2015 marks the year that millennials start to outnumber the baby boomers. This means that a dramatic shift in consumer behavior is about to happen-and it has been shifting in this new direction for years now. Especially with rising income brackets of millennials, companies should start making the proper arrangements to accommodate this generation's new tastes.
The food industry is one area that will experience one of the biggest shocks. Millennial behavior towards food is characterized by a disdain for large corporations, patronage of artisanal products, and preference of whole and healthy foods, the Portland Press Herald reported. Vegetarian products are also very highly sought, especially those grown organically.
This is apparent in the massive sales declines that traditional fast food chains have suffered. For example, since 2011 McDonald's customers have declined by 12.9% already. This void is also now filled by a brand new market segment, the all-vegetarian fast food chain.
The thing is that the number of people who identify as vegetarian remains small. Only 3.4% of Americans identify as vegan and the millennials of this demographic is even smaller at 6%. However, the preference for healthy food makes non-vegans flock to vegan restaurants and buy organic products.
Food producers are getting in on it too. From 2013 to present, approximately 70,000 new products were launched in Natural Products Expos. 10,000 of those products claim to be gluten-free, vegetarian, or paleo. The rise of these specialty diets also means big business for those who decide to cater to this millennial trend of eating healthy.
The terms vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian, etc have become mainstream, as The Tennessean reported. As millennials take up a larger and larger chunk of the consumer base, out goes the old preservative-laden products favored for decades and in come the whole foods packed with real nutrients. The trend is expected to pick up in the next years so the world will definitely have no shortage of artisinal, craft, and organic food.
