Case Study

How BYU–Idaho Turned Smart Fridges Into a Campus Dining Breakthrough

This case study features insights from Justin Zonts, Associate Director of Dining Services at Brigham Young University–Idaho. The conversation focused on how his team leveraged Byte’s smart fridge technology to streamline food distribution, reduce labor strain, and tap into previously unrealized revenue opportunities through waste reduction and student-driven innovation.

"The machines paid for themselves fast. After the first two, the sales covered the next three—and it just kept going." -Justin Zonts, Associate Director of Dining Services at Brigham Young University–Idaho

The Highlights

The Challenge

Traditional food service models were falling short on BYU–Idaho’s large and dispersed campus. Mobile à la carte stations required significant labor to operate and generated limited sales, while off-hour food access remained a persistent challenge for students and staff alike.

The Solution

BYU–Idaho replaced underperforming food stations with Byte’s unattended smart fridges—starting with a low-risk pilot and quickly scaling to over a dozen machines across campus. With 24/7 access, centralized prep, and real-time sales data, the team created a more efficient, student-friendly model.

The Result

Within the first year, Byte fridges generated significant revenue with just six student workers—outperforming traditional models in labor efficiency. Now well established, Bytes fridges have generated over $485,000 in the past 12 months The team reduced food waste and empowered students to contribute creatively to menu innovations.

The Challenge

In the years following COVID, Brigham Young University–Idaho’s dining services were in a bind.

Their campus is large and spread out, and staffing mobile food stations—or “à la carte” venues—was becoming increasingly unsustainable. These stations required student workers to manually transport food across long distances, often for minimal sales in return. And despite the effort, many students were still left without access to fresh meals during off-hours.

The question became: how can we offer fresh food across campus without overextending our team or budget?

The Shift

The turning point came when Justin’s team decided to trial two Byte machines in high-traffic areas. The results were immediate.

“The first day the Byte machine outsold the staffed venue. Then it did it again. And again. So we shut the venue down.”

What started as an experiment quickly became a campus-wide strategy. One by one, the old food stations were phased out and replaced with Byte’s smart fridges. BYU–Idaho now operates more than a dozen Byte units across campus—offering 24/7 access to fresh food with minimal overhead.

“We were putting in a lot of effort—pushing food across campus on carts—and we weren’t getting the results we wanted.”— Justin Zonts, BYU–Idaho

The Solution

Labor Efficiency & Hiring Flexibility

Before Byte, the dining team had to consider physical labor when hiring student workers. Carts had to be pushed up hills and across long distances—not everyone could do it. Byte eliminated those constraints overnight.

It also removed the need to staff every location. With kiosks operating unattended around the clock, students working odd hours—like early morning custodians or those attending weekend events—could now reliably grab a fresh meal.

“We’ve got kids here cleaning buildings at 1 or 4 a.m. They’re grabbing food then. Before, they didn’t have that option.”

Menu Flexibility Based on Real Demand

Like many campuses, BYU–Idaho initially stocked their Byte machines with high-quality, health-forward meals—assuming students would prioritize nutrition. But real-world buying behavior quickly shifted the strategy.

“We shrunk the salads down. Sandwiches too. The big hit? Cold pizza. We bake fresh pizzas daily specifically to package for Byte. We’re selling hundreds of slices a month.”

Students preferred affordable, familiar staples over premium-priced health food. The team pivoted quickly, simplifying recipes, adjusting sizes, and experimenting with snacks and desserts—many of which sold out regularly.

Real-Time Insight, Instant Adjustments

Thanks to Byte’s dashboard, the dining team could make smart decisions without guesswork. Whether checking performance from home or reviewing sales data before stocking, the team used real-time reporting to increase margins and reduce waste.

“I can be at home on a Saturday and check how much we’ve made in a specific building. It helps us decide where to add or reduce inventory.”

"I had to think—can any student push this huge cart up a hill? With Byte, anyone can help. They just make the sandwich, seal it, and stock the machine." -Justin Zonts, Associate Director of Dining Services at Brigham Young University–Idaho

The Results

From Full-Service to Frictionless: A Revenue Efficiency Win

As part of a comprehensive food service strategy, BYU–Idaho operates a full-service National Brand Franchise on campus. It’s a strong performer, staffed by 30 team members and producing impressive annual revenue in a traditional restaurant format.

“Our franchise does $1.5 to $2 million annually with a team of 30. It’s a full operation.”

In contrast, Byte serves as a lean, complementary channel—designed not to compete with full-service dining, but to fill the gaps in convenience, labor efficiency, and off-hour coverage. With just six student workers, the Byte kiosks brought in $485,000 over 12 months.

“For every labor hour we put into Byte, we’re making $115. That’s more than we make per hour at the franchise.”

Operation	Annual Revenue	Labor Hours / Week	Staff Count	Revenue per Labor Hour
Franchise	$1.5–2M	~720 hrs/week	30	~$20–$30/hr
Byte Machines	$485K	~120 hrs/week	6	$115+/hr

The value of Byte isn’t in replacing staffed kitchens—it’s in expanding food access and unlocking revenue through unattended, flexible infrastructure. Byte lets the team grow their footprint without growing their payroll.

“The machines paid for themselves fast. After the first two, the sales covered the next three—and it just kept going.” -Justin Zonts, Associate Director of Dining Services at Brigham Young University–Idaho

From Waste to Revenue: Turning Leftovers into Opportunity

Perhaps the most unexpected win came in the form of waste reduction. Catering is a large part of BYU-I’s operation. Part of that is ensuring there is always adequate food prepared for every event. Oftentimes, due to attendance, there is food that is prepared that never leaves the kitchen. Before Byte, that food would often go unused. With Byte, those items were simply repackaged and sold—sometimes even more creatively than before.

“The food was already prepared and included in the cost of an event, yet never made it in front of a customer. Now we’re selling it again, getting back the cost—or turning a profit. That’s huge.”

The innovation extended beyond the staff. Students began offering ideas, like one who suggested slicing freshly made brownies, shaking them with powdered sugar, and selling them as snack packs.

“They said, ‘Why don’t we cut them up and shake them with powdered sugar?’ Now we’re selling them for more than the original brownie—and they fly off the shelves.”

With Byte’s dashboard, the team could also forecast demand for events like graduation weekends and shift inventory to match. Pricing could be adjusted in real time to move items nearing expiration.

“We rarely have to mark things down. We shift products to the right machine or tweak the price in the dashboard. Often it moves before it becomes waste.”

One local hit? Chocolate milk and Cookies & Cream Milk from a dairy farm at BYU-Idaho’s sister school, BYU, in Provo, Utah. Sales jumped from 20 to nearly 60 cases a week, all tracked and optimized through Byte.

The result wasn’t just waste reduction. It was the discovery of an entirely new layer of margin hiding in previously overlooked food.

“Sometimes they’ll see something they’ve never seen before—brownie bites or Chocolate Eclairs from catering. It feels exclusive.”

Advice for Other Universities

For universities exploring new ways to modernize campus dining, BYU–Idaho’s story offers a practical blueprint.

Justin and his team didn’t jump in all at once. They started small—piloting just two Byte machines in high-traffic areas to see what worked. The investment was minimal, the risk low, and the potential upside clear.

“Start with two machines in your busiest spots. Keep the food simple—whatever sells well in your food court. Simplify it and package it fresh. You’ll know fast if it’s working.”

What they discovered wasn’t just an easier way to distribute food. It was a system that paid for itself, empowered student creativity, and turned operational gaps into high-margin opportunities.

In just a few years, Byte helped them serve more students, cut back on labor strain, reduce waste, and recover untapped revenue—all without adding complexity to their workflow.

“We’ve probably made a million dollars over three years. Even if we unplugged them today, we’ve already come out ahead.”

For a team that once worried about how to get a cart across campus, Byte unlocked a whole new kind of mobility—the freedom to think bigger, iterate faster, and deliver value in unexpected ways.