New prices in our canteens from January 2025

We need to adjust prices to reduce the current deficits in our canteens and cafeterias while maintaining quality. The costs of ingredients, energy, procurement and operations have increased dramatically in recent years. For example:

French fries have increased in cost by 66% since 2019. Canola oil prices are up 41% and rice is up 73%. Chicken nuggets have seen the highest price increase, with a 154% increase over five years. The Seezeit Board of Directors, which also includes student representatives, has instructed us that we must cover our costs as a company. They have approved our financial plan, including the proposed price adjustments.

Seezeit receives government subsidies to fulfill its public mission, which account for approximately 6% of total funding. Additional public funds, such as investment grants or BAföG expense reimbursements, contribute about 12%, but these do not go toward the operation of the canteens. Semester fees make up about 15% of our funding. Approximately two-thirds of our total funding must come from earned income. While we do not operate at a profit, we aim to cover our costs as much as possible.

Government funding has not increased since 2020. Although we recently received a one-time payment from the state that will offset approximately 80% of inflationary increases from 2023, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science and Culture has announced that regular financial support will remain fixed at the 2020 level in the upcoming budget, despite rising costs and wage increases. The semester contribution was last adjusted for the 2022/2023 winter semester and is currently €73 (the Studierendenwerk share excluding the contribution for the semester ticket), which is still well below the national average.

In most cases, the actual production costs of the meals in our dining halls exceed the prices paid by students. As a result, we incur annual losses of several million euros on the operation of our dining facilities. To maintain our services, we rely on a complex pricing structure that takes into account factors such as procurement costs, subsidies, energy costs and labor costs. Through initiatives such as Seezeit-Teller, hin&weg, KombinierBar, soups and side dishes, we aim to provide an affordable, varied and high-quality lunch in line with our public mission. For other offerings, such as the grill station or cafeteria items, we focus more on achieving better cost coverage.

For external guests, we generally charge a break-even rate. For university staff, we take into account the occasional subsidies we receive from the universities.State and municipal subsidies and semester fees are only included in the prices for students in accordance with our public mandate.

Another unique aspect is the VAT exemption for students.Seezeit is required to pay 7% VAT on all revenues generated by university staff or external guests. However, this tax does not apply to student purchases.We pass this savings directly on to students through our tiered pricing structure for all products.

For more information on semester fees and student union funding, please visit the Studierendenwerk Fee section of our website.

Price adjustments will vary by product. Overall, students will see smaller increases than university staff, with the largest increases for external guests.

For example, the price of our hin&weg meal will increase by €0.40 for students (€3.70 instead of €3.30), €0.50 for staff (€5.30 instead of €4.80), and €0.70 for external guests (€7.30 instead of €6.60).

The full list of price changes can be downloaded here:

Cafeteria Prices 2024-2025

Prices for cafeteria items will also be graded starting in January. For example, a buttered pretzel that costs €1.40 for everyone until August 2024 will cost €1.70 for students, €1.90 for staff, and €2.00 for guests starting in January 2025.

With the new Konstanz packaging tax, the price of disposable packaging will increase by €0.50 (net) and disposable utensils will cost €0.20 (net). For example, pizza boxes in the Mensa Gießberg will now cost €1.00 for students (€1.05 including VAT for others). More Information about the Konstanz packaging tax: konstanz.de/verpackungssteuer

Our goal is to offer meals that are as affordable as possible while maintaining high quality. Raising prices is always a last resort, and we continually evaluate other options to keep prices stable or, when unavoidable, to minimize increases. Despite these adjustments, we remain committed to providing high quality, diverse meals at socially affordable prices.

We intentionally offer vegan, organic, and humanely raised meats at accessible prices to make them available to all students. Even at a higher cost, we strive to keep these items appealing to a wide audience. When sourcing ingredients, we prioritize quality and sustainability and are unwilling to compromise on these values.

To improve cost coverage, we continuously adjust our product range, removing items with low demand or unfavorable cost/benefit ratios. By focusing on popular and economically viable products, we can allocate resources more efficiently while maintaining an attractive and affordable offering.
 

No. The cost increases of the past few years have been unusually large and rapid.We hoped the moderate adjustments in April 2023 and 2024 would stabilize the situation, but unfortunately they weren't enough.

With the new pricing model, we believe we are well positioned for the future. Of course, we'll be reviewing costs on an annual basis. Factors such as global events and food and energy prices will influence decisions. However, regular price increases are not our intention. Price increases are always a carefully considered last resort.