Millennials and their impact on businesses have been a major focus of research lately. Not long ago they were referred to as the “fall guy” causing demise of many products. USA Today’s article on ‘How millennials eat: Are they killing beer, American cheese, and canned tuna?’ seemed to dig deeper into this phenomenon.
The article became viral on #socialmedia, especially within the #millennials group. People commented on how millennials are rapidly changing the way they dine, compared to the previous generations.
Beer sales going down in the U.S. by 1% in 2018, is a classic example of how millennials dictate the F&B products segment, most of them shunning beer as it makes them ‘fat’. They have also been held responsible for decline in sales of canned food products. Wary of these changing market dynamics, #F&B giants are spending time and effort to understand the consumer persona of the millennials and their behavioral and psychographic characteristics. These consumer segmentation #insights are driving key decisions. F&B brands are customizing their products to make them in-line with the preferences of this #gen #segment.
A good example here would be that compared to commercialized #beer, millennials prefer craft beer that is often associated with some stories. So, we have #convenience #stores setting up dedicated aisles for #craftbeer.
Similarly, millennials are known to be #health #conscious generation that pays attention to what they eat. They are quite vocal about #healthy #eating and #analyze the #ingredients of products they buy. This has affected the sales of #canned #foods which have higher amounts of #sodium. Instead, they are attracted to #cooking at home compared to other generations.
Millennials also do not hesitate in dropping a brand that their parents were loyal to – if the brand does not align with their values. This has furthermore pushed the big box retailers and F&B giants to reconsider their product strategy and #marketing #outreach.
Some #babyboomers commented on how, having been influenced by millennials, they have developed healthy eating habits.
There did exist exceptions though on social media who pointed out that millennials liked breweries and it was #GenZ that was actually shunning beer.
Our recent customer segment analysis of millennials showed that it is a segment that has a natural proclivity to acquire knowledge through online resources. They would also fall back upon product reviews for making informed purchase decisions. Being #health #conscious, this #generation group has also shifted the #market dynamics in favor of an alternate #vegan diet. It was only to entice this group, that brands like Burger King, McD, Chick-fil-A, Kraft Heinz Company, have integrated a dedicated #vegan #food category in their menus.
