---
title: "Fast Casual: Catering to College Kids' Food Expectations"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/d55831b8-51b5-4bb7-94de-0436e2feae07
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-catering-to-college-kids-food-expectations-5628
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
published: 2016-08-26T18:13:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:13:21.139Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/bf004ac384df9f9cfb06563121ae9f0f4309160826100924.jpg
---

# Fast Casual: Catering to College Kids' Food Expectations

**TL;DR:** Brands must cater to millennial consumers' expectations for quality, nutrition, and social environment when ordering from fast food chains. A study by Fluent found that a restaurant's social environment is a key differentiator for millennial consumers.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-08-26. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-catering-to-college-kids-food-expectations-5628).*

## Story

The competition for millennial business is heating up in the restaurant industry. And in order to come out on top, brands have to cater to a different set of tastes and expectations than they have in the past.

According to a Fast Casual article, today’s college students aren’t as interested in junk food as previous generations were. Instead, they’re more concerned with quality and nutrition, even when ordering from traditional fast food chains. They also expect their food to be affordable.

But a higher level of quality and an economic price aren’t the only things getting millennial consumers to spend money at quick-service and fast casual restaurants. A recent study conducted by the marketing insights agency Fluent found that a restaurant’s social environment is a key differentiator. In fact, the study’s respondents said that having a place to socialize is even more important than having something to eat.

In a press release, Michael Carey, executive vice president of Fluent, said, “The next wave of consumers starts with a higher set of expectations for engagement than past generations [for] food that is tasty yet affordable, made with quality ingredients and a social environment.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- fast casual (topic)
- FastCasual (publication)
- food quality (topic)
- millennial consumers (topic)
- social environment (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-catering-to-college-kids-food-expectations-5628). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/d55831b8-51b5-4bb7-94de-0436e2feae07).