Flavors and Freshness Drive Millennial Tastes

It’s time to de-mystify the stereotype of the starving college student living on ramen noodles and peanut butter. If Millennials are eating ramen, it is sure to be spiced up and customized. Nutella is running rampant on college campuses as a substitute for peanut butter.  Ethnic restaurants are favored over fast food.

A Newsweek article last month suggested that food has become an indicator of class in America (“What Food Says About Class in America”, 11.22.10). While educated and affluent consumers agonize over buying organic and locally grown foods, economically disadvantaged people are struggling to overcome living in virtual ‘food deserts’.

I’ve written before about Millennials and their love affair with wine (“Millennial Wave Hits Wine” “Perfect Pairing: Social Media and Millennial Wine Enthusiasts”). Now it’s official.

According to a new report by the industry blog, WineandSpiritsDaily, Millennials are now the recommended prime target for wine marketers:

If you are a food marketer trying to figure out the 18-25 year old market, you won’t want to miss what’s been happening this week at The Next Great Generation blog (#TNGG on Twitter). All week has been ‘Food Week’. A dozen young bloggers have contributed personal and revealing essays on how they think about food. Think “Slate-magazine-meets-market-research-community” and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

I hate feeling like a conspiracy theorist, but that’s exactly how I felt leaving the theater after seeing the movie, Food, Inc., last night.

Those of us in higher education were among the first to notice Millennials were different from other generations. Then it was politicians. Now managers, recruiters and HR professionals are scrambling to adjust. What’s next? Most likely food and wine marketers.