When Eric and Daniel reunited at Bayes Business School after their early days back in the USA, they identified a niche market: bringing diverse street food to student campuses. Together, they founded Dévorer, a business now partnering with one of the world’s largest catering operators and with leading universities. Dévorer aims to revolutionize campus dining through AI-driven insights for catering management. With a Gen Z perspective, they are reshaping the industry, enhancing the student experience, and setting new standards for campus cuisine.
What brought you together to devise your business project?
Eric: I believe in mobile businesses because of the flexibility, streamlining, and variety it offers while minimising infrastructure cost. Food trucks have long been staples in catering, and I saw a similar trend emerging with business trailers in urban centres. Moving to the UK, I was captivated by the thriving street food culture. The pandemic amplified this trend, as grab-and-go dining became essential. We rarely used campus catering and noticed many students were leaving for meals, leading us to identify a unique opportunity to hybridize campus dining, tapping into this overlooked segment.
Daniel: I lived in California and Florida, playing football and witnessing the rise of street food trucks on US campuses. The contrast with London’s traditional catering model inspired us to create a venture offering ethnic dishes and bringing the mobile dining concept to students.
What initial observations did you make about the market?
Daniel: The catering model at many UK universities is traditional, often relying on a single provider without the flexibility of a hybrid approach, which causes many students to avoid on-campus dining. At City St George’s, only 1 in 5 students used catering facilities before Graysons came on board. Many universities are shifting to in-house catering. We wanted to help catering operators flourish while bridging the gap between students and the catering giants.
Our solution offered diverse street food options to improve time optimisation and consumption at cost level: leveraging enhanced AI, we optimized pricing, placement, and consumer data analysis. After presenting our plan to Dr. Martin Rich, Course Director, and Tracey Hughes, Head of Careers, we were given six months to develop a business plan. Fast forward to today, at City St George’s, we’re focused on a regular campus presence, working closely with Velda Ismay.
Eric: While bootstrapping Dévorer, I worked in commodities—a field where rapid market shifts require constant adaptation, with sustainability at its core. Commodities are fundamental to the global economy, underpinning many industries and addressing vital environmental issues. Similarly, catering is essential and enduring, yet innovation is often overlooked. I was drawn to this overlooked industry because of its direct impact on people’s daily lives and its vast, untapped potential for innovation.
What were the next steps?
Daniel: We travelled around London and selected vendors based on various criteria. We offered vendors stability and consistent trade opportunities throughout the week, something they lacked in other markets. In a nutshell, Dévorer meant stability Monday through to Friday,with access to high-purchasing-power consumers, including international students.
Eric: My initial goal while studying was to challenge myself to apply entrepreneurial flair in a hands-on, real-world business scenario. We soon realized we were the only event management company focused on hosting regular street food markets within the educational sector. Our business model didn’t require significant funding, allowing us to get started with just £70 for company registration and a domain. Most start-ups fail due to high burn rates, but we avoided that and became operational this summer surpassing our first revenue milestone.
How did you persuade the vendors?
Eric: We offered vendors an opportunity that others couldn’t. Educational institutions often have tight catering arrangements and are hesitant to bring in third parties regularly. What we could offer was the proverbial foot in the door we had as current students who had the backing of a university. Through data-driven insights we help vendors fine-tune their pricing and understand student preference, while not competing with existing caterers.
Daniel: While scouting street food markets, we met Charles Guedes, a seasoned vendor with 15 years in the industry and a member of NCASS. We brought him on as an advisor, and his expertise helped us navigate the mechanics of health and safety, RAMS, and regulations. Within weeks, we secured 30 LOIs from different vendors. Today, Charles serves as our operations Manager. Eric and I have always believed in learning by doing, and this was a perfect example.
What did you learn during the pitching process?
Daniel: The importance of listening and putting yourself in a position where are you are listened to.
Eric: A “No” opens the door to further conversation. Results bloom from persistence, effort, and patience.
How do you explain your success to this point?
Daniel: It started with a detailed 60-page research deck from “Social Engine,” offering valuable insights from City St George’s students and staff. We leveraged this data to expand our operations to other universities. We utilized our network of students across 150 UK universities to tackle the same problem internally at other educational establishments. The turning point came when a major London university asked us to step in last-minute for a cancelled vendor. We quickly realized many vendors lacked the necessary documents, so we developed a framework offering reliable, compliant services. Soon, we were working with universities like Cambridge, Imperial, and Middlesex, and now we have over 150 vendors and aim to have just over 500 by the end of next year.
Eric: My long-term vision of success is still a work in progress, but for now, the trajectory we’re on feels promising. We quickly realized that partnering with a catering operator would be far more effective than approaching each university individually. Our roots brought us to Aramark UK, a leading foodservice partner with a commitment to delivering exceptional food and service for customers and clients. Our Gen-Z approach, combined with their reach, helped us bridge the gap between Aramark and students by offering tailored, affordable options, engaging promotions, and hands-on experiences. We connected with Fiona Martin, Head of Education and Healthcare at Aramark UK, who has been instrumental in involving students in Aramark’s programs, enhancing the overall student experience and adding significant value to campus life. We are currently building a strong, ongoing partnership with Aramark across many more universities. A special thanks to Fiona, because it’s people like her who spark change.
What have you learned from the experience so far? What are your objectives going forwards?
Daniel: Our goal is to add value to everyone we work with by building meaningful, respectful relationships. We focus on creating a team dynamic, ensuring that our partners benefit from our streamlined process and personal touch.
Eric: Our short-term objective is to enhance the campus dining experience. We aim to establish ourselves as a key street food arm for a major catering operator, positioning our company as a leader in innovation, sustainability, and community. Long-term, our ability to succeed lies in our pivot toward a data-centric food-tech driven company, helping partners unlock scalable growth opportunities and expand to other sectors.
How would you sum up your entrepreneurial journey so far?
Eric & Daniel: We’re just getting started and heading in the right direction. When people have purpose, they get activated. Our mission holds great value because, at the core, you are what you eat. Dévorer aims to go global, first in the UK, then to the USA. Stay tuned!
*****************
The official Dévorer website: Dévorer
