Exploring Millennial’s Passion for Food: Bite-Sized Insights for Marketers

1. Exploring Millennial’s Passion for Food: Bite-Sized Insights for Marketers August, 2014

2. Who Are the Millennials? • 77 Million Young Adults 19-34 years (born 1980-1995), $60,000 average income • Grew up in dawn of the information technology age • Different from earlier generations • Politics • Saving and Spending • Social values • Life goals • More… • Consumer impact being felt in... • Education • Financial services • Travel and entertainment • Media • Housing • Healthcare • Retail • More.. http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickspenner/2014/04/16/inside-the-millennial-mind-the-dos-donts-of-marketing-to-this-powerful-generation-3/ www.brandamplitude.com

3. Millennial Values “The persistent ranking of these values across age spectrum signifies that this is not merely a stage they will grow out of.” - Iconoculture, Inside the Millennial Mind • Millennial choices are shaped by strongly held values that differ from those of their Boomer parents. http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickspenner/2014/04/16/inside-the-millennial-mind-the-dos-donts-of-marketing-to-this-powerful-generation-3/ www.brandamplitude.com

4. The Paradox of Marketing to Millennials • Millennials are notoriously elusive and skeptical of overt marketing and claims • Yet, they are willing to embrace brands that demonstrate that they are authentic and can be trusted to share their values Millennials consistently say Apple is a favorite brand www.brandamplitude.com

5. Millennial Brand Building 101 • Listen and share • Take a stand / state your purpose • Be a force for good • Challenge the status quo • Show some style • Leverage your heritage • Add value, be useful • Interrupt or yell • Fake it • Pander or preach • Be bland or generic • Waste their time http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/everything-you-hate-about-advertising-one-fake-video-thats-almost-too-real-156525 www.brandamplitude.com

6. Millennials Want Customization and Control • Millennials want to hear from companies on their own terms • Customizable news feeds dominate content discovery • 71% listen to customizable music streams, like Spotify and Pandora http://www.slideshare.net/SDLonline/understanding-the-millennials-summary-of-findings-march2014 www.brandamplitude.com

7. Millennials Rely on Social Media • Millennials are 56% more likely to discover marketing content on social networks than via search engines or email. • Five out of six Millennials connect with companies on social media networks • The average spends 5 hours a day on average with user generated media (UGC) Millennials trust user generated product information/media over other sources At the same time, Millennials distrust brand-sponsored social sites “Only 5% of Millennials use social sites as a car-shopping resources, and they are brackish about auto brands that use social media to reach them: 78% of Millennials surveyed by AutoTrader said such efforts had not the slightest impact on their perception of the brand.” http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/millennials-user-generated-media/ http://www.slideshare.net/SDLonline/understanding-the-millennials-summary-of-findings-march2014 http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/232110/millennial-auto-shoppers-are-digital-mobile-conf.html? www.brandamplitude.com

8. Social Media is Increasingly Mobile • Millennials check their phones on average 100+ times a day • The top social apps are Facebook and Instagram http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/232110/millennial-auto-shoppers-are-digital-mobile-conf.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=75361 http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/most-popular-social-apps-among-millennial-smartphone-users-44770/attachment/comscore-top-social-apps-millennials-in-june-aug2014/ www.brandamplitude.com

9. Social Media Is Increasingly Visual • Millennials value brands that allow them to express themselves in unique ways via photo and video sharing • Instagram is one of the top media channels used by Millennials on a daily basis.   • On Facebook, photos get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs on links than text-based posts. Over 90% of the 150 million people on Instagram are under the age of 35 40 million active monthly users, 80% women Over 1 Billion users, 50% of traffic is from mobile 30 million active monthly users, 30% women http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-demographics-2013-12#ixzz38VppltFG http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-statistics-2014_b57746 http://blog.bufferapp.com/7-facebook-stats-you-should-know-for-a-more-engaging-page www.brandamplitude.com

10. Brand #Success: Mercedes Benz CLA • CLA launched in 2013 with starting price of 30,000, targeted to Millennial demo • Millennials differ from older car buyers, much of their consideration phase occurs online instead of on the lot. • “Take the Wheel” campaign leveraged popular Instagram users (half a million or more followers) and asked them to ‘gram their journeys’   • Results: • 87 million Instagram impressions and 2 million ‘likes’ • More than half of CLA buyers are Gen-X or Gen-Y. 75% are first-time Mercedes buyers. CLA owners are “one of the youngest age groups in the history of the brand.” --Mark Aikman, Mercedes digital marketing manager http://digiday.com/brands/mercedes-benz-uses-instagram-sell-cars-millennials/ www.brandamplitude.com

11. Tapping Millennial Passions • Millennials seek to discover one-of-a-kind experiences, gain insider knowledge and share their knowledge and experience with others. "Books, music, everything is dematerializing, it's turning virtual and travel is increasingly playing a role in how people represent their identity. It's not just bragging, it's sharing, stating who they are.” -- Andy Murdock, Lonely Planet Nearly half of all adults watch food videos on YouTube – but Millennials watch 30% more foodie footage than other demographics. Brands like ZipCar, Lyft, Airbnb and TaskRabbit help Millennials to feel frugal, savvy, spontaneous and open for new experiences. Travel stories comprise 42% of posts on the average Facebook user's timeline. http://www.brand-e.biz/half-of-all-adults-watch-food-videos-on-youtube_33408.html http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/millennials-world/story?id=18971171&page=2 www.brandamplitude.com

12. Half of Millennials Self-Identify as “Foodies” • Food and beverages are uniquely suited to Millennials desires to experience life, share their passions and express themselves. They are comfortable in the kitchen and love to socialize around food. Dining Cooking Drinking Millennials eat out more frequently, and are less likely to cut back on dining out when money is tight. 64% eat out at least once a week. 65% of Millennials love cooking and consider themselves experts in the kitchen. 86% enjoy experimenting with new recipes, many of which they find on Pinterest! 68% of Millennial men describe themselves as ‘confident cooks’ Millennials represent 30% of weekly wine drinkers, and are adopting wine at a faster rate than any other generation. According to Mintel, over 50% of Millennials have tried craft beer vs. 36% overall. http://marketrealist.com/2013/12/craft-beer-attracts-millennials-consumers-momentum/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=graph-1&utm_campaign=craft-beer-attracts-millennials-consumers-momentum http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/10/08/how-millennials-are-changing-wine-industry/ www.brandamplitude.com http://www.slideshare.net/sweet5151/millennials-and-culinary http://nrn.com/advertising/millennial-dining-behavior-hard-define

13. Millennials Have a Taste For … • Millennials are choosy when it comes to food. They favor ethnic, fresh, antibiotic free and organic foods and avoid processed foods and mainstream flavors. Healthy/Organic Special Flavors & Ideas Locally Grown/Fresh Millennials scrutinize food labels, especially when it’s for their kids! 46% look for foods with few ingredients and 41% buy organic whenever they can. Many say Kashi is among their favorite brands.  A recipe page on the Tabasco website is devoted to college and university students. Featured recipes include The All-Nighter, a drink made from Mountain Dew, Red Bull Energy Drink, and a dash of Tabasco brand Original Red Sauce 52% say they support the local food movement. Gardening is growing as the #1 hobby in America, with 5 million more households digging in and planting than in 2010, driven by Millennials' interest in edible gardening. Farmers markets are increasingly popular. http://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/07/21/no-longer-uncool-millennials-love-store-brands/ http://www.pancommunications.com/prspeak/2014/06/fancyfoodshow/ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gardening-grows-millennials-dig-1-142000148.html http://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/01/13/how-less-bad-food-marketing-is-attracting-millennial-parents/ www.brandamplitude.com

14. Millennials Have Embraced Ethnic Cooking www.brandamplitude.com

15. How Millennials Shop for Food • Female Millennials grocery shop as frequently as other adults, while males Millennials grocery shop more often. • Millennials spend more on groceries and enjoy it more than other adults. Grocery Shopping Frequency Average Weekly Grocery Expenditures All Adults $106 18-34 Years $114 “I Enjoy Grocery Shopping” All Adults 42% 18-34 Years 54% www.brandamplitude.com

16. Millennials Emphasize Freshness • Millennials are more likely to build shopping trips around a particular recipe. They also place less emphasis on special discounts in their menu planning than do other generations. • More than 25% of their meals include items they bought on the same day. From store shelves… … to table in same day. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2014/08/28/how-we-shop-for-food-is-changing-in-three-charts/ www.brandamplitude.com

17. Millennials Love to Save • Millennials are careful shoppers who love a good deal, but they are less likely to use coupons or newspapers circulars than to go online or use an app while shopping. Grocery Shopping Private Label Much of the growth in store brands is driven by cost-conscious Millennial shoppers. They especially like store brands like Target’s Archer and Up and Up that still feel cool. www.brandamplitude.com

18. Millennials Are Snackers • Millennials are less likely to have regular food routines. They eat when they are hungry, which often means more frequent, smaller meals and snacks. • They tend to get together for drinks and snacks regularly.  Restaurants have responded with ‘small plate’ menus, and items like McDonald’s Snack Wraps. http://millennialmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Kind.jpg www.brandamplitude.com

19. “Ingredients” for Connecting with Millennials Authenticity • Authentic origins story, • Regional associations • Discoverable, not mainstream • Not trying too hard to be hip Integrity • “Clean label” is minimum requirement • Organic a plus • Interesting flavors that enable creativity and self-expression Accessibility • Whole Foods, Trader Joes are preferred • Online presence • Farmers markets • Specialty stores www.brandamplitude.com

20. Millennial Friendly: Mike’s Organic Curry Love • New regional brand appears to have many of the qualities Millennials seek: • Ethnic • Socially conscious • Social media http://www.mycurrylove.com/ www.brandamplitude.com

21. Mike’s Organic Curry Love Helpful, visual, delicious Authentic Proudly organic Omnichannel Accessible www.brandamplitude.com

22. Re-Cap • Millennials are a large, influential and growing demographic • Connecting with Millennials requires understanding their values and passions • Brands connect with Millennials by helping them express their passions • Millennials see food and drink as an opportunity for self-expression and social credibility • Reflection of values and interests • Creative and customizable • Inherently sharable • Millennials shop more frequently, often with a specific recipe in mind. • Leverageable ‘ingredients’ for building a Millennial-friendly food brand include: • Clean label • Healthy, organic, ‘fresh’ ingredients • Unique flavors or ethnic options • Accessibility – be where they are looking • Authentic “story” • Social media presence www.brandamplitude.com

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