When is the last time that you sat down to eat three square meals a day — or two or even one? If you are a “millennial” (born somewhere between 1980 and 2000) chances, you haven’t had much experience with this ritual. According to trend watchers, 35 percent of meals eaten by millennials are really snacks. Combining foods traditionally served at snack time, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, has led to terms such as “linner,” “brinner” and “slunch.”
Food trends among millennials are driven by passion and emotions for premium products. Social media has played a key role in attracting millennials to try or consume food across the world, thereby impacting the trends prevailing in the food industry. Millennials are the thrill-seekers who crave heightened eating experiences such as intense flavors and extreme textures. The typical Millennial eater swoons over the unusual food forms, flavor profiles tweaked with unexpected or dramatic twists and of course, vivid global cuisines, especially when they blend fresh and spicy. They like customizing foods through adds-ons or mix-ins (the reason they love fajitas, shawarma, burritos and other “build-it-yourself” foods).
It is on-trend to be a foodie. Millennials are interested especially in the story behind their food and looking to learn more about what’s in it and how it’s made. Kelly Ashworth [a designer, art director, and branding expert specializing in the wedding, events, and creative services industries], 8 in 10 said they like “behind the scenes” commercials for foods they consume. They want to know more about how their food is produced, and they think brands don’t disclose enough about their food products. According to Joei Chan, a Global Head of Content of Linkfluence, Millennials’ discussions on why they actually eat revolved on the following (1) convenient, yet healthy foods (2) high protein and low calories (3) high quality frozen foods (4) healthy, clean label and natural food (5) influenced by their peers rather than traditional influences and (6) good food with great taste and flavor. Millennials nowadays are shifting into different lifestyles of daily snacking, replacing meals with snacks both savory, sweet, and in various formats (solid and liquid). When it comes to food trends, millennials are leading the way.
AA VI Angelyn P. Intal, RND
References:
- What millennials eat?
https://www.linkfluence.com/blog/millennial-food-trends-what-do-millennials-eat
- What is millennials?
https://dfaingredients.com/trends/millennial-food-trends/
- Millennials Are the Tastemakers in Food
https://www.millennialmarketing.com/2012/06/millennials-are-literally-the-tastemakers-in-food/?fbclid=IwAR0gqt1104IIY4AN5KnH_Gx8inKJtEg61rzl4AiDeZ9n5COq4xcvZ2Dr6pY
