Millennials started it Gen Z is propelling Technology into Grocerant Niche Food Sales

 

Food discovery is still a big thing.  Regular readers of this blog know that Millennials were the first generational of digital natives and that they began searching for ‘food’ in what is now called the New Food Discovery generation’ according to the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Millennials are looking to deafferentation in food, they do not want to simply eat and cook like their parents.   While they want something different from what their parents had, did, or fed them. In short, they do not really want different what they want is food that is familiar but with a twist.

The discovery extended into new flavors, new points of distribution, new places to eat, new platforms of finding out about food. Including this blog where over 53,250 people visit and read about the grocerant niche daily.

Now let’s move on with Gen Z consumers, who have grown up in the omnichannel, food and beverage world filled with discovery in all digital food channels and platforms. One company now dealing very directly with Gen Z is Sodexo. They are focusing on Gen Z hot button touch-points by adding autonomous grocery stores to U.S. campuses.  Beginning this spring, the company is rolling out different offerings for grab-and-go grocery purchases under the Eat>NOW banner, along with high-tech vending and virtual dining concepts.

Autonomous grocery is right up the ally for Gen Z consumers.  It is a tech-powered solution that reflects the needs and expectations of younger consumers, according to Sodexo. “Students want three things: convenience, choice and quality – often in that order,” explained Kevin Rettle, global VP, Sodexo innovation and digital, universities. 

Rettle continued, “Sodexo is in the business of helping our clients meet those needs head on, so we’re introducing campuses to the latest in innovative foodservice with Eat>NOW autonomous grocery stores, high-tech vending, partnering with the top brands that students are looking for, and delivering it to their doors.”

So, the first frictionless checkout-free grocery location will open at the University of Denver on April 6. The autonomy grocery stores have been developed in tandem with AI platform AiFi.

Steve Gu, CEO and co-founder of AiFi , stated, "This partnership allows AiFi to bring our leading technology to campuses across the country with a proven leader in food services. With Sodexo, we can bring today’s students the ultimate convenience they’re looking for,".

Once again there is more, also on deck is a new line of high-tech vending machines that feature more than 80 ramen and udon noodle bowl combinations. These kiosks are already in place at New Mexico State University and other campuses. Sodexo is rounding out its food solutions for pandemic-impacted, tech-native students with delivery-only offerings on its Bite app that include items from MrBeast Burger and Mariah’s Cookies.

Regular readers of this blog know that, students who are part of the Gen Z demographic have shown an interest in physical store shopping with the assistance of technology. In a recent survey by the CM Group, 47% of Gen Z consumers born in 1997 and later said that they prefer to shop in a store versus online, more than any other generation, and 75% of them prefer to use their smartphone when they are in the e-commerce space, compared to 69% of Millennials.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869