Heather Dotchel:
It's time to Mark This, a podcast in which we peel back the corporate curtain to reveal the cool and innovative people, programs, and projects that are happening all over Aramark's varied lines of business.
I'm Heather Dotchel. As a member of Aramark's communications team, I see and hear amazing things that are happening across our company every day. These remarkable initiatives happen because we have remarkable people behind them, building opportunity, building innovation, and building community.
All For You is Aramark Collegiate Hospitality's year-round engagement calendar, designed to strengthen student connection, foster belonging, and create memorable campus experiences beyond the dining hall. It brings together a series of nationwide events, like today's It's Sweet to Serve You, that use food, fun, and surprise and delight moments to cultivate community and encourage meaningful interactions among students.
Our two guests today are integral to these efforts. Theresa Butler, Vice President for Student Experience, and Kasey Schluterman, Guest Experience Manager, have been with this program since the beginning. Theresa, can you introduce yourself to our audience?
Theresa Butler:
Hi, happy to be here. This is Theresa. I've been with 21 years supporting our collegiate business. I lead a team that supports insights and data that drives growth, satisfaction, and engagement for our campus partners.
Heather Dotchel:
Kasey, we'd love to know a bit more about you too.
Kasey Schluterman:
Yes. Hi, I'm Kasey Schluterman. I have also almost been with Aramark Collegiate as long as Theresa. I'm hitting 20 this year, Theresa, so you've got me a little bit. But working fully in the collegiate line of business. I've always been a people person and love people, so it makes sense to stick in the hospitality industry. And clearly, I like it, being here 20 years strong, so I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
Heather Dotchel:
It is our pleasure. So Theresa, aside from the brief definition I gave at the top of the podcast, what is All For You? Why was it developed and to what end?
Theresa Butler:
Well, All For You, everything at the core of what we do is about hospitality and serving others. And All For You is a way that we can connect students together and we can connect with them as their hospitality provider on a personal level. We want them to feel seen and we want them to feel at home. Going to college is a major milestone for a student. Being away from home perhaps for the first time, learning new things. And if we can make that easier for them, then we have future doctors. We help all of society really by supporting the higher education system.
Heather Dotchel:
So today is It's Sweet to Serve You across our collegiate hospitality line of business on our campuses. Kasey, how do the It's Sweet to Serve You calendar events embody the values and goals behind All For You? How do they fit together?
Kasey Schluterman:
Yeah, great question. As Theresa mentioned, All For You is kind of the bow that ties our intentional efforts of supporting students' success and then also weaving ourselves into the experience of a college student and those on campus, offering a service that shows up where they are. So the guest appreciation celebration that we have themed It's Sweet to Serve You is the roadmap stop where we ensure we are focusing on simply saying thank you for dining with us and making us part of that experience. And so it's very important. It also allows our guests to take a moment to continue their relationship with our students and spending time with them, showing them that we're here to support them as well as feed them.
Heather Dotchel:
So I know in 2025 alone, there were more than 240 celebrations associated with this. Theresa, what does today's celebration look like? What does the scale of participation say about student appetite, both literally and figuratively, for shared campus experiences?
Theresa Butler:
So I think if COVID taught us anything, I think it did remind us the importance of human connection and shared experiences. I think when that went away, people craved it. And I also think when we look at the generation we serve in Gen Z, but we're getting on the cusp of Gen Alpha, and this generation, they tell us in the feedback that sometimes they need a reason to get together, to really put themselves out there.
And so I think the popularity and the scalability is just a testament of, if we have something fun or an activity, they're looking for that and they want to make connections with other students. And this is just one reason that gets them out, that allows them to connect. We have so many things now that really pull us away. Our phones, devices. And so having an excuse to still be part of that community, I think brings a lot of joy to our students. And so that's why I think they keep coming back.
Heather Dotchel:
You are a bit of our data maven, Theresa. Do we see participation in these events being much more significant than your average events that the students are used to? Do they respond to the, I guess, the pull of these particular campaigns?
Theresa Butler:
Yeah. So I think the difference is, obviously we've always done events. We've always done what I'll call food focus events. I think when you look at All For You, there is usually an interaction or activity as part of the event. And we put a lot of trends research into understanding what would they want to do and how do we connect with them.
We also try to create flexibility. We may have a student that's very outgoing and it's easy for them to ease into this environment. We may have a student that's more reserved or wants more quiet space. And so Kasey and the team, we continue to get feedback, but they are curated. These events are so personally done that they become kind of a student favorite. They don't want to miss out on them. And so I think that really is the difference and why we continue to have great feedback, even the surprise and delight aspect. So we're popping things up that they weren't expected, hopefully to just make their day a little easier.
Kasey Schluterman:
I'm going to tag onto that, because Theresa, you bring up a good point. We have a group that just had their fifth annual summit at our headquarters office in Philadelphia, of students that come together to give us feedback and insights about our programs, our operations, everything from meal plans to menu preferences to tech and things that are interesting in their world. They always seem to come back to the care and overall being seen of our employees.
And then when you talk to students in focus groups or on a more broad level, I think it's always interesting when you ask about their collegiate experience. There is someone brought up obviously that directly ties to their major and field of study. There's also someone brought up from a janitorial staff, often from the dining staff. And I think they connect with our staff and our employees. And we hear from our student panel and student feedback groups that they want to know our employees are taken care of so often.
These events allow space for that connection with our staff as well, which we see. I mean, even when you post a picture of our staff in social channels, they get the most likes and follows and shares and they really drive engagement because I think our students truly care for our staff and employees, which are our dining family on campus. So I think it fosters that connection too and makes these events popular as well.
Heather Dotchel:
So I have two follow-ups on that. The first one for Theresa, the second for Kasey. But Theresa, firstly, can you talk a little bit about how we intentionally listen to understand what students are looking for both in the everyday and at events like these? We have a whole suite of survey tools. What do those look like?
Theresa Butler:
So I think we've all, as consumers, been asked to take a survey. We know that it's hard for us. We're getting pinged by lots of surveys, and even with this generation's attention span, right? It's very difficult sometimes to get feedback. And so what our approach is, is that we have something called Campus Pulse. And so we have a suite of tools that give us a full picture of what the student is thinking and pulse on campus.
So that does include survey insights or kind of your traditional insights, but we do have to get creative. So we do have something called Student Lounge, which is an online lounge where students can post pictures, kind of a day in a life. So we'll ask a question and they can do a video and answer a question. They can chat, they can show pictures. And they also communicate a lot visually. So even when you're looking at social metrics and we're seeing obviously reels, they're connecting more with video and images than words.
And so we want to give them these diverse avenues to share their experiences with us. So we get feedback from a lot of different ways. Obviously we do some of the traditional methods as well, but we make sure we have a lot of well-rounded suite so we get the full picture.
Heather Dotchel:
All right. Well, that dovetails very nicely into part two because I told Kasey I was coming for her with the follow-up. How do you take then this intentional listening, this meeting students where they are, so we get their most authentic, real-time, asynchronous feedback that we can use. How do we take that and how do we work with individual university dining teams then to create these unique experiences? And then on top of that, tie them to our national theme, because this is a day that encompasses the entire country for us?
Kasey Schluterman:
Absolutely. Well, the best thing about these events, they're more of guidelines to ensure we keep relationships with our guests a priority, but then we tag to that a theme that is fun and it fits at every campus. Whole while they may not or they may get recommended activities that go along with the theme. Schools really love taking this into heart and making it their own. We had build your own fruit cups for the healthy side of sweet that's paired with all the balloon arches and giveaways you can handle. And then giveaways are always fun and drawing student attraction, but so are DJs and music and mascots and all the things that come with it to make it more fun and attract guests to the event.
Heather Dotchel:
And I think that that's key. We talk about being a hospitality company at Aramark, and in collegiate hospitality we're not just dining, it's not just food, it's experiential. So campuses have brought in mascots, the student clubs come in, there's do it-yourself decorating. Can you talk a little bit more, Kasey, just follow up a little bit deeper on co-creating these experiences?
Kasey Schluterman:
Oh yes. We get all kinds of guests at these events, probably because of the excitement they bring and they're generally large visually, so you can see them a mile away, but anytime we can partner with campus groups, we try to. And it's the best way to show our goal of being intentionally interwoven into the fabric of our campus community, but often it helps those groups to reach their outreach goals and becomes mutually beneficial on both sides. It fosters connections that create then the next event, and we keep building on that calendar, which is a huge goal of ours.
And continuing those partnerships is extremely important. And who doesn't love seeing a giant elephant or bison or bear spinning cotton candy or making a cupcake or sundae? So it's a lot of fun to see who shows up for these events as well as partnerships behind the scenes that are able to plan ahead.
Heather Dotchel:
Any event that sparks joy is A-okay in my book. And speaking of sparking joy, of experiences, Theresa, where does It's Sweet to Serve You, and All For You on the whole, how does that fit in terms of driving overall student engagement and retention for campuses?
Theresa Butler:
So we put a lot of thought into what is the consumer's mindset throughout different stages and phases? Because I think that's where you gain or lose. Back to recruiter retention. And a college or higher education's not any different. So what is that point that we have that break? And so when we go through All For You and we're planning, we really try to, with our data insights and research, we're looking at everything from traffic counts to what's the latest trends or what the students are telling us.
And so if we can understand the consumer intimately, we can create an engagement series that connects them at the right times. And so it's that time where typically after the spring breaks, it's before exams, they've kind of made it through the year, right? It's that time where the flowers are blooming and it's beautiful outside and it's a celebration. And so really when we talk about, this is what we call customer appreciation, but it's really themed around Sweet to Serve You because, hey, it's pretty sweet and it's awesome that we've made it to this time as a collective community. We've made it through the year, we're getting ready before, you know, exam cram can be a little stressful, right? Exam Cram's another All For You event and we support them in a different way. That may look like Take 15 events for mental wellness and coffee shop.
And we do Exam Cram snack carts where we're going around. And so that's going to look a little different than All For You, but it really starts and ends with the consumer mindset and supporting them during that time and connecting with them so we don't lose the stickiness, not only of them dining in our locations, but them still wanting to pursue their education at that campus.
Heather Dotchel:
And we know that the hospitality experience on campus is central to the brands of the schools that we serve. How does a fun moment, like a donut cone ice cream or signature drink, help reinforce that purpose and that brand, Kasey?
Kasey Schluterman:
Yeah, that's a good reference there because all things are true with that. All For You, the program initially, and I was thinking of this earlier but neglected to say it, when we were sitting around a room years ago thinking how do we describe something that embodies a year round calendar of service and relationship building and just support in the needed pockets of the year. And we kept coming back to this, literally everything we do is for the customer. It's all for you. All of these things that we put together, whether it's serving your food or popping up one of these events to support you in a time of need, everything we do is all for you.
And so our campus communities and specifically our students, some days they wear so much weight on their shoulders from stress and anxiety, and the world can be heavy, especially at 18 to 24 years old on average when you're trying to get through the day. And as hospitality partners, we have a very unique opportunity in the role that we play on campus to be a no-stress, supportive, safe space for our guests to relax with friends or get some alone time in our locations just to fit what they need mentally in their busy schedule. And when they walk in our doors and visit our events, we come with this no pressure vibe surrounding grades or cost or expectations and jobs and the things that they may feel that weight from.
So we're just here to serve and while it may seem like a drink or a donut cone or whatever the case may be, seeing that weight lift from our guests when they're dining with us or at one of our events, it truly is what makes it all worth it. And I think that's what we initially want here. And the food and service have to be well done, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day, they're kind of just a vessel to foster that community, the connection our students need, the support they need to feel wherever they are in the day.
There are students that come in and visit the events, but we also, we're emailing and connecting with our guests digitally with similar messaging to be sure if they can't make it to one of the events or be part of it, they're still getting the messaging from us either through our web efforts or our loyalty program, dining rewards, they're getting messages that still say, "We're so happy to serve you. Thanks for dining with us."
Theresa Butler:
Like the recipe that you did for one of them, there was like a recipe and we got emails back, people saying like, "Oh, thank you. This is great. I'm going to make this for Thanksgiving."
Kasey Schluterman:
Oh, yeah. And we usually tie back to a feed your potential recipe that ties to the theme. I don't know, Christine put the black bean brownie this time, so I'm really going to have to try that one and see if it brings me a wellness brownie. But yes, those things too, Heather, they're impactful too. While they may not be visible on the surface, they're happening behind the scenes to make sure every guest feels that connection.
Heather Dotchel:
Kasey, do students have to be on campus to be part of the fun? How do we make sure that It's Sweet to Serve You expands beyond the physical boundaries of the campus itself?
Kasey Schluterman:
One of the most fun pieces of this is watching the events roll in. Obviously, we can't personally be at 240 events on one given day, but our marketing teams across the country post coverage of their events in real time. And one of the most exciting things is seeing that adaptation of different events and how they land across the country, and literally the millions of impressions and digital connections we get from social about these events happening is so fun to see happen and roll in and all the excitement surrounding It's Sweet to Serve You online.
Heather Dotchel:
And I will say for our Mark This listeners, if you are on our newsroom page, we have the links to the social channels for collegiate hospitality there, so you too can join in the fun. If you'd like to know more about Aramark Collegiate Hospitality and how they find It's Sweet to Serve You, visit our newsroom at Aramark.com to access more information. Kasey and Theresa, we are thankful you could be with us today, and thanks as always to our listeners at Mark This.
