“Opportunity” is the key word. As September continues, across the country 255,000 18-year-olds will be starting their university careers, up from 243,650 in 2024 (an increase of +4.7 per cent, which UCAS calls a record high for 2025). Very many of them will be moving away from home for the first time, settling into a new area, making new friends and fending for themselves, buying groceries, drinks and treats, socialising in their student digs, visiting and going out – but often partying in. That’s in addition to the students who began their careers one or two years earlier, who are still there – last year there were in total almost three million students in higher education of some kind – a massive market that should be specifically catered for, and can be once the student spending profile is taken into account.
There is almost nowhere in the British Isles except for very rural communities where this fresh influx of consumer spending will not be felt at least a little – and in some areas commencement of the new academic year will be transformative, following on from steady summer sales figures. No matter where your store is located, it is certainly worthwhile to consider the best ways to make the most of a spending profile of late teens learning how to look after themselves and buying what they want – often impulsively – while enjoying the freedom and excitement of embarking on their adult journey.
New term, new experience
Students will typically be looking for easy and quick meals, food to consume on the move, healthy ingredients, ambient or store-cupboard items (think spaghetti and baked beans!) snacks and sweets, soft drinks and alcohol, and more likely vapes rather than tobacco products.
When you look at it, the student consumer, with the eagerness to try new things, the impulsiveness and hunger of youth, the carelessness over treats and flavour that the young can indulge without bad effects – all these factors and more give students the perfect convenience customer profile.
Photo: iStock
According to the Save the Student organisation, groceries are the second biggest undergraduate expenditure, coming in last year at £144 a month (so nearer £160 now which breaks down to around £40 a week): “not too bad for a weekly food shop”. And without a big trip to a mult, most of that is likely to be spent locally, in a c-store near to where they live, probably on the way home from a lecture, or popping out for breakfast goods on the weekend.
In other words, the average student will be buying little and often, with many more distress missions than for a family – to pick up basics such as noodles, fruit, soft drinks, beer, instant meals, cereals, milk and pastries, cleaning and household goods – they have to equip a kitchen and a bathroom, so be ready to cater for that – and as the weather grows colder, probably some OTC meds as well. After snacks and beer are added to that list, the “opportunity” word should be looking large and neon-lit.
Freshers and refreshment
It’s not only the right sort of practical products that are important to stock: marketing matters and brands play a big part in converting student interest into sales, as Ben Parker, VP Sales, Off-Trade at Carlsberg Britvic, explains. Understanding where student interest lays – for example their enthusiasm for music – means that a tie-up between brands and events, for example, can produce great results.
“Rockstar Energy Drink launched limited-edition cans as part of its partnership with Live Nation at the UK’s six biggest music festivals, including Parklife, Wireless, TRNSMT, Reading and Leeds, and Creamfields, for a second year in a row,” Parker says.
“Calling out TRNSMT, Reading and Leeds and Creamfields festivals across Rockstar Energy’s Peach, Tropical Guava and Blueberry Pomegranate packs, the three can designs also have festival graphics to grab shoppers’ attention in-store. This partnership aims to elevate the festival experience by offering fans the chance to win 10 pairs of tickets to each festival, with those who enter until 17 November, and they are also entered into a prize draw to win £500. The new cans will be available until the end of the year, ensuring festival-goers stay energised and ready to enjoy the music.”
Rockstar new brand platform brings the concert to you
For students who have enjoyed themselves attending concerts over the summer arrive at college and university with happy memories, the Rockstar Brand is right there in the chiller to remind them and to help them relive the good times.
Food-to-go specialists Rollover recently teamed up with Warner Bros. Pictures to celebrate the launch of DC studio’s highly anticipated new movie, Superman. Demonstrating that it’s not only drinks that benefit from tie-ins.
The collaboration gave consumers the chance to win prizes fit for a superhero, including a grand-prize trip to Paris for an action-packed adventure for two. Complete with striking point-of-sale (POS) and co-branded packaging across its famous Original hotdog, the new partnership was unmissable and drove footfall across convenience.
Definitely more of this is needed from brands as it hits the student demographic spot-on.
The dual impact on students of their new life away from home and the excitement of Freshers’ Week and after is totally worth gearing up for, according to HEINEKEN UK’s Category & Commercial Strategy Director, Alexander Wilson.
“Fresher’s Week (typically falling from Monday 22 September and Sunday 28 September) is an event that all retailers and wholesalers can get involved with, no matter if they’re situated close to a university or not," he says. “They can do this by better understanding the needs of their young adult consumers and then conduct a range review that is targeted to this demographic.”
He estimates that during this initial, heady period of undergraduate life, the beer category will be worth £93m, demonstrating a growing appetite among this demographic for beer. “Within this category, world lager, especially European continental brands like Birra Moretti and Cruzcampo, have seen the largest penetration increase, as consumers travel abroad and become familiar with tastes they want to replicate back home.”
World beer has indeed taken over territory from craft beers over the past few years, and his explanation is eminently plausible and also tells us that student-age consumers are those drinking it. But it is not only lager enjoying its day in the sun: cider also goes down very well with students.
“When it comes to cider, the category is worth £34m during Fresher’s Week,” says Wilson. “This is being largely driven by flavoured ciders, with mainstream brands, like Strongbow, which launched Strongbow Strawberry last year, leading this growth. To capitalise, retailers and wholesalers can look to focus on fruit ciders in the first instance during Fresher’s Week and ensure they have full availability of these bestselling lines.”
Brands and the marketing of them – together with convenience’s secret weapon of the chilled drinks cabinet – are a main weapon in the contest with the mults, with students are likely to indulge in a regular big supermarket shop than settled householders.
Wilson says convenience retailers and wholesalers looking to tap into student demand should stock up on brands ahead of Fresher’s Week, and then create meal-deal bundles that perhaps incorporate Spanish and Italian themes that match the world beer identities – for example, Cruzcampo with a Spanish ready-meal, or Birra Moretti Sale di Mare with a pasta dish.
Photo: iStock
When it comes to formats, he says that large packs of beer and cider take 11.5 per cent of sales throughout Fresher’s Week; however, single and small packs take 23.9 per cent and 37.4 per cent of total sales, “So this is another element retailers and wholesalers can consider when putting together their Fresher’s Week display.”
And sales continue after the initial celebrations of arrival and a new life: the combo concept can continue throughout the academic year, and friend of Asian Trader Bobby Singh, of Holmfield Lane Superstore and Post Office in Pontefract, says: “One of the best-selling things for students in particular are the meal and combos kind of thing, a sandwich, a drink, and a packet of crisps, they're the best things to sell to students.”
He is keen on supplier support to energise further this great source of sales with promotions and deals:
“They should be giving us retailers good deals or combo deals where we do try and promote and put like a meal together for students etc. They can support us further by providing some kind of incentive to discount to support these meal deals.”
The real meal deal
The Hot Food-to-Go category continues to remain popular among UK consumers, including students, as they increasingly look for convenient, high-quality options that fit their busy lifestyles – whether that’s during lunchtime on campus or at the weekend when they’re looking for a breakfast treat, according to Tony Owen, General Manager at Rollover. When it comes to lunch, for example, there is more demand for higher protein offerings, with protein seeing a 50 per cent growth in the last four years, making it the fastest growing food category.
“In fact,” he says, “the market is now forecasted to reach £24 billion in value by the end of 2025, so tapping into the Food-to-Go mission is more important than ever for retailers as they look to drive footfall, maximise sales and futureproof their business through the student demographic.”
With “the kids” increasingly looking for convenience and ease in their busy student lives, the category performance of food to go presents a significant growth opportunity – and for impulse retailers in particular: “Convenience is the perfect channel for both busy students and the Food-to-Go mission,” Owen explains.
“Investing in Food-to-Go solutions will allow retailers to drive sales by meeting current demand but also expand sales opportunities by attracting and inspiring new students looking for their next on-the-go meal or snack.
Rollover's Boneless Chicken Wings
He sees the breakfast occasion (which with students can stretch late into the day – especially at weekends) as a particularly rich sales opportunity.
“The out-of-home breakfast category isn’t slowing down – and neither are we. This includes the demand for on-the-go breakfast options, with the occasion growing year on year. In fact, the average spend on breakfast has increased, which tells us more shoppers, including students, are hungry for convenient, tasty and quality options.”
Rollover has launched a selection of options to help retailers tap into the breakfast occasion.
“We know that bacon, sausage and egg are amongst shoppers’ top three breakfast items respectively, so recently launched our newest breakfast delights that deliver on this demand,” Owen says. “These include our Rollover Bacon & Sausage Baguette, made with streaky bacon and Lincolnshire sausage. Alongside this, we have also launched a Sausage, Egg & Cheese muffin made with a succulent pork sausage patty, free-range egg and melted cheese.”
It is also supporting retailers with more targeted merchandising and ranging advice to create greater visibility and encourage students to think of breakfast as a more complete meal- a major push by the company owned by Pilgrim’s Food Masters. Shoppers are on the hunt for Hot Food-to-Go options at all times of the day, from breakfast baguettes and muffins to lunchtime burgers, chicken and our range of hotdogs. Between Rollover and Kepak, a viable “restaurant” option is possible for even the smallest c-store.
“Our Rollover range offers something for everyone, helping retailers to leverage this opportunity throughout the day. Alongside this, our vegan sausages and burgers, and our halal sausages, ensure our partners are able to cater to all students’ dietary requirements too,” says Owen.
There’s also a Flame Grilled Quarter Pounder Bacon Cheeseburger that students can pair with crispy breaded Boneless Chicken Wings, complete with a pot of smoky Texas BBQ Dip, to help retailers maximise sales throughout the day – not just the lunchtime rush.
Managing the munchies
For fuel between meals students typically welcome the world of snacks, and it behoves retailers to study which are the ones they prefer and revert to in times of study stress.
“We know that savoury snacking remains hugely popular among shoppers,” says Ed Merrett, Wholesale Controller at PepsiCo, who talked to us about the current snacks scene. “In fact, 99 per cent of people in Great Britain are consuming them and 50 per cent are purchasing savoury snacks from convenience outlets, making bagged savoury snacks the number one fastest growing impulse category.”
This means that savoury snacks are more than ever a crucial sales driver for the impulse channel, worth a whopping £6bn a year and growing at +3.3 per cent, he adds.
The impulsive nature of buying savoury snacks means symbol and independent retailers are ideally placed to capitalise on the category, Merrett says: “Retailers should be keeping a finger on the pulse and catering their snack offering towards popular shopper missions that are likely to prompt shoppers to increase their impulse sales and therefore overall basket spend."
Merrett also believes that properly understanding the habits and preferences of Gen Z student trends – meaning a focus on both formats and flavours.
Cheetos brings USA-inspired flavour to UK
“To deliver on this,” he says, “retailers should look to stock a combination of flavours and formats, so that there is always something new to try and to keep these consumers engaged.
In March this year, PepsiCo relaunched US snack brand Cheetos in the UK, adding a new flavour, Fiery Jalapeño and Cheese (more chillies – the taste base that grows more popular every year).
“Alongside this, we also expanded our Twisted Sweet & Spicy offering,” he says, “which is growing +31.1 per cent, into the convenience channel this April with updated packaging. This activity aims to bring a bold, eye-catching design to the brand that resonates with Gen Z. “
Gen Z, in case you didn’t know, is that cohort of the population born between 1997 and 2012: it’s the generation after the dreaded Millennials, and they form the vast majority of the student population presently, so it is very much worthwhile finding out what makes them tick – and spend.
“Gen Z over-indexes with loving spice,” confirms Merrett, and retailers should leverage that preference by using all the hot flavours around at the moment, as the market adapts to their toleration for spiciness in snacks.
Merrett believes that careful stocking– and making use of the PepsiCo’s Max Your Snacks report, retailers can drive an estimated 16 per cent uplift in savoury snacks sales.
Something else Gen Z likes – or expects – is novelty and variety. As the first properly “digital native” generation, which has grown up with a fully functional and increasingly integrated internet and smart-phone environment, they are used to new things and combinations. To that end, PepsiCo has launched “That’s Nuts” which involves coating peanuts with flavours borrowed from their crisps catalogue – very Web 3.0!
“The That’s Nuts line-up is bursting with the iconic flavours of known and loved crisp brands including Walkers Salt & Vinegar and Smoky Bacon, Doritos Chilli Heatwave and Flamin’ Hot, Wotsits Really Cheesy and Walkers MAX Paprika,” enthuses Merrett.
This segment has seen strong growth in recent years (as Gen X gained in spending power) but he thinks there is headroom to drive it further, “as some shoppers perceive existing nuts products to be bland and boring".
That’s Nuts is available at a base RRP of £2.75 per 160g and £1.75 for promotions, the 40g SKUs have an RRP of £1.00. The launch is set for a starring role in PepsiCo’s 2025 festive campaign later in the year.
A new year
Perhaps above all, making the most of the student opportunity in 2025 is getting in tune with youthful tastes and understanding the way that today’s undergraduates are likely to allocate their budgets as the work to understand what it means to live on their own and responsibly organise all their affairs. The need for economy will determine certain staples and ambient goods, from baked potatoes and beans to noodles and rice; but also there will be beer and snacks for socialising, an energy drinks for pulling a late-nighter to meet an essay deadline. There will also be the daily grab and go of filling up an empty stomach coming and going from campus to home, and the treats at weekends. It’s a great time of life, carefree and with expanding horizons – and it’s the perfect opportunity to make your store a part of their lives.