Here's what is cooking at education sites this year: • More schools choosing to become Academies giving them more autonomy over food provisions – could in turn lead to a growth in purchasing via buying consortiums • Secondary schools moving away from hot meals and move towards a more convenient food-to-go / street food type offer • The focus on health continues and more choice with regard to dietary requirements, gluten free, dairy free etc • Plant-based and vegan dishes will grow in number of options available, especially in HE environments • Sustainability will continue to be a focus, both from a packaging perspective and choosing locally sourced ingredients • Branded operators will look to Universities as another route to grow their site portfolio ie. Subway, Costa etc • Flexible catering spaces within Universities that can be changed quickly both in terms of demand and change in offer • Technology will drive new initiatives such as click and collect and delivery on campus sites • Universities will utilise their catering facilities to develop an additional revenue stream outside of student catering, this could involve opening catering facilities at weekends and outside of term times. (source: Caterlyst Insights)