Just like the generations before them, Gen Z consumers offer specific opportunities for packaged-food manufacturers but the cohort might not be so easy to conquer amid shifting conceptions and priorities.

Arguably, Gen Z are much more aware of the environment and sustainability issues than their forebears and more concerned about the links between diet and health.

And they are certainly more tech savvy than previous generations, especially around more youth-centric social media platforms such as TikTok.

But one also has to bear in mind the Gen Z age group, typically regarded to be 16-25 years and remember what our own food priorities were before we moved up the age ladder. And did we even care in an arguably care-free world?

Just Food asked food industry experts from Verlinvest, Shore Capital, Manna Tree Partners and AlixPartners for their views on how food producers can tap into the Gen Z age bracket.

Is it all about locking in brand loyalty and/or a preference for emerging food brands? Are price and convenience key factors? And how important are environmental considerations?

Alex Rosenthal, director at consumer investment fund Verlinvest

Gen Z cares deeply about social and environmental issues but these interests are not the primary food purchase drivers. Brand, quality and value for money will always matter most.

Meat consumption has shifted rather than declined as everyone expected in the short-lived plant-based revolution. People are eating less beef and more chicken. Fewer hamburgers and more fried chicken sandwiches.

Enhanced nutrition products are exploding in popularity as it allows Gen Z consumers to get great tasting foods that are engineered to be healthier.

In today’s market of seemingly infinite substitutes, the narrowing cost advantages and competitive digital marketing narrative matters more and more. Convenience matters but not as much at the brand/business level.

The median age of first-time home buyers in the US is up ten years, from 28 in 1990 to 38 in 2024. As young people are renting rather than buying (or living with parents), they have a lot more money to spend.

Social media has created an increased desire for health consciousness, bringing self-care and fitness to the forefront. There is certainly increased scrutiny of ingredients lists but often based on trends and a desire to feel like a nutritional intellectual rather than scientifically proven concerns related to ingredients.

The trick is in creating a lasting habit with the younger consumer, which is much harder for a brand to do than with the generations of the past

Young people are far more interested in trying and trusting new brands. New brands are fun. The trick is in creating a lasting habit with the younger consumer, which we have seen is much harder for a brand to do than with the generations of the past. Brands can grow very quickly but if a lot of purchases are trial rather than recurring purchases, the brand is at risk of being a fad.

Social and experiential is the next frontier for food brands. It exists in marketing through activations and collaborations. The brands that can bring people together around their product are going to capture the imaginations and loyalty of young people. Sharing isn’t just a behaviour – it’s a brand strategy for the future.

Clive Black, director at UK investment firm Shore Capital

They are undoubtedly the age group of the takeaway meal. Take that group out of the food and beverage channel and there would be a material slump in demand. At the same time, they’re the age group that’s got the highest level of abstinence from alcohol.

I think you’ll find they’re very engaged on the workings of meal deals. They’ll be able to tell you what Boots is doing versus Greggs, what Greggs is doing versus Tesco, and what Tesco is doing versus Pret. That’s why there’s a lot of digitisation in that arena. In terms of shopping channels, this is definitely the age group that’s most into remote delivery, the likes of Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

They are the digital age and that’s probably going to be the key characteristic of how suppliers see the market

When you look at the digital world, they are the digital age, and that’s probably going to be the key characteristic of how suppliers see the market.

And how does that kick into product formulation, assortment and marketing as opposed to anything around manufacturing. In terms of what they consume, I think there are a lot of moving parts – there are some very healthy young people and some unhealthy people when it comes to obesity.

The convenience channel would also be much more important to them than the superstore. The vast majority of them don’t have a car and you need a car to do a trolley shop at a superstore.

They are definitely the shoppers of the future. You can absolutely see why brand owners are trying to reach people, and particularly young people, because they’re the most digitally savvy.

Equally, those young people are very switched on in talking to each other and sussing out what’s a deal and what isn’t a deal and in that respect brand owners have to tread very carefully. They are definitely trying to get into the heads of brand loyalty for the rest of people’s lives.

It’s a much more immediately addressable and cheaper mechanism to reach people today than 25 years ago. If you created a brand 30-odd years ago, pre-internet, you’d have to go through all sorts of mechanisms to try and reach people and you’d have to have a reasonable stash of dosh to get a brand launched and to build it up.

Steve Young, managing partner at US-based Manna Tree Partners

Gen Z, Gen Alpha, younger generations are going to first and foremost demand authenticity. If an old brand tries window-dressing itself by adding nutrients or features and benefits, that is not as likely to work as well as, ‘how can we create an authentic solution, either a new brand or NPD? How can we create something new that authentically meets the needs of those consumers and speaks to them?’ I do believe that health and wellness is going to be at the centre of what Gen Z and Gen Alpha want.

Many of these large and mid-sized food companies, they’re so dependent on legacy brands created in the 50s and 60s. They were the modern brands of previous generations and the reality is those legacy brands don’t necessarily speak to younger consumers in the way they did to the older ones. If you’re running a food company, you’ve got to start thinking about what are the seeds I’m planting to go and ultimately appeal to that next generation.

Sometimes the mistake that can be made is how do we modernise the legacy brand and let it do the job of appealing to a new generation and sometimes that works but a lot of times it doesn’t.

I’m struck by how counterintuitive sometimes things are

We talk about health and wellness, sustainability and the environment, and all those things in reality do play out in purchasing power and how money by that generation is being directed.

I’m struck by how counterintuitive sometimes things are. Some Gen Z who grew up eating a bunch of processed food may continue to do that but I’m pretty surprised at the number of people in this generation who say I’m going to do it differently than the way I was brought up.

This is a generation where many of them grew up during the pandemic in a time where the seeds of mistrust were being sown. A big part of this generation grew up believing they need to be more reliant on themselves, and less on institutions, which in our business means ‘Big Food’, and some of these brands aren’t as healthy as they thought they were.

There’s a role for legacy brands to play and new emerging brands. Cheerios cereal, for example. General Mills has done an amazing job in keeping that brand relevant over a century now, everything from goodness of oats to heart health messaging. They’ve had really nice success with a Cheerios protein extension.

You’d be pretty blown away by the willingness that Gen Z has to invest their dollars in healthier food. Health and wellness is very price resilient. It’s more price resilient than you might think.

We’re also living in a time right now where private label or house brands are growing faster than they ever have been.

In the US, it’s always been a lot smaller than say in the UK but private label continues to grow share You’re going to see more and more momentum buying healthier private labels driven by Gen Z and Millennials.

But by the same token they’re also going to be the ones buying things like pasture-raised eggs for $8 a dozen and Magic Spoon cereal for $8 a box.

Andy Searle, UK-based partner at AlixPartners

Like most generations, it is a bit of a catch-all. They’re not by any means consistent or coherent in what they’re doing or what they’re after, or even what their income levels or choices are.

What we do see is convenience is important. Ready-meal kits and things like that aimed at the older part of this generation who are perhaps living away from home for the first time.

Clearly, with the issues of inflation, price is king. But I believe we’re looking at probably one of the worst times to graduate university since perhaps 2007-2008. Many of those are struggling to find jobs and moving back with their parents where they’re not necessarily making as many choices.

Certainly in this generation, for the whole or parts of it, high-protein healthy eating is there and that’s probably the impact of social media on what your body shape should look like and aspire to.

There is an increasing awareness about ESG issues within that cohort

There is a significant trend around moderation. I was talking to a brewer recently with a big German presence, and they were saying that German teens, or German Gen Z, are buying less alcohol than used to be bought before and significantly. I think we’re seeing that broadly everywhere.

There is an increasing awareness about ESG issues within that cohort, they’ve grown up through the whole conversation about climate change and all of that. Broadly, some are making decisions based on those trends.

There is heavy marketing directed at Gen Z on social media but it’s much more around emotional and functional benefits, saying influencers consume things or prepare things, than it is around greenwashing.

There’s a big risk with this generation that if you do try and greenwash something and say it’s healthy or low GHG, whatever, they can be quite smart and find that out. And then there are people that expose that sort of thing on social media as well.

If you think about HFSS regulations, a number of firms have reformulated to comply. Compliance allows you to market more and that’s attracting consumers because you’re able to market around the emotional benefits of the product.

Potentially, entry through social media is a lot less than it used to be through TV ads, etc, to get that breakthrough with customers or customer awareness. But you do see a lot of smaller brands or start-ups getting a lot more cut through.

The challenge with some of those is not so much getting customer awareness but it’s getting continued purchase because the product needs to deliver.