What Millennials Want in Foodservice at Retail

By: Rick Stein, Vice President, Fresh Foods, Food Marketing Institute

Millennials. Every business is focused on how to tap into their emerging buying power and identify their needs and wants. When it comes to foodservice at retail, we’re no different. In many ways, millennials are driving the trend of foodservice at retail, so understanding this shopper segment is critical.

FMI’s Power of Foodservice at Retail looks at trends in retail foodservice and details how millennial shoppers look at meals they prepare at home, eat in restaurants, take out and have delivered to them. Here are some top findings that can help inform your foodservice at retail strategy:

• Millennials (ages 19 to 37) average fewer weekly dinners that require some level of preparation. But that doesn’t mean they care any less about nutrition or variety than those who prepare more of their own meals.
• To a greater extent than other shoppers, older millennials (ages 28 to 37) are interested in nutrition information. Older millennials value good nutrition when it comes to making meal selections that they don’t prepare themselves. The nutrition of the item almost as important as speed of service. They expect the retailer to tell them how fresh a product’s ingredients are and to provide them with information about any artificial ingredients that are used as well.
• Older millennials also want to know about your food safety measures and detailed calorie information. They want healthier alternatives when selecting meals from a retailer’s foodservice department, things like low-calorie salad dressings and turkey meatloaf. In addition, this group also wants more organic options.
• While younger millennials (those 18 to 27) are also interested in nutrition, they are even more interested in variety and the ability to select from a number of different cuisines. Younger millennials expect you to give them a better drink selection in foodservice, and that includes a good selection of different beers and wines. Among the options they would like to see are more vegetarian choices and chef-inspired meals. They demand more than just chicken when it comes to your deli meat selection and they like to see menus change with the seasons.
• Millennials of all ages want to experiment more with the world’s cuisines. Their favorites include Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese/sushi, Thai and Vietnamese.

For the full Power of Foodservice at Retail report and more FMI research on fresh foods, visit www.FMI.org/FreshFoods. Also, see the FMI recorded webinar and presentation exploring the Power of Foodservice at Retail in more detail.