What millennials want: Food trends for the largest generation
Posted On December 23, 2019
Want to feed millennials? Here’s what you need to know.
Forbes recently published a list of food-related trends for millennials, and if you’re a restauranteur or grocer who wants to stay in business, it’s probably advice worth heeding. Millennials not only represent the largest sector of the workforce now, they represent the largest sector of adults.
These are your customers. You’d better know what they want.
So what do they want? For starters, less sugar. Many of us, actually – not just millennials — are looking for any and all ways to cut it out of our diets for reasons ranging from weight loss to decreased chances for ailments such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Wholesome ingredients are in. As we saw recently in a radio discussion with Polyface Farm owner Joel Salatin, people are not only growing more concerned with what’s in the food, but how it’s been raised – in the case of meat, how the animals are treated.
Foods that have medicinal properties or help with energy or focus are in demand. Some of these, such as various medicinal herbs, can be good for you. Others, such as energy drinks, aren’t.
Convenience is important, which is why grab-and-go options are becoming more and more popular. Coupled with the desire to cut sugar, this helps explain why sales of cereal have suffered as the influence of millennials on the marketplace has grown.
Forbes contributor Lisa Curtis also notes a trend toward “food as an experience,” and she’s not talking about Medieval Times. She’s talking about photogenic food that looks good on Instagram. Presentation matters, but for a different reason than it once did.
So cut down on the sugar, use natural ingredients, make it portable and don’t get mad when they pull out their cell phone to take a picture of it. It’s a compliment!