Gen Z and Millennials: The Relevance of Timely Content

 

From the bustling aisles of your favorite restaurant, deli, or convenience store to the dynamic feeds of social media platforms, one thing is clear: capturing the attention of Gen Z and Millennials is crucial for any brand's success. Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, has said confidently, understanding and leveraging creator-generated content is a game-changer. Let's dive into the fresh facts and insights from a recent consumer sentiment survey commissioned by NCSolutions (NCS) to explore why this timely content matters more than ever.

The Influence of Creator-Generated Content

Creator-generated content, often referred to as influencer content, has become a driving force in consumer purchasing decisions. According to the NCS survey, nearly half of Americans (48%) have purchased a product they saw featured in creator-generated content on an entertainment app or social media platform. This impact is even more pronounced among younger generations: two-thirds (66%) of Generation Z and more than half (55%) of Millennials have made purchases based on influencer content.

Engagement and Emotional Connection

The survey reveals that Americans feel a range of emotions when they encounter influencer-generated advertising. Nearly half (47%) feel entertained, and 43% are prompted to research the product. Additionally, 24% are likely to share the endorsed product with friends and family, and 23% feel inspired. These responses highlight the power of emotional engagement in driving consumer action.

For brands, this means that incorporating influencer-generated content into marketing strategies can enhance both reach and resonance. Deirdre McFarland, chief marketing and communications officer of NCSolutions, emphasizes this point: "Given the growth of creator-generated content and the quality and size of the audience that these social/entertainment platforms attract, brands have an opportunity to complement their branded marketing campaigns with these influencer-created ads."

Generation Z: Leading the Charge

Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, demonstrates a particularly strong affinity for creator-generated content. The survey found that 37% of Gen Zers appreciate creators sharing personal aspects of their lives, compared to 23% of all other generations. Furthermore, 27% of Gen Zers feel strongly connected to influencers, and 27% believe influencers endorse only top-quality products. This trust and connection make Gen Z a prime target for brands looking to build lasting relationships.

More than one in five Gen Zers trust influencers and their recommendations (21%), and 16% feel represented by creators. These figures are significantly higher than those of older generations, underscoring the unique bond between Gen Z and influencers. For brands, tapping into this connection can lead to increased loyalty and sales.

Key Elements of Effective Content

Understanding what makes creator-generated content effective is essential for brands aiming to engage younger audiences. Humor tops the list, with 50% of Americans citing it as the most appealing attribute of influencer ads. "How-to" videos (40%), music (37%), authenticity (34%), storytelling (33%), and product suggestions (27%) also resonate strongly with viewers.

As McFarland notes, "Knowing the elements that consumers like the most and drive purchase behaviors is vital intel for brands." By incorporating these elements into their influencer partnerships, brands can enhance their creative impact and drive incremental sales.

Economic Impact

The influence of creator-generated content extends across income levels. The NCS survey found that 52% of consumers earning $100,000 annually made a purchase based on influencer content, while 46% of those earning $50,000 to $99,000 and 41% of those with incomes less than $50,000 did the same. This widespread impact highlights the broad appeal of influencer marketing.

Strategic Implications for Brands

To stay relevant and drive growth, brands must recognize the value of timely, creator-generated content. By aligning with the right influencers and incorporating key content elements, brands can create memorable and impactful campaigns. As McFarland concludes, "Pairing your brand with the right creator not only raises the power of creative but also enhances brand connections, allowing advertisers to make lasting impressions with consumers."

Think About This, Gen Z and Millennials are more than just demographics; they are dynamic, influential consumers who respond to authentic, engaging content. Brands that embrace this shift and invest in creator-generated content will not only capture the hearts and wallets of these generations but also pave the way for sustained growth and success in the ever-evolving marketplace.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Do you Want to Build A

Larger Share of Stomach?

Timely Content Matters 

Inclusive Mix & Match Meal and Beverage Component Bundling Drives Success

When the question comes up; What’s for Dinner, more often than not 58.7% of the time according to recent Grocerant Scorecards according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Since most consumers do not want to cook from scratch, nor do they want to cook at all they more often than not want to order out, go out or order for delivery. Look at the numbers below and you can see how large the opportunity to give customer what they want when they want it.

1. Recent Grocerant ScoreCards found 81.1% of consumers don’t know what’s for dinner at Noon, and 61.1 don’t know what’ s for dinner at 4PM %.
2. Roughly 63.7% of consumers purchase prepared food items from a retail location at least three times a month.
3. 79.6% all dinners have at least 1 grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat meal component and 66.6% have two meal components.
4. When asked if they wanted to cook dinner from scratch or assemble dinner from fresh meal components 91.3 % of Gen Z chose assemble from Fresh Prepared Meal Components and Millennials 83.4% chose meal components.
5. Seventy-three percent of retail prepared food purchases are taken to go
6. Prepared food purchases are frequently a planned purchase among 61.2% of shoppers, while 40.9% of shoppers said they buy prepared foods on impulse. Dinner has the highest amount of prepared food buys with 81.7% of respondents making purchases for that meal, while lunch comes in at 76.9% and breakfast at 61.4%.
7. 57.8% of consumers would like to add Alcohol to a dinner order

 

Gen Z and Millennials have a desire for food and beverage discovery, but they also want exciting new brands and line extensions aka they will try anything new.  So, give them a choice.

Beer, wine and liquor are standards however have you considered selling with both hard seltzer and ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails: Consumers want old favorites, but they also want exciting new brands and line extensions. Grocerant niche mix and match meal component bundling is a hallmark driving grocerant niche adoption.

So, let’s take a look as some of IRI numbers for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 26, 2021, show the hard seltzer category at c-stores with sales of more than $2.1 billion, an increase of 25.9% year to year. 

Within that category, White Claw was the leading brand, with sales just topping $1 billion, up 9.6%. Truly followed at nearly $529,000, a 56.2% gain. Bud Light Seltzer recorded sales of just over $199 million, a jump of 13.5%. Corona Hard Seltzer notched sales of almost $53 million, a decline of 16.8%. 

Bump Williams, the founder, president and CEO of Bump Williams Consulting in Shelton, Conn., stated, “Single-serve cans will explode in volume this year,”. Key for growth will be a balance of what he called big, successful legacy brands like White Claw. Remember that when you are bundling meals and beverages these products travel well and can be kept cold.

Now, according to NielsenIQ, Total U.S. Convenience data for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 15, 2022, showed total spirits sales were $3.04 billion, up 9.8%. Within that category, prepared-cocktail sales were slightly over $167 million, a dramatic 62.4% rise. Yes, cocktails in a can are going to be hot.  So, if you want to drive top line sales and bottom-line profits while edifying your relationship with your consumer; start bundling them for takeout.

“I’m seeing increases in our stores in both hard seltzer and ready-to-drink cocktails,” said Thelma Seguin, director of store operations for Fabulous Freddy’s Car Wash, which owns and operates five convenience stores in Las Vegas.

There is no doubt that Gen Z and Millennials appreciate the flavor profiles of some of the newer RTD cocktails.  They are fruity. It’s almost like everything is fruity and sweet, this is all part of food and beverage discovery.  If you are selling meals for takeout then you should be selling Ready-2-Drink cocktails and Hard seltzers.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter 

Can Alcohol Be “Better for you”

 

Here goes Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solution® touting the growth of grocerant niche mix and match meal bundling the foundation driving growth within the grocerant niche.  This time he’s back at it touting the halo of ‘better-for-you’ products that consumers are migrating to that should be included as a key mix and match meal component at all restaurants, C-store, Service Deli’s, and Dollar Stores.

You guessed it, he’s touting Hard seltzer as it has captured customer attention specifically Gen Z and Millennials.  Why?  Simple it is seen as lighter than a light beer.  In fact, Millennials say that it is easy-to-drink.  Ok, I know what I just said.  Some of you say that about all alcoholic beverages.  Those new at ‘drinking’ say that it is perceived as better-for-you and offers an array of flavors.

For those of you too old to know, Hard seltzer is an alcoholic seltzer, also known as spiked seltzer or hard sparkling water. Technically hard seltzer is considered part of the flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment. However, as of the summer of 2020, fewer than 10% of hard seltzer customers thought of it as a type of beer, according to global marketing research firm, Nielsen. So, get this, 60% of hard seltzer customers — and 70% of millennial drinkers, who make up the base hard seltzer buyer — consider hard seltzer to be its own category according to Nielsen.

Most seltzers include carbonated water, flavoring and alcohol, sometimes from fermented cane sugar or malted barley, and usually about 5% alcohol by volume (ABV). Seltzers soared to success between 2018-2019, around the time sparkling water was also surging as a trend, as customers began seeking out beverages they perceived as healthier than traditional soft drinks. Not only is hard seltzer associated with health and wellness trends, but it also fits with a trend of being easy-to-drink, light and low-calorie, and its array of new flavors intrigued customers according to research.

Sales of a grocerant niche ‘better-for-you product can fly out the door. Category leader White Claw Hard Seltzer was featured on Nielsen’s 2019 Breakthrough Innovations list. In 2019, White Claw held 58% of the market share of the hard seltzer segment, followed by Truly with 26%, per T4 Labs Inc. By June 2020, more than 65 hard seltzer products had arrived on the market, Nielsen reported.

Regular readers of this blog know that we talk about the value of mix and match meal bundling with Ready-2-Eat, Heat-N-Eat and Ready-2-Drink products. Today, total U.S. Convenience numbers from Nielsen showed that in the 52-week period ending Jan. 23, 2021, hard seltzer sales totaled $1.52 billion at convenience stores, up 214% year-over-year. So, if you’re not bundling hard seltzer as a valued meal component you are missing out.  That my friends is your success clue for today.

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information

Grocerant niche Alcoholic Beverages are a Mix and Match Meal Solution

 

One hallmark of the grocerant niche growth is mix and match meal component bundling.  With 60% of all restaurant meals being order for delivery chain restaurants need to brand their alcoholic beverage offerings and bundle them with a meal or incorporate other branded products into their offering to meet the current unmet need according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Restaurants and hotel guest more and more want a ‘contactless’ experience both when eating inside or for takeout.  Thus, forcing incremental service and staff cuts at many restaurants and hotels.  It’s very hard in most states to sit at a bar and have a drink.  The simple fact is alcoholic beverage sales and profits at many restaurants and hotels are down.

So, how do restaurants and hotels try to recoup some of the lost bar revenue?  Simple grocerant niche Ready-2-Drink cocktails according to Johnson. Recently, Hard Rock International announced a partnership to bring Hard Rock® Premium Hard Seltzer to fans nationwide later this year.

The Hard Rock Premium Hard Seltzer is crafted for music fans in a variety of stand-out options that highlight Hard Rock Cafe’s® most prominent cocktails and fan favorite flavors, with each can featuring the iconic Hard Rock® logo and a guitar symbol. Fans eager to bring home Hard Rock Premium Hard Seltzer can visit select beverage retailers and grocery stores nationwide beginning this holiday season. Ok, you get it. 

Battle for Share of Stomach

What if you are a restaurant or a chain restaurant not a hotel.  Here is an example from Marriott that you can understand easily see a path forward. Dana Pellicano, Marriott’s vice president of F&B Experience, The Americas. Stated Marriott is one hotel chain that is encouraging its properties to make and batch cocktails in-house and add more Ready-2-Drink ‘canned-/packaged drinks, including canned wines. “The pandemic has changed habits and democratized food and drink,” 

Consider this according to Nielsen Premium Panel data, on the retail side, ready-2-drink (RTD) cocktails is the fastest growing spirits category, rising 28% year over year, In the past several months, growth has accelerated even more, to 171%. Ok, you can see the unmet need. 

How do you fill that unmet need?  Not a problem there are companies the ilk of Heineken that have a new har seltzer called Pure Piraña for one. While the trend was already taking off before the coronavirus companies the ilk of White Claw is another great example.

There may be a local player in your city or state as well as there are now more players in the space. And with takeout and to-go orders pushing the demand for portability, the Ready-2-Drink cocktail is a habit now not something new. It is a grocerant niche mix and match meal solution.

Don’t lose alcoholic beverages sales.  Foodservice Solutions® excels at vertical brand product positioning, marketing strategy, and business development specifically identifying, quantifying and qualifying niche opportunity for global foodservice related activity specifically Ready-2-Eat, Heat-N-Eat, Ready-2-Drink fresh prepared food and beverage. Call 1-253-759-7869 today and learn how the 5 P’s of fresh prepared food marketing can Drive Sales at your retail operation.

Grocerant Shoppers Continue to Drive Food Industry Change

Well, here we go again. Regular readers know that Foodservice Solutions®, Grocerant Guru® was the first to identify, quantify, and qualify customer migration from legacy food formats to new non-traditional fresh food formats in a plethora of locations including furniture stores, club stores, clothing stores, dollar stores, and coffee shops to name but a few.

So, another industry leading food research house is jumping on the grocerant bandwagon, this time IRI, edifying results that regular readers of this blog have paid attention to since 2009.  Jonna Parker, principal, IRI Fresh Center of Excellence, during the "Balancing the Store Size Pendulum" webinar stated “Shoppers are expanding their consideration set when shopping for fresh foods to smaller and more niche outlets,”  Let’s all say it together, THANK YOU IRI, for edifying Steven Johnson’s findings.

So, get this IRI points out that “Across all outlets, grocery has the lion’s share of perishable and perimeter food sales (64%), but IRI sees that margin eroding as purchases shift to other channels, such as convenience/gas, dollar stores and digital.”  Don’t get us wrong, we are proud of our work and our clients like us; but it is nice to see others coming along.

The IRI report also found that 23% of households purchased fresh foods from dollar stores, 19% from convenience/gas and 10% from Trader Joe’s in the 52 weeks ending March 31. Ten percent of households also purchased fresh foods online.

Here is what is worrisome for legacy retailers “consumers, particularly those in their prime spending years of 40-54, say they are buying more-fresh at smaller format stores and online”.

Parker continued “The fight for fresh dollars is more-fierce than ever,” she said, adding that grocery is “almost at war” with the competition.” Johnson, is the only food industry professional with a fully developed model of the competition with his ‘Share of Stomach’ battle insights.

Last year was the tipping point in fresh sales, which had seen growth of as much as 5% earlier in the decade, but grew only 1% this past year—3% less than in 2014. Fresh is still growing, however, adding $7 billion in sales since 2014.

Foodservice Solutions® team identified that it is at the intersection of Price, Convenience and Time that consumers determine which channel (Grocery / Restaurants / C-Stores / Dollar Store’s / or new non-traditional) that will use to buy ‘What’s for Dinner’. 

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

New Non-traditional Food Retailers exploit OmniChannel Options to Drive Sales

Legacy food manufactures and many legacy retailers are at a cross-roads trying to sell a branded product that has out live it’s shelf-life, lost customer relevance, looks more like yesterday than tomorrow according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

 Gone are the days that national syndicated food research studies from Nielsen, NPD Group, or Technomic provided restaurants, grocery stores, and C-stores all the valued information a company needs to understand the competition while identifying a clear path for its own direction for differentiated growth.

 Today successful fresh food retailers focused on consumer’s desires, wants, and need-set have the ability to exploit the Onmichannel retail world to build top line sales and bottom line profits. Foodservice Solutions® has identified, quantified, and qualified new relevant metric’s that are relevant to consumers as regular readers of this blog know. Consumers continue to migrate from legacy CPG foods and food preparations process to grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food according to Johnson.

 Regular readers of this blog also know that Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s of Food Marketing have become must have tools in Food Marketer’s tool kits. too garner the best menu mix offerings neighborhood by neighborhood and or city by city depending.  While we developed those tools 9 years ago there are some consults just not holding webinars on Delivery, food portability and how to best integrate a branded solutions.  One word of caution if they are this late to the game there insights might look more like yesterday’s insights than tomorrow’s.

Technology today can empower marketer’s ability to leverage the halo of the brand neighborhood by neighborhood or city by city.  Yes, it’s more work but the results can drive top line sales and bottom line profits all the while edifying your brand, franchisees, and most important your customers. 

Is your brand ready to grow outside of your four walls? Brand relevance has never been as important as it is today. Is your brand relevant everywhere? Could Outside-eyes drive your top-line sales and bottom-line profits?  We think so.   

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven Johnson at:grocerant@q.com or the Grocerant LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant on Twitter

Walmart’s Achilles Heel Grocerant niche Fresh Food Prepared Food

Time and time again the team at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® while conducting Grocerant ScoreCards see examples of great Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food and time and time again we report most of them here are this blog as regular readers know.

However when it comes to asking What’s for Dinner, regular readers also know that tour own Grocerant Guru® has never said you will find it at Walmart.  The reasons are clear. Walmart tries to make fresh prepared food a CPG product with a shelf-life closer to a can of Campbell’s Soup than too fresh prepared food. 

If Walmart’s new meal kit program rollout is anything like what it did with rotisserie chicken competitors need not worry that’s according to our Grocerant Guru®.  With ten different meals now available in 250 stores, and the program will expand to 2,000 locations by year's end, the program looks more like a category manager’s ideation rather than a customer focused fresh food program according to the team at Foodservice Solutions®.

According to Nielsen only 9% of Americans have tried Meal Kits during the past six months. So, Walmart as is introducing four $15 meal-kit options in stores and we believe that will drive trial.  However that trial will not be the solution to either customer relevance or incremental customer food sales or frequency.

Fresh prepared food with the longest shelf-life is not the solution, answer, or even the proper question when it comes to fresh prepared food.  Making fresh prepared food a CPG product is a step backwards and today’s consumers are moving forward. 

If success leave clues and it does Walmart’s progress with fresh food will have to continue.  There is no doubt that Walmart has a great team now working on fresh meal solutions for consumers and that they will drive incremental top line sales and bottom line profits as they move forward evolving with today’s consumer.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Wawa Reigns Supreme

Regular readers know that leaders lead and when it come to the c-store channel Wawa’s leadership shines through breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night. While there are no Wawa stores on the West Coast Tacoma, WA based Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson of Foodservice Solutions® knows that Wawa’s food quality, service and pricing are the three key driving of their success. 

In the report released at the 2017 NACS Show in Chicago, Nielsen named the top ranked c-stores by brand equity. Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa had the highest equity among convenience stores in 2017, followed by Westborough, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms, with Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. and La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip Inc. also ranking in the top five in the United States.

Fresh food matters, according to Nielsen, one third of convenience shoppers expect to purchase fresh food in the convenience channel in the future. And when it comes to foodservice, convenience retailers should focus on differentiating the destination by offering fresh ready-to-eat/healthy foods, as quality is the biggest claimed barrier for purchasing fresh food in c-stores.

In addition Nielsen found that shopping experience/satisfaction can increase with focus on store operations around good customer service, store cleanliness, quick in-and-out, and product availability.

"Now more than ever, consumers value convenience.

As a result, retailers are placing big bets across a variety of hot button topics to differentiate themselves and drive growth," said Nikhil Sharma, vice president consumer and shopper analytics, Nielsen. Wow you have to love the fact that our Grocerant Guru® has been telling you that in our blog since 2009. 

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? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.