosen to compare span recipe box, home delivery options and websites/apps that provide recipe inspiration. None of the brands listed above combine all of these factors, something this consumer group both want and need. They value cost-effective solutions, convenience and the ability to learn whilst creating nutritious, delicious food. Any attempt to engage this market should then aim to embody these core values:
