FEATURE
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
48 ASIAN TRADER 19 SEPTEMBER 2025
pportunity” is the key
word. As September
continues, across the
country 255,000 18-year-olds
will be starting their university
careers, up from 243,650 in 2024
(an increase of +4.7 per cent,
which UCAS calls a record high for
2025). Very many of them will be
moving away from home for the
first time, settling into a new area,
making new friends and fending
for themselves, buying groceries,
drinks and treats, socialising in
their student digs, visiting and
going out – but often partying in
(see also our BNI feature in this
issue for more detail). That’s in
addition to the students who
began their careers one or two
years earlier, who are still there –
last year there were in total
almost three million students in
higher education of some kind – a
massive market that should be
specifically catered for, and can be
once the student spending profile
is taken into account.
There is almost nowhere in the
British Isles except for very rural
communities where this fresh
influx of consumer spending will
not be felt at least a little – and in
some areas commencement of
the new academic year will be
transformative, following on
from steady summer sales figures.
No matter where your store is
located, it is certainly worthwhile
to consider the best ways to make
the most of a spending profile of
late teens learning how to look
after themselves and buying what
they want – often impulsively –
while enjoying the freedom and
excitement of embarking on their
adult journey.
New term, new
experience
Students will typically be looking
for easy and quick meals, food to
consume on the move, healthy
ingredients, ambient or store-
cupboard items (think spaghetti
and baked beans!) snacks and
sweets, soft drinks and alcohol,
and more likely vapes rather than
tobacco products.
When you look at it, the
student consumer, with the
eagerness to try new things, the
impulsiveness and hunger of
youth, the carelessness over
treats and flavour that the young
can indulge without bad effects
– all these factors and more give
students the perfect convenience
customer profile.
According to the Save the
Student organisation, groceries
are the second biggest undergrad
uate expenditure, coming in last
year at £144 a month (so nearer
£160 now which breaks down to
around £40 a week): “not too bad
for a weekly food shop”. And
without a big trip to a mult, most
of that is likely to be spent locally,
in a c-store near to where they
live, probably on the way home
from a lecture, or popping out for
breakfast goods on the weekend.
In other words, the average
student will be buying little and
often, with many more distress
missions than for a family – to
pick up basics such as noodles,
fruit, soft drinks, beer, instant
meals, cereals, milk and pastries,
cleaning and household goods
– they have to equip a kitchen and
a bathroom, so be ready to cater
for that – and as the weather
grows colder, probably some OTC
meds as well. After snacks and
beer are added to that list, the
“opportunity” word should be
looking large and neon-lit.
Freshers and
refreshment
It’s not only the right sort of
practical products that are
important to stock: marketing
matters and brands play a big part
in converting student interest
into sales, as Ben Parker, VP Sales,
Off-Trade at Carlsberg Britvic,
explains. Understanding where
student interest lays – for
example their enthusiasm for
music – means that a tie-up
between brands and events, for
example, can produce great
results.
“Rockstar Energy Drink
launched limited-edition cans as
part of its partnership with Live
Nation at the UK’s six biggest
music festivals, including
Parklife, Wireless, TRNSMT,
Reading and Leeds, and Cream
fields, for a second year in a row,”
Parker says.
“Calling out TRNSMT, Reading
and Leeds and Creamfields
festivals across Rockstar Energy’s
Peach, Tropical Guava and
Blueberry Pomegranate packs,
the three can designs also have
festival graphics to grab shoppers’
attention in-store. This partner
ship aims to elevate the festival
experience by offering fans the
chance to win 10 pairs of tickets to
each festival, with those who
enter until 17 November, and they
are also entered into a prize draw
to win £500. The new cans will be
Freshers’ week
comes around again
The sign of autumn is not
falling leaves but students
lugging cases to their
new lodgings as another
academic year begins –
and they are all in need
of nourishment and good
times, which is where
convenience can help
“