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Aimed at helping drive engagement and elevate education and awareness at school mealtimes, the Eativerse concept uses aliens and space across school restaurants together with immersive branding and virtual avatars to help encourage conversation around what children eat, and how to sustain a balanced diet.

It is currently in almost 100 schools in the UK, one of which is Ormiston South Parade Primary in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Taylor Shaw developed it because the company was exploring ways to ‘breathe new life’ into food delivery and engagement with children in schools.

A spokesperson said: “Many schools wanted a modern, fresh and engaging idea that would be inclusive of all age groups as pupils move up through the school years. Working with a range of schools, including Ormiston South Parade Primary, we crafted a new concept with inclusivity and accessibility for all ages at its core.

“A key challenge faced was making sure the Eativerse concept could be adapted to all kinds of spaces and integrations. Many schools have their serving areas in a multi-use spaces that are set up and broken down around lunchtimes.

“That meant any branding and integrations would need to be flexible and unintrusive to the space when not in food service. So we produced digital assets and branding that can be seamlessly installed to act as theming to existing stands and serving equipment.

“At Ormiston South Parade Primary however, the area is a single-use space. This means the restaurant is fully Eativerse branded, delivering an impactful result.”

One of the first schools to trial Eativerse, the initial response at Ormiston was ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

The spokesperson added: “It was received very well by teachers, parents and most importantly the children themselves. When it came to building the relationship between the concept, the schools and the children, a variety of methods were used to create affinity and a connection.

“We recognised the demand to innovate something a little different with a tech forward approach reflecting the habits of generation alpha. As such, we created a digital avatar solution using the characters of the Eativerse that engage and converse with schoolchildren in assemblies and group sessions.

“Through the avatar the children can talk to and ask questions to the animated characters directly. It can be tricky to find a common theme that suits genders and age gaps, but the reception was overwhelmingly positive. Space and aliens are found across a whole variety of children’s media for all ages.”

Dougie Bouch-Ashley, operations manager at Ormiston South Parade Primary, said: “There have been much better conversations happening within the school surrounding healthy eating thanks to a more accessible and engaging way to think about mealtimes. With this, lunch service is more exciting, prompts greater socialisation and has led to a greater uptake in school meals.

“It’s a fun, exciting and an engaging way for the children to approach thinking about food. The children love it. We’re excited to continue our own journey through the Eativerse and keep delivering great school meals for our pupils.”