A version of this article was originally published on FoodService Director.
Across college campuses, dining programs are finding that traditional research methods and feedback systems don’t consistently deliver the insights they need to build Gen Z-approved menus.
Recent reports from Washington University, Mercy University and Vanderbilt show that student dissatisfaction with campus dining is widespread, driven by concerns over cost, quality, variety, nutrition and a broader sense that “no one is listening.”
National foodservice trend reports, once seen as roadmaps for planning, often fail to capture the hyper-local preferences and fast-evolving expectations of today’s students. Meanwhile, conventional tools—email surveys, texting or mobile apps, focus groups, comment cards and even university-run social media accounts—are struggling to drive meaningful engagement among students who are generally less involved on campus post-pandemic.
The challenge isn’t a lack of student opinions about dining—it’s that feedback programs often fail to meet students where they are or leverage the voices they trust.
In response, foodservice teams are beginning to rethink how they gather feedback. Increasingly, they’re looking to social media as not just a marketing and communication tool but a research channel.
A hidden tool in social media
By turning to social media and collaborating with influencers—such as athletes, well-connected students or popular local content creators—dining programs can deploy polls and surveys through platforms like Instagram, where students naturally spend time and express themselves.
These peer-driven polls feel casual, authentic and personal, drawing responses from typically hard-to-engage audiences. This model recognizes the outsize role peer influence plays in campus life. In close-knit communities like universities, word-of-mouth, shared experiences and group decisions heavily influence student behavior.
It also aligns with Gen Z’s digital habits. Recent Harris Poll data shows that 47% of Gen Z spend 2–4 hours per day on social media, 60% spend at least four hours, and 22% spend seven or more.
Social media is where they communicate, discover trends and form opinions—including about food. For Gen Z, social media isn’t just entertainment; it’s food culture. Viral recipes, restaurant reviews and TikTok trends shape what they eat and how they think about food. That makes social platforms a natural place to solicit campus dining feedback.
Faster feedback
Thanks to social media’s informal and immediate nature, student opinions can be gathered on an as-needed basis. Feedback collection doesn’t have to be time-consuming, nor does it require an exhaustive list of questions. Foodservice teams can tap into student insights before adjusting seasonal menus, running promotions or making investments, not just during scheduled annual reviews.
For instance, when a foodservice team wanted to improve its french fry offerings, it used Brilli to conduct a quick social media poll via influencers. The results showed that 63.8% of surveyed Gen Z consumers preferred “Classic & Crispy” fries over trend-forward options like loaded fries with global flavors—despite those alternatives being heavily promoted in national trend reports.
Actionable feedback starts with authentic reach
By leveraging social media polling, foodservice directors are gaining timely, authentic,
campus-specific data that broader methods often miss. This localized research helps bridge the gap between national trends and actual student sentiment, allowing foodservice teams to respond more quickly and effectively.
That said, digital polling shouldn’t entirely replace traditional methods. To ensure equity and representation, campuses can pair influencer-led research with broader mobile and in-person tools to capture a full range of voices.
As student expectations continue to shift, embracing the communication behaviors Gen Z already trusts will be key to building menus that satisfy and to staying connected, responsive and relevant.