Dive Brief:
- The impact of millennials on the food industry can be seen in things like the rise of cage-free eggs and nutritious meal kits, according to Forbes.
- Part of millennials' interest in food and beverage stems from their use of and connection to technology and social media.
- Millennials also tend to see food as an extension of their personal brand identity, which provides manufacturers the opportunity to offer products and marketing experiences that enable self-expression.
Dive Insight:
For millennials, food and beverage consumption is much more than a necessity or even just an experience of basic flavors. The demand for exotic flavors is heightened among this demographic, fueling a recent focus on creative flavor combinations, particularly among startups and snack brands.
Millennials' desire for visual food and beverage experiences is also driving innovation across the industry. For certain categories, finding the right experience or outlet for sharing could be more difficult, such as canned beans or vegetables versus photogenic cookies and confections.
The potential for those visual experiences ranges widely, from visually captivating products or packaging worthy of an Instagram heart, to increased transparency, such as through clear packaging or product windows. The goal of the visual experiences is different, but both tap into deep desires common among the millennial generation.
Beyond flavor and visual experiences, millennials also crave engaging and immersive digital experiences with products and brands. That has spawned a variety of campaigns utilizing everything from virtual reality to social media, including older platforms like Facebook or Twitter and newer platforms like Periscope. These campaigns show the effort to get millennials to align their identities with those brands.