Generation Z Wants Food Fresh and Fresh Prepared

Millennials have the money and marketers are positioning food products in front of them as fast as they can.  While Millennials crave bold flavors and they have shunned frozen meals for the most part. Boomers on the other hand still find favor with frozen meals albeit less and less. Generation Z on the other hand is Fresh Food Focused according to NPD.

So who is generating?  Gen Z as they are known range in age from newborns to those age 23.  Today, Gen Z makes up about 32 percent of the U.S. population. Not only do they want fresh prepared food they want it their way according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ Steven Johnson.

Subway, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Papa Murphy’s Pizza all have helped usher in a new generation of Grocerant Niche consumers according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™.  Sandwiches, Burrito’s and Pizza customized, personalized and fresh prepared have elevated freshness to a new generation that has no plans on looking back.

In a new report by the NPD Group they suggest “salad consumption in particular will increase with Gen Z, followed by quick-assembly meals (meal kits and sandwiches), and more involved breakfast foods such as eggs, homemade pancakes, and French toast. Savory snack foods, everything from crackers to salsa, are also expected to become more popular.”

The above chart by NPD breaks down of how many more or less servings—measured in millions—of certain types of foods NPD expects Gen Z members will eat in 2018 compared with last year. The forecasts are based on NPD’s analysis of how behavior changes with aging, population distribution, and trend momentum.

NPD had been tracking Gen Z for some time and restaurants are well aware that since 2008 restaurant visit by families with kids (those including children under age 13) have been declining since 2008.  In fact the report found “over the past six years “families with kids made 1 billion fewer visits to U.S. restaurants compared to 306 million fewer visits by adult only parties.”

Success does leave clues and food marketers must maintain customer relevance or risk capitulating market share.  Integrating the 5 P’s of food marketing with a specific focus on Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is a solid clue. 

Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  if you are interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization or you can learn more at Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant