It’s now easier than ever before for students at the University of South Carolina to get the dining options they want delivered with the recent implementation of the latest campus trend—robot delivery. In partnership with Grubhub and Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, the food service contractor for the university’s dining services, South Carolina is consistently seeking ways to innovate the campus dining experience to increase student satisfaction.
Adopting technology to enhance the student dining experience
South Carolina first partnered with Grubhub in 2018, offering diners the opportunity to order on their mobile phones. Since then, they have expanded to add Grubhub Ultimate, to enable a self-ordering experience via kiosks, food lockers, and robot delivery.
Starting in Fall 2024, students have been able to use a meal plan swipe to enter dining facilities with all-you-can-eat options, with access validated by the Grubhub app. They can eat from the buffet or use a kiosk to place a specialized made-to-order option.
“We have a large campus and a large student population, so dining is always looking for ways to enhance the student experience,” says Danielle Hewitt, Unit Controller for Aramark Collegiate Hospitality at the University of South Carolina. “Accessibility, speed of service, and convenience are important to our students, so this partnership helps us deliver on that.”
The CarolinaCard acts as a campus identification card and enables students to “pay” for food with meal swipes, dining dollars, or CarolinaCash at both on and off campus dining locations.
Grubhub Ultimate is a suite of hardware and software that includes point of sale devices integrated with the Grubhub app and other systems; in-store and in-app customer displays that show real-time order status; in-store self-ordering kiosks; and back-of-house kitchen display systems. Integrating this technology and the CarolinaCard allows users to order a meal and pay for it within one app.
Increasing variety through the Grubhub merchant network
In January 2024, South Carolina launched an off-campus program for students, enabling them to use their flex funds at hundreds of thousands of Grubhub merchants around the country. Since then, more than 9,000 orders have been made through this system. By evolving alongside Grubhub and keeping on the cutting edge of the modern dining experience, the university ensures students and faculty continue to engage year in and year out.
Let’s take the school mascot Cocky, for example. Cocky could order his morning coffee on his phone to the food locker closest to his 9 a.m. class and pick it up on the way. At lunch, he could use a kiosk in the dining hall to customize his sandwich and grab it at the pick-up counter a few minutes later. Later that evening at the library, Cocky could place an order for an acai bowl to be delivered to him via a robot.
Since partnering with Grubhub, South Carolina dining has grown its operational footprint significantly. “Even with our growing campus population, we have to be able to effectively service our students within our existing dining footprint,” explains Hewitt. “With Grubhub, we have been able to increase orders by 44%, sales by 54%, and Grubhub users by 24%.”
With options this expansive, the user experience is still confined singularly to the Grubhub app, allowing for convenience and efficiency.
The app provides a one-stop-shop for all dining needs for students,” says Hewitt. “Being able to access all these functions via their phone makes ordering food on campus seamless and easy, and Grubhub has been so great to work with. They are a leader in the industry and their brand resonates with our students.”
Get started with Grubhub today
Looking to learn more? Contact the Grubhub team to get more information about bringing Grubhub to your campus today.
This content was originally published on Campus ID News.
