A pilot study evaluating the impact of increasing the availability of vegan options in a Romanian university cafeteria: From menu design to ingredient use

University cafeterias may support plant-based eating through menu availability, but evidence from Eastern European institutions is limited. This single-site quasi-experimental pilot study examined whether expanding vegan options in a Romanian university cafeteria was associated with changes in vegan meal purchasing and recipe-derived ingredient use. Aggregate point-of-sale and standardized recipe data were compared across two matched 3-month periods: March–June 2024 and March–June 2025. Vegan menu availability increased from approximately 34.7% to 42.5%, mainly through new vegan items, greater production of existing vegan dishes, and expanded fruit-based offerings. This was accompanied by a modest increase in vegan meal share from 37.8% to 39.5% (+4398 portions; +1.7 percentage points). However, service-day analyses showed small, non-significant between-period differences (mean difference + 1.6 percentage points; 95% bootstrap CI −2.0 to +5.2; adjusted estimate +1.9 percentage points; p = 0.15). Daily vegan availability was associated with vegan purchasing: each 10-percentage-point increase in vegan availability corresponded to an 8.3-percentage-point higher vegan sales share. Changes varied by meal category: vegan cream soups, desserts, and combined mains increased, while vegan salads declined and animal-based mains remained stable. Ingredient estimates showed increased fruit use (+391%) and reduced dairy/egg (−33%) and meat/fish use (−2.5%). Overall, the findings suggest an availability-related shift in purchasing and ingredient use, but they remain exploratory because of the uncontrolled pre-post design and lack of individual intake, waste, and behavioral data. Future larger, controlled studies should assess durability, acceptability, waste, and scalability.