How Incontro replaced guesswork with a digital guest experience

Kunskapsgallerian in Sickla houses four different schools and 2,000 students. Every day, 1,600 of those students eat lunch in the same restaurant. Every one of those meals passed through without leaving a trace. No data. No communication channel. No guest relationship.

The challenge

Incontro ran lunch operations the way most school caterers do. A plastic card at the door confirmed that someone had entered. It said nothing about who. Cards could be borrowed. A student who stayed home could hand theirs to a friend, and the system had no way to tell.

There was no channel to reach students directly. No menus, no activities, no feedback mechanism. The guest experience began and ended at the card reader.

Attendance was estimated from enrollment figures. How much food to prepare was a guess from there.

"We based our forecasts on the number of enrolled students and took a rough guess at how much of that food would actually be needed." says Jim Nilsson, CEO at Incontro

The solution

Pej built Campus by Incontro, a branded guest app that replaces the anonymous card journey with a digital one. Two Pej Purchase Units sit at the dining room entrance. Students scan a QR code tied to their own account. One motion. One verified data point. 1,600 times a day.

For the first time, Incontro can plan meals based on actual demand. Real-time attendance data shows how many students are coming and when, giving the kitchen an accurate basis for preparation and reducing the gap between what is cooked and what is eaten.

Managing the guest experience is equally straightforward. The app gives Incontro a direct communication channel to students, with menus, news, and activities published through a simple admin interface and delivered as push notifications. No notice boards. No intermediaries.

The app also hosts custom experiences like the food waste game, where students learn about reducing food waste in a format that connects to both Incontro's and the school's sustainability values.

"A very fun and important part of the app that builds understanding of something that matters deeply to us and to the schools," says Jim Nilsson.

The results

–  Invoicing based on actual meals served, not enrollment estimates

–  Individual QR identification replacing borrowable plastic cards

–  Real-time attendance data for scheduling and volume planning

–  Reduced food waste through accurate daily forecasting

–  Faster guest flow and shorter peak-hour queues

–  Direct student communication via push notifications and in-app feedback

The partnership

"The collaboration with Pej has been excellent from the start. They listened to my challenges, presented solutions, and stayed involved throughout." Jim Nilsson, CEO at Incontro

The goal is to roll out Campus by Incontro across all of Incontro's upper secondary schools.