Gen Z Still Eating Fresh Food Fast

 

Who did not know that teenage males liked fast food? One person that was not sure was Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated “eating habits are evolving in such a way that the undercurrents of daypart menu choice are not clear.”

In a new expansive Piper Sandler survey titled, “Taking Stock With Teens” in which a poll was based on responses taken between August 17th and September 16th from 10,000 teens across 44 U.S. states, with an average age of 15.8 years found for the fourth year in a row that Chick-fil-A was the number one pick of all teens.

Starbucks came in at No. 2 for teens, followed by Chipotle which tied with McDonald's at 5%. Surprisingly to Johnson, Olive Garden came in as the fifth favorite.  Now, interestingly, food remained the most important category for upper-income male teens — capturing 21% — followed by clothing at 16% and video games at 14%. 

Get this for females, clothing remained the top choice at 29%, up a whopping 200 basis points compared to last fall, followed by food at 21%, then personal care with 10%. One most note however that teen females second choice was food at the same percentage as males at 21% in the Piper Sandler survey.

What was the value of teen spending? Well, it was up 6% compared to fall 2020, with the average teen spending approximately $2,274 dollars per a year. 

Talking about teens there is one more interesting survey that found the plant-based protein market is slowly gaining young consumers' attention. According another new survey conducted by Tastewise, 14% of teens consume plant-based meat, down one percentage point from Spring of 2021, with Impossible Foods as the No. 1 choice for teens with 40%, followed by Beyond Meat) at No. 2 with 31%, then Kellogg's Morningstar Farms capturing 22% of plant-based meat eating teens.

Now pay attention to this there are still lots more opportunity to grow however, of the 86% of teens who do not consume plant-based meat, 38% are willing to try it, slightly up from 35% in the fall of 2020.

According to Alon Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Tastewise, this is just the beginning for the plant-based market. He sees a "$14 billion opportunity over the next decade, where the question is not 'if' every foodservice business must offer plant-based alternatives, but 'when' and which technology will prevail."

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter