UQAM Student Marketing Idea Inspires Global Egg Menu at University Cafeteria

An international marketing concept proposed by an undergraduate student at the Université du Québec à Montréal has transformed the university’s Hubert-Aquin cafeteria menu for the month of October,actualites.uqam.ca reported. Running until October 30, the fifth annual Egg Month features global egg dishes inspired by culinary traditions across four continents.

The menu items include a Japanese omelette served with bean sprout salad and sesame tofu cubes, pad thai with chicken, eggs, and vegetables, ramen soup with tofu, seaweed, egg, and coconut milk broth, and shrimp fried rice with eggs and vegetables. The promotional campaign, titled Un monde complètement coco, was adopted by university food services following a student competition organized for the Federation of Egg Producers of Quebec.

Student-Led Concept Selected for University Cafeteria

The international menu concept was developed by Ashly Winny Paul, a bachelor’s student in administration, as part of a sales promotion course taught by lecturer Igor Naev and coordinated by marketing professor Marc-Antoine Vachon. Seven student teams participated in the assignment, drafting promotional plans that applied their coursework to the provincial egg federation.

Paul, who is originally from Haiti, based the winning proposal on her own background and the experiences of UQAM’s international student body. I imagined a concept centered on international students at UQAM, with the egg as a food for gathering and intercultural learning, Paul stated, according to actualites.uqam.ca. She noted that dishes like Ze Fri—a spiced, pan-fried egg omelette with fresh vegetables and meats popular in Haiti—share similarities with Japanese tamagoyaki or China’s century egg.

Paul’s team, which included Jennifer Aubé-Gaudet, Giovanni Brimo, Lissete Jael Padilla Lopez, and Tamy Levy-Hogue, received the jury’s special favorite award. The evaluation panel comprised Marie-Isabel Martineau, marketing director at the Federation of Egg Producers of Quebec; Mélanie Gélinas, production chief at the Food Services and Housing Directorate; Juliette Jannin, communications advisor at the Sports Activities Bureau; and course lecturer Igor Naev.

Longstanding Partnership Funds Student Athletics and Food Security

The collaboration between the university and the provincial egg producers extends beyond marketing coursework. In 2020, the Federation of Egg Producers of Quebec and the Sports Activities Bureau established a partnership that has funded more than 50 scholarships for student-athletes, two paid internships, and university athletic competitions.

Additionally, Quebec Eggs serves as a founding partner of the campus food bank, known as the Bac alimentaire, which has distributed more than 30,000 food baskets to students.

The jury members and I were impressed by the creativity and audacity of the marketing students’ proposals, Marie-Isabel Martineau said, as reported by actualites.uqam.ca. The eggs around the world idea was particularly promising, making it possible to showcase Quebec eggs as a local, nutritious, accessible, and versatile food.

Cafeteria Promotion Continues Through October 30

Egg Month was originally launched in October 2022 through a collaboration between university food services, the sports center, the Citadins athletic teams, and Quebec Eggs. Graphic arts technician Éliza Lefebvre-Breton designed the visual identity for the current campaign.

Between 2022 and 2025, the program awarded four major prizes of $1,000 in cafeteria gift certificates to UQAM students. For the 2026 iteration, organizers have structured prizes to include one award of $600 and four awards of $100.