Sodexo’s Quad Squad – Dining that reflects student voices and choices

Listening has always been Sodexo’s fuel for innovation because no one knows better what works on college and university campuses than the students themselves.   

From a strategic standpoint, listening steers smarter quantitative research questions, targeted data collection and validation of best practices. But more importantly, student-led campus dining feedback is intrinsic to Sodexo’s work in delivering authentic experiences that resonate with today’s students. Providing opportunities for them to have an impact on their dining experience, exchange creative ideas with their peers and participate in crafting their own positive college journey is critical to resident dining success.   

Fortunately, Sodexo Campus has an incredibly powerful listening tool in the form of our Quad Squad.

What’s trending on campus? Ask the Quad Squad! 

The Quad Squad is our unique, student-led insights community that provides real-time campus dining insights with the help of hundreds of students from college and university campuses across the U.S. Since 2024, Sodexo Quad Squad members have been responding to polls and surveys, submitting mobile diary entries, and participating in long- and short-format online interviews, virtual focus groups and interactive live chats. Through everyday interactions and honest feedback collected from students, the Quad Squad has helped us uncover the latest food trends, gauge interest in new tech solutions and innovate to provide adventurous new menu options and culinary brands.   

Since student experiences and expectations are always changing — and typical research methods often take weeks or months — one of the most exciting aspects of this initiative is its immediacy. The Quad Squad provides feedback quickly, allowing Sodexo and our campus partners to validate, act and deliver what students are prioritizing right now. 

In short, the Quad Squad provides Sodexo with fast feedback on what college students are excited about and craving. 

Asking the right people the right questions 

Quad Squad student volunteers include 18- to 24-year-olds, full-time undergraduate students from a variety of social, cultural and economic backgrounds. They attend public, private and community colleges, reside in both on- and off-campus housing, and include meal plan holders and non-meal plan holders.  

By providing direct feedback, as well as assisting in UX and concept testing, the Quad Squad initiative has helped us better understand dining usage and service attitudes from a wide range of backgrounds, leading to more successful product and program development, enhanced operations, more effective marketing and advertising campaigns and more satisfied student diners.  

The voices of the Quad Squad regularly weigh in on questions like: 

• What do you think about the current plant-based meal options on campus? 
• What are your real-time experiences with dining automation?  
• Do you feel welcome when you enter a dining space? If so, what makes you feel that way? If not, why not? 

Listening, learning & launching new ideas 

The Quad Squad has been instrumental in helping us more clearly define current brand preferences, enhance the dining experience with technology students love and create promotional campaigns that really make them excited about meeting in the resident dining hall and other campus spaces. 

Online ideation sessions and focus groups have led to the development of our One & All brand, as well as three new retail programs, including new student-favorites Dilli Haat and Mediterra. Newly launched favorites like Prime Time Patty’s were named and developed directly from input gathered from our Quad Squad members. 

In addition, stories about Quad Squad-developed programming, brand launches and dining events have easily lent themselves to inspirational content highlighted in Craft Magazine, Spark Magazine, Faces of Sodexo Magazine and fuels Moments of Belonging. 

Considering the valuable information Sodexo’s Quad Squad has gathered and the incredible engagement we’ve had with our many student advisory panels, student culinary councils and hundreds of campus interns, it’s clear that students want to be heard and want to feel like they have a direct impact on their dining experience. And any time you empower your customers in that way, you will have a winning strategy for enhancing the overall campus experience. 

Sodexo – leading by listening

Sodexo Campus is continuing to lead by listening with the upcoming release of our biennial 2026-2027 Sodexo Student Lifestyle Survey, a report that uncovers shifting trends in campus life and student expectations by surveying high schoolers, undergraduate students and their parents.  

And our recently announced research partnership with The Princeton Review will not only contribute to wider conversations about data-driven campus dining innovation, but will also help higher education communities better understand how campus dining operations and services influence (and promote) student retention.  

Since we know that dining plays a powerful role in bringing students together, supporting and enhancing their daily lives, and creating a sense of belonging on campus, Sodexo will continue to strengthen our efforts in harnessing the student voice and providing those insights to our campus partners. Together, we can craft dining experiences that are aligned with today’s student preferences and create dining programs that make them feel seen, heard and valued.