Breaking even and beyond: Tips for a healthy and profitable canteen

There’s plenty of research showing that healthy canteens can make a profit, or at least break even. Just take a look at these results:

• A 2017 study of 10 NSW schools showed that when healthier options were actively promoted, there was no significant difference in the average weekly canteen revenue. [1]
• A 2016 study showed 82% of WA school canteens broke even or made a profit with healthy canteen menus [3].
• In 2018, a Queensland study found menus with a greater proportion of GREEN items were more likely to make a profit and had a greater value of sales. [4]

Promote healthy foods and drinks

Make healthier items your new best sellers using the 4 Ps of marketing:

• Product: Is the item desirable? Is it tasty, attractive, with a catchy name?
• Price: Is it affordable, and is it good value compared to other items?
• Place: How do families and students access it, e.g. via lunch orders, over the counter, every day or on special days only?
• Promotion: How is it promoted to students and families, e.g. via signs at the canteen, newsletter, canteen menu, school social media?

Be a savvy shopper

• Buy ingredients in bulk, and/or when they are on special.
• Find cheaper products and/or brands. Use FoodChecker’s product search to find GREEN and AMBER products, then see which ones are cheaper.

Take the time to get it right

• Some schools update their canteen all at once, and others introduce changes slowly. Take small steps, and measure the results, such as replacing one item at a time with a healthier alternative.
• Give new items time to gain momentum before deciding if they are a good seller. Trial new recipes and get feedback before adding them to the menu.

Don’t go it alone

• Engage students and staff to make them part of the changes. For example, hold a naming competition for new items, conduct a survey to get new menu ideas, and use activities in the classroom to invent new menu items.
• To get school-wide support, communicate changes — and why you are making them — to everyone at your school.
• Share any results from surveys and recipe trials with school leadership to get their support and ongoing commitment to having a healthy canteen.

“Buckley Park College’s canteen has not seen any negative financial impact by implementing and supporting a healthy canteen menu. If anything, sales have slowly increased. Healthier choices and more variety were included so the students have been more willing to purchase from the canteen” – Buckley Park College case study

[1] Delaney, T. et al. Cluster randomized controlled trial of a consumer behavior intervention to improve healthy food purchases from online canteens. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2017.

[2] Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch. NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy Evaluation Report 2005.Sydney: NSW Department of Health, 2006.

[3] Stakeholder perceptions of a school food policy ten years on, S Pettigrew et al. , 2017, Public Health Nutrition

[4] Improve our tuckshops- 2018 Queensland Tuckshop Snapshot survey. Christine Stewart, Amiee Johnston, QAST, Queensland Government, 2019.