Feeding the Future: How Gen Z is Redefining Dining, Digital Loyalty, and the Grocerant Revolution

 

“If you want to know where the food industry is going — just watch what Gen Z is already doing.”

— Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru®

 

A New Generation, A New Food Paradigm

Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce — and the most disruptive dining demographic the food industry has ever seen.

Gen Z is reshaping how, where, and why we eat. Their choices are rewriting the rules for restaurants, grocerants, and retail foodservice alike.

The Grocerant Guru® and the team at Foodservice Solutions® have identified clear behavioral shifts and new data points that reveal where the next five years of food growth will come from.

 

Current Gen Z Food Insights (2024–2025)

Source: UNiDAYS, Datassential 2024, Technomic Generational Report 2025

 

1. Beyond the “Broke Student” Myth

Forget the ramen cliché.
According to Datassential, 82% of Gen Z consumers rank food as their #1 discretionary spend, while 68% are willing to pay more for brands that align with their ethics — sustainability, transparency, and authenticity.

Still, they are financially sharp:

70% compare prices or use loyalty apps before buying.

They’re not cheap — they’re strategic spenders who expect quality, consistency, and clear value.

 

2. Loyalty Now Lives in the Community

“Local” matters.
93% of Gen Z diners say they are more likely to try a restaurant offering discounts or student specials — but personalization matters more than price.

Where they discover food:

·       41% inside restaurants

·       24% via social media

·       19% through friends or influencers

Community-based marketing, campus partnerships, and local storytelling are now essential to winning their loyalty.

“Gen Z doesn’t just want a meal — they want a connection.”

3. The Spontaneity Economy

Gen Z doesn’t plan dinner; they discover it.
Only 6% plan meals in advance, and nearly half (48%) try a new QSR brand every month.

That spontaneity opens doors for digital operators who move fast:

Real-time mobile push alerts,
TikTok menu reveals, and
Location-based offers.

Visuals drive conversion: short-form video content influences 70% of Gen Z’s food choices.

 

4. Off-Campus, On-Trend

Nearly 50% of students lack a campus meal plan, and 76% prefer local or hybrid grocerant-style concepts.

They’re seeking “restaurant-quality food to go” — fast, fresh, and flexible.

The fusion of Eating-In while Eating-Out continues to define modern mealtime behavior and fuel the Grocerant Revolution.

Three Forward-Looking Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

 

1. The Rise of “Figital” Foodservice

Physical + Digital = “Figital.”
Expect seamless experiences blending mobile ordering, AI personalization, and in-store connection. Every transaction becomes both personal and programmable.

2. Subscription Dining Will Explode

Think “Netflix for meals.”
Subscription-style plans — prepaid credits, rotating menu drops, exclusive digital rewards — will redefine loyalty programs. Predictability meets discovery.

 

3. Food as Identity

Food is now personal branding.
Expect menus and marketing built around values, culture, and belonging. Gen Z doesn’t just eat a meal — they signal who they are.

 

The Bottom Line

Gen Z isn’t waiting for the food industry to catch up — they’re already leading it.
If your brand doesn’t understand the Grocerant Mindset, you risk missing the next decade of food growth.

Success Leaves Clues®

At Foodservice Solutions®, we help brands identify, quantify, and qualify growth within the Grocerant Niche.

Has your company completed a Grocerant ScoreCard, Program Assessment, or Product Ideation recently?

If not — the time is now.

Call: 253-759-7869
Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us
Visit: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

Blended Dining 2025: How “Eating-In While Eating-Out” Became America’s New Comfort Zone

 

For over a decade, regular readers of this blog have followed our research showing that consumers love to Eat-Out while Eating-In. Back in 2010, Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based  Foodservice Solutions®, identified, quantified and named this emerging behavior — Eating-In while Eating-Out — and declared it the “new normal” in retail foodservice.

Now, fifteen years later, it’s clear: the data, the dollars, and the dining habits all agree — consumers want the restaurant experience without leaving home.

 

A Decade Later — The Data Finally Caught Up

In 2017, The NPD Group confirmed what we first discovered — a growing number of consumers were blending restaurant-quality prepared foods into at-home meals. At that time, 18% of in-home dinners included at least one ready-to-eat restaurant or retail item.

Fast forward to 2025, and the shift has accelerated beyond expectations:

·       Nearly 32% of U.S. consumers now report that at least half their weekly meals include restaurant-prepared or retail fresh-prepared components (Technomic, 2025).

·       53% of Gen Z say they “prefer restaurant-quality flavor at home,” even when cooking themselves (Datassential, 2025).

·       Convenience inflation has emerged: 41% of consumers are now willing to pay more for ready-to-heat or mix-and-match meal components that save time.

Consumers are no longer choosing between dining out or cooking in — they’re blending both into one lifestyle.

 

Grocerant Guru® Insight #1: “Convenience is the New Cuisine”

Consumers are no longer impressed by how food is made — they care about how easy it is to enjoy.
Our research shows the convenience quotient — freshness, frictionless access, and fast cleanup — now outweighs even flavor in determining food satisfaction.
Restaurants and retailers that integrate convenience into value are thriving. Think Costco’s hot food court, Panera at Home, or Kroger’s freshly assembled “meal builder” kits.

 

Food Marketing 2025: The New Five P’s in Action

When we developed The FIVE P’s of Food Marketing — Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability, and Price — we forecasted the shifting undercurrents shaping foodservice.
Today, all five are being redefined:

Old Mindset	2025 Reality
Product: Full meals	Product: Modular meal components
Packaging: Shelf display	Packaging: Delivery-friendly, reheat-ready
Placement: Restaurant or grocery	Placement: Anywhere — apps, ghost kitchens, lockers
Portability: Takeout	Portability: Designed for hybrid dining
Price: Static	Price: Dynamic, convenience-adjusted

 

Grocerant Guru® Insight #2: “Delivery Is the New Dining Room”

Since 2020, over 68% of all restaurant orders have been off-premise — via delivery, drive-thru, or takeout. But in 2025, consumers have evolved again: they’re not just ordering out — they’re recreating restaurant experiences in.
From TikTok recipe hacks using Chick-fil-A nuggets to Trader Joe’s mashup meals, the modern consumer is the curator, not just the customer.

 

Economic Tailwinds and Cultural Trends Driving the Shift

·       Affordability pressures: The average restaurant entrée price has risen 23% since 2021, while grocery prices climbed 13% — pushing diners toward hybrid solutions.

·       Lifestyle fatigue: 64% of Americans now say they’re “tired of cooking from scratch most nights,” according to FMI (2025).

·       Technology convergence: AI-driven meal planners and grocery delivery platforms like Instacart+, DoorDash, and Uber Eats are merging convenience with personalization.

Together, these forces have created a $94 billion blended-meal market — where foodservice, retail, and delivery collide.

 

Grocerant Guru® Insight #3: “Fresh, Fast, Flexible Wins Every Time”

Consumers crave control. They want the restaurant-quality food they love, the value and flexibility of grocery, and the speed and simplicity of convenience retail.
That’s why the future of foodservice is not a place — it’s a platform.
Whether it’s Amazon Fresh stores offering ready-to-heat restaurant entrées or Subway’s grocery freezer line, the Grocerant niche continues to redefine what it means to dine.

 

Think About This: Looking A Customer Ahead

For over 30 years, Foodservice Solutions® has been helping global foodservice, CPG, and retail brands stay a customer ahead.
Thank you to our 275,000+ LinkedIn followers and partners for continuing to challenge, inspire, and evolve with us.

If your company wants to grow within the grocerant niche — from program assessments and scorecards to menu innovation and product positioning — contact us today.

📞 253-759-7869
📧 Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us
🌐 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us

Since 1991, Foodservice Solutions® has been the global leader in Grocerant insight, innovation, and brand repositioning.

Is Walmart’s Pivot Toward Performance-Based Culture Enough?

 

Walmart’s new raise system reflects a strategic pivot toward performance-based culture, but without deeper integration of foodservice innovation and historical retail lessons, it risks repeating past missteps.

As the Grocerant Guru®, I’ve spent decades tracking the evolution of food retail — from the rise of the deli-prepared meal to the fusion of grocery and restaurant formats. Walmart’s latest move to introduce performance-based raises for over 500,000 hourly associates is more than a compensation tweak; it’s a cultural recalibration. But is it a hit, a miss, or a missed opportunity? Let’s take an outside-in look.

Performance Pay: A Familiar Fork in the Road

Walmart’s 2025 raise reform ties pay increases — up to 5% annually — to tenure, reliability, teamwork, and store performance. It’s a shift from tenure-only raises to a more dynamic, data-driven model. The inclusion of real-time dashboards is promising, offering transparency and accountability. But the reliance on store-level metrics introduces volatility: one department’s underperformance could jeopardize raises for all.

This echoes the retail incentive experiments of the 1980s, when chains like A&P and Safeway trialed team-based bonuses. Results were mixed — collaboration improved, but morale dipped when external factors (like supply chain hiccups) skewed performance scores.

Historical Lessons from Walmart’s Own Playbook

Let’s revisit three pivotal moments in Walmart’s labor strategy:

·       2015 Pay Bump: Raising starting wages to $9–$10/hour lifted morale briefly, but wage compression soon dulled motivation. Lesson: Pay increases must be paired with visible career progression.

·       2016 Pathways Program: Designed to upskill associates, it faltered under staffing pressures. Lesson: Training must be structurally supported, not squeezed into operational gaps.

·       2020–2021 Pandemic Bonuses: Short-term cash boosts created gratitude, but lacked lasting impact. Lesson: Loyalty stems from sustained investment, not episodic rewards.

These moments mirror broader food retail trends. In the early 2000s, Kroger and Publix saw retention gains by linking pay to culinary training and community engagement — not just metrics.

Grocerant Growth: A Missed Integration?

Walmart’s raise reform arrives as grocerant-style foodservice — think fresh-prepared meals, sushi kiosks, and rotisserie stations — becomes a staple in big-box retail. Yet, the current plan misses a chance to leverage foodservice as a career accelerator. Culinary roles offer higher wages, transferable skills, and customer-facing prestige. Why not fast-track associates into these positions?

Four Grocerant Guru® Ideas for Walmart’s Next Evolution

1.       Shift Share Bonuses: Reward entire shifts when performance targets are met. This builds camaraderie and reduces siloed competition.

2.       Fast Track to Foodservice: Launch a culinary training path for associates, linking performance to promotion into grocerant roles.

3.       Flex Hours for Family: Redefine attendance metrics to accommodate caregiving — rewarding reliability over rigidity.

4.       Community Engagement Points: Recognize associates who represent Walmart in local initiatives. This deepens emotional connection to the brand.

Think About This: Cultivating Performance, Not Just Measuring It

Walmart’s raise reform is a bold move toward empowering associates. But real empowerment requires trust — in the fairness of metrics, the authenticity of recognition, and the reality of opportunity. As food retail continues to blur the lines between grocery and dining, Walmart must evolve its labor strategy to reflect that fusion.

If it does, this program could be a hit. If not, it may be remembered as another well-intentioned memo from Bentonville that missed the moment.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Why Restaurants Must Migrate to a Grocerant Template—Before It’s Too Late

 

Consumers Aren’t Dining Out Less—They’re Dining Differently

Relentlessly high menu prices and macroeconomic pressures have created a turning point for restaurants. Inflation isn’t just raising food costs—it’s redefining how, where, and why Americans eat.

A new YouGov report (October 2025) paints a stark picture:

·       37% of Americans are eating out less frequently than a year ago.

·       Among lower-income dinners, that number spikes to 44%.

·       Only 8% of diners report eating out more than last year.

This pullback is driven by price perception. A full 82% of consumers say restaurant prices have increased over the past year, while fewer than 28% believe the prices are fair for the quality they receive. The Consumer Price Index backs them up—menu prices rose 3.7% year-over-year from September 2024 to September 2025.

In response, consumers are reshaping their behavior:

·       60% now choose cheaper restaurants.

·       53% actively use coupons or discounts.

·       51% order fewer items.

·       42% skip drinks.

The result? Shrinking traffic, shrinking frequency, and shrinking relevance.

“Americans still enjoy dining out, but value has become the deciding factor shaping where and how they choose to eat,” said Nora Hao, Senior Sales Director at YouGov America. “As costs continue to rise, consumers are becoming more selective—and restaurants that pair affordability with loyalty rewards and smart digital engagement will come out ahead in 2025.”

 

Legacy Chains Are Losing Ground

Despite their brand equity, many casual dining and fast-casual chains are suffering double-digit guest count declines. Circana data shows total restaurant visits down 1.7% year-over-year, with full-service restaurants hit hardest at –2.4%.

·       Applebee’s: Traffic down 3.6%, even as check averages rise.

·       Chili’s: Guest counts off 2.9%, with “value fatigue” undermining its loyalty gains.

·       Red Lobster: Filed for bankruptcy in 2024 amid declining customer counts and operational strain.

The takeaway is clear: value has migrated elsewhere. Consumers are replacing restaurant visits with hybridized, home-based, and cross-channel meal solutions—what the Grocerant Guru® calls “the Mix-and-Match Meal Movement.”

 

The Mix-and-Match Meal Movement

Today’s consumers build meals the way they build playlists—one component at a time, from multiple sources. The new “family dinner” might look like this:

·       Costco + Chick-fil-A + Trader Joe’s:
Rotisserie chicken, waffle fries, and a salad kit—fresh, fast, and under $20.

·       Whole Foods + Domino’s:
Pizza paired with hot bar veggies and soup—a blend of indulgence and balance.

·       Target Café + Panera Grocery Line:
Comfort-food favorites reimagined as modular convenience.

·       7-Eleven + Local Taqueria:
Local tacos meet national convenience—fresh meets fast.

This hybrid behavior represents a seismic channel shift. Consumers aren’t abandoning restaurants; they’re abandoning rigid formats. They want restaurant flavor, grocery value, and convenience-store accessibility—all at once.

 

Deals Still Matter—But Flexibility Matters More

According to YouGov, deals remain a powerful motivator:

·       58% of diners say “Buy One, Get One Free” (BOGO) offers would bring them back.

·       56% respond to straightforward discounts.

·       33% value loyalty points or rewards.

·       77% of all U.S. diners say a compelling loyalty offer could increase their frequency—though nearly half note “it depends on the offer.”

This underscores a crucial truth: consumers aren’t loyal to logos anymore—they’re loyal to value and flexibility.

The Grocerant Template enables operators to deliver both. It allows for modular meal pricing, component-based bundling, and multi-channel access (dine-in, delivery, grocery placement, or convenience partnerships).

 

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1.       “Consumers have redefined eating out as eating anywhere.”
Seventy-three percent of all prepared meal decisions are made within two hours of consumption. Winning brands meet consumers in that window—wherever they are, not just at the restaurant.

2.       “Value now means flexibility.”
Discounting alone won’t drive loyalty. Consumers want the power to curate their own meal experience through smaller, mix-and-match choices that reflect their tastes, budgets, and time constraints.

3.       “Channel blur is the new normal.”
The next generation of successful brands won’t be “restaurants” or “retailers.” They’ll be ecosystems that integrate both—offering freshness, flavor, and frictionless convenience across every channel.

 

The Future: Grocerant as the New Operating System

The restaurant of tomorrow won’t be defined by dining rooms or drive-thrus. It will be defined by its flexibility—its ability to serve, stock, and sell meal components that fit into consumers’ daily lives.

Those who adopt the Grocerant Template—with modular menus, retail integration, and loyalty programs rooted in value, not volume—will win the future of food.

Those who don’t will keep raising prices, losing traffic, and watching relevance fade.

The Grocerant isn’t a niche. It’s the next-generation business model for a generation that wants flavor, flexibility, and affordability—on their own terms.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

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