Trending Now: Millenials Drive Snack and Specialty Food Market Purchases

At Mirus Promotions, we understand how important it is for our brands to be on top of current trends so they can create marketing campaigns geared to specific “hot” demographics. Right now, millennials are setting the trends in the snack and specialty food markets, and we’re helping our brands reach those consumers by promoting social media contests (combining face-to-face with digital marketing); doing demos at natural food stores and specialty stores; and focusing on benefits like high nutrition/low prep time, high protein healthy snack options, and unique flavor profiles that provide adventure.

Brands like Frontier Soups, Lola Granola Bars, Rebel Kitchen Coconut Mylks, KARMA Nuts and Snack Out Loud understand what millennials are looking for. Research including what’s documented below is key to helping them make smart marketing decisions — and we focus on implementation.

Millennials (those born between 1977 and 1994) are having a significant effect on not just what types of snacks are being purchased, but the actual definition of snacking. Previously, snacking was limited to moments of indulgence, but that’s no longer the case. According to Nielsen’s Snack Attack survey, two reasons for snacking stand out on a global basis:

• 75% snack to satisfy hunger or cravings in between meals.
• 63% snack for nutritional reasons.

Millennial Mindset^TM consumers are leading the way in choosing snacks with healthy, mindful eating in mind. In particular, overall snacking trends include:

• Low-prep and prepackaged meal replacements with little to no cleanup.
• High-protein snack choices like lean meat, nuts and granola bars.
• Better-for-you snacks like fruit, bars and veggies (replacing snacks with higher fat and sugar content).

Millennials are also affecting the specialty foods market, as those aged 25-44 are the most likely purchasers of specialty food, followed closely by the 18-24 age group. Some other statistics from the Today’s Specialty Food Consumer 2015 report are:

• Men rate higher than women as being more likely to purchase specialty foods.
• Older Millennials show markedly different shopping and meal prep needs than younger Millennials.
• Convenience is king with younger specialty food consumers, including online food shopping and a growing desire for delivery services.

The report also showed that while Baby Boomers prefer supermarkets and Gen Xers prefer natural food stores and farmers’ markets, Millennials are most likely to shop at the widest range of retailers, including mass merchants, club stores, specialty food stores, convenience stores, department stores and online.

Reflecting the results of the research results referenced above, Millennial trends for brands to take into consideration are:

• Millennials seek brands that provide adventure and experiences, and in the area of food, that means exciting flavors combined with high-protein and health-conscious options.
• The Intersecting Physical and Digital World. Millennials use their digital devices to become educated about brands and the products they want to engage with. Those not publishing content online are missing the boat.
• Millennials have busy, on-the-go lifestyles that create demand for quick, nutritional meals featuring everything from easy-to-open packaging to pre-sliced and low-prep options.

The Millennial generation is one that can’t be ignored by those in the snack and specialty food industries. This demographic is setting the trends that will separate “old-fashioned” brands from those that respond to current and evolving consumer demand.