Cucina Boosts School Revenue with a PKL Food Cube at Bexley Academy

A Second Service Point Where the Restaurant Is Too Far Away

A single school restaurant sets the length of the queue and the distance pupils have to walk to reach it. Where either is too great, pupils leave the site at lunchtime and the revenue leaves with them. PKL supplies Food Cubes, modular catering kiosks that can be sited away from the main building and opened only at break and lunch, for exactly this problem.

The Situation

Cucina, an award winning contract caterer specialising in education catering, was looking for a way to generate additional revenue on site at Bexley Business Academy, a publicly funded, all ability independent school with 1,500 students. The school restaurant was some distance from the main circulation areas, which lengthened queues at break and lunch and encouraged pupils to leave the site.

Installing a Food Cube was proposed by Cucina’s Operations Manager, Tony Ridgwell, who had come across the unit while working with PKL at another site following a fire and recognised its potential. He presented the concept to the school’s management team, setting out the simple installation, the flexibility on siting and the revenue it could generate. When the school’s vending contract ended, the school agreed to install the Cube.

What PKL Supplied

PKL supplied a Food Cube, sited next to a covered outdoor area and open at break and lunchtime. It serves a full range of hot and cold hand held snacks and drinks, including paninis, pasta pots, pizza and hot chocolate, with pupils paying using their existing cashless cards. Because no food is prepared inside the unit, it needs only an electricity supply, which is what allowed it to be sited where the pupils already were rather than where services happened to be.

The Outcome

Tony Ridgwell said: “The Food Cube is generating new money for the school and its revenues are building steadily. It’s playing a strong role in helping to reduce queues at key times and is encouraging pupils to stay on site rather than leave the school at lunchtime. The Cube has replaced the outside trolley service that we offered and offers much greater variety. The Cube is generating revenues of £100+ a day, where the trolley generated £30. We see the Cube trade building and we know this is additional revenue for us rather than diverting restaurant spends, so generating £500 a week of additional revenue is very positive.”

He added: “It was a simple process to choose the Cube and the livery we wanted it in, have a site survey and proceed to installation. PKL also offers a choice of financing options and this again was helpful. We’re now considering the Cube for other schools in our portfolio.”

How Food Cubes Are Specified for Schools

Food Cubes are supplied in small, medium and large sizes, and in a Design Series specification where the appearance of the building matters. The exterior can be finished in a vinyl wrap carrying school or caterer branding, in stained wood cladding or in a pre coloured finish.

Units are available to purchase for a one off fee, or on all inclusive contract hire for a fixed monthly fee. Purchased units come with a 12 month warranty on the equipment and a 15 year structural warranty on the building.