The Food Industry Is Facing A Challenge as Millennials Become Parents

The market for millennial-targeted foods is expanding as this demographic is starting to transition from young adults to young parents. According to Packaged Facts, marketers need to broaden their product innovations to appeal to health-focused millennial parents as well as their children, which can prove to be tricky for food manufacturers.

With the child demographic representing 22.4 percent of the total US population with 73.8 million children in the country, food companies have significant potential for growth in this category. However, as the consumer landscape changes and heads towards an era where freshness and health are key driving factors for the sales of food products, food companies need to innovate their food items to appeal to this demand regardless of what demographic they are targeting. This is because millennial parents are likely to pass on their mindset to younger generations, which in turn could make this health trend the norm in the future.

In addition, food products that are specifically designed for children are not necessarily only consumed by kids. According to Packaged Facts, there are many instances where adults enjoy kid’s snacks and vice versa. Thus, by integrating millennial values in child-focused foods, food companies are likely to attract more millennial parents (the purchasers) and their kids (the users). In addition, Packaged Facts identifies that the child demographic will retain its general population  through 2020, which means marketers should engage with children earlier in order to gain consumer loyalty and profit from them through their teen years.

Packaged Facts also found that millennial parents place importance on freshness when it comes to selecting food for their children and themselves. They also seek out products that claim to contain all-natural ingredients, little or no-sugar, no artificial ingredients and are non-GMO.

However, kids also have a say in what their parents purchase for them. The market research organization found that 55 percent of parents find their kids’ preferences and requests important to them. In addition, 91 percent of parents claim to purchase a food or beverage their child asks for at least some of the time and 20 percent claim that they regularly do so. This means marketers need to find a balance between appealing to parents and the end consumers: their children.

“By exploring usage trends, marketing strategies and product innovation across a range of retail food and beverage categories, the degree to which these market factors and parental attitudes/behaviors are at play becomes evident. The takeaway is that the kids’ food and beverage market offers a lucrative opportunity to all players who wish to navigate the tricky business of appealing to particular parents…and fickle kids!” said  the Package Facts’ report.