Time is almost up for millennials. According to a report by Bloomberg published this week, those of us who fall into this bracket will soon cede dominance to Generation Z-ers, who are set to account for 32% of the population in less than 12 months, according to UN data. These people – roughly those born from the late 1990s onwards – will become the most influential age group on what we eat, buy, photograph and tweet for the next decade or more.
We millennials won’t go without leaving our mark, though. And I don’t just mean avocado stains splodged stubbornly across our wardrobes.
Born (again, roughly) between 1980 and 2000, millennials have been the first generation to grow up truly comfortable with tech. We were tapping away on computers from primary school age, plugging in iPod Nanos at house parties and conducting teen romances across MSN messenger. We were the first to plaster our drunken nights out on Facebook (before it was even a twinkle in recruiters’ eyes) and to find ways to build businesses from blogs or beautiful Instagram shots.
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For the businesses that wanted to draw us in that’s meant a mandatory, and rapid, education in e-commerce, hiring the first horde of social media managers to build convincing brand voices online and delivering what we want, when we want, now.
When it comes to food and drink, millennials have also been a bit of a headache. We like our booze but only if it’s distilled in small breweries by bearded men and (ideally) served out of dead squirrels. Graduating into a recession, we love a bargain but prefer it ethical, sustainably sourced and crowdfunded. And then there’s health. Would gluten-free aisles exist without us? The obsession with wholefoods? Or, come to think of it, the word ‘flexitarian’?
Because believe me, when it comes to Generation Z there’ll be no such compromise as Meat Free Mondays. They are serious. A third are teetotal [OFNS]; they consume 550% more plant-based products than two generations before them [Barclays]; and they have high standards when it comes to online, demanding more personalised conversations and stricter safeguards on their data. They’re quicker to provide rapid feedback than any other generation [Google]. Oh, and they think Facebook is for ‘old people’.
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And if you thought millennials bought enough avocados to price ourselves out of the housing market, just wait. According to Barclays research, Generation Z-ers buy 80% more kale, 57% more tofu, 550% more plant-based milk and 266% more avocados than Generation X, with a focus on health and plant-based eating that makes Deliciously Ella look relaxed.
Already brands and retailers have begun adapting to these new influential shoppers, stockpiling low-alcohol beers, ploughing millions into plant-based ranges that sit comfortably alongside animal-based proteins and trialling ever-speedier, slicker methods of delivery that mean Generation Z never has to look away from its phone.
But with the gap between these uber health-conscious digital natives and the (largely) Generation X and baby boomer CEOs sitting in fmcg boardrooms a big one, there will undoubtedly be some trepidation at this imminent shift. A liaison role that sounds like just the right fit for a millennial, in fact…
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