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Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/02/26

Key Takeaways

  • Chartwells Higher Education launched BLUEPRINT, a data-driven framework designed to help universities optimize campus dining and improve the student experience through customizable insights.
  • The platform analyzes student movement, demographics, and food preferences to uncover high-impact opportunities and enhance operational efficiency beyond traditional review methods.
  • A pilot at the University of Florida demonstrated how BLUEPRINT can generate actionable recommendations—such as facility upgrades, mobile dining options, and new cuisine offerings—based on comprehensive data analysis.

Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience. BLUEPRINT offers universities strategic insights with real-time implementation via Chartwells teams stationed on campus.

According to the news release, the framework can analyze both student movement patterns and food preferences by demographic to provide data modeling for both spatial analysis and behavioral mapping. It can identify potential high-impact opportunities that traditional reviews overlook, providing distinct data points toward growth and operational efficiency.

"At its heart, BLUEPRINT is about listening. It's a way for us to pull back the curtain on data and analytics so we can truly see the students we serve, their habits, their preferences, and their needs," said Chartwells Higher Education CEO Eva Wojtalewski. "By aligning our insights with each school's unique vision, our customizable framework ensures that as our partner campuses grow and change, evolving the dining experience in a way that feels personal and purposeful."

BLUEPRINT’s first pilot was unveiled at the University of Florida campus. Its analysis took into account “current sales performance, traffic patterns, campus and student survey insights, benchmark data, and broader city trends to identify opportunities across the retail dining portfolio,” the news release reports. Its recommendations included remodeling opportunities, mobile pop-ups to address dry spots on campus, and highlighted areas of emerging cuisine trends and unmet demands.

"Through the BLUEPRINT discovery process, Chartwells conducted a comprehensive evaluation of our program and offerings, delivering data-driven insights and supporting materials that informed our review and future considerations," said the University of Florida’s Matt Mueller, Director of Food & Beverage Services, Business Services.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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