case study | Egg soldiers

University of Manchester:
Transforming the Student Union food offer into a cohesive, scalable F&B strategy

University of Manchester Students’ Union partnered with Egg Soldiers to review, rethink and rebuild their entire food and beverage operation.

UOM Students’ Union
Our Client

University of Manchester Students’ Union is a multi-outlet hospitality environment serving a large and diverse student body, alongside staff, visitors and event audiences.

Its venues span cafés, bars and food kiosks, each playing a role in the wider campus experience.

UOM Students’ Union
The Brief

The SU required a full review of its catering services to inform a new strategic direction, with implementation targeted for the coming summer.

This included assessing product range, pricing, service delivery, marketing, staffing and operational structure, alongside identifying opportunities to maximise trade across dayparts and better serve evolving student needs.

UOM Students’ Union x Egg Soldiers

Key Project Elements

End-to-End Operational & Commercial Audit

We delivered a full audit of the University of Manchester Students’ Union food and beverage operation, reviewing menu performance, labour models, service delivery and customer experience across all outlets.

Our analysis identified gaps in commercial performance and missed revenue opportunities - common challenges in university catering environments.

This created a clear, data-led foundation to improve profitability, streamline operations and unlock growth across campus F&B.
Concept Strategy & F&B Repositioning

We developed a new food strategy designed specifically for a university audience, aligning concepts to student behaviours, dayparts and price sensitivity.

The resulting concept mix introduced scalable, relevant formats across breakfast, grab-and-go and street food, repositioning the Student Union as a competitive campus food destination.

This ensured the offer balanced affordability, quality and trend relevance, all in line with the essence of modern student union catering.
Implementation Roadmap & Scalable Frameworks

We translated strategy into a clear, phased delivery plan tailored to a complex university catering environment.

This included defined ownership, practical rollout steps and prioritised actions across food, people and operations, ensuring changes could be implemented efficiently by internal teams.

The roadmap provided a structured path from insight to execution, enabling the Student Union to confidently activate and sustain its new F&B strategy.

UOM Students’ Union x Egg Soldiers

The Result

The project delivered a clear transformation roadmap, turning a fragmented operation into a cohesive, commercially driven hospitality strategy.

Key outcomes included:

A fully redefined F&B proposition aligned to student needs and behaviours
A scalable concept mix designed to drive footfall across all dayparts
Improved margin opportunities through smarter pricing and product strategy
Operational clarity through defined roles, processes and training frameworks
A stronger platform for marketing, engagement and long-term growth

Crucially, the SU was repositioned not just as a place to eat, but as a destination that supports student life, community and experience.

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