Millennials like their fruits and veggies, spend very little on red meat, and the Recession has negatively shaped their food-buying patterns.
These were the primary findings of a recent USDA report on the food-buying behavior patterns of Millennials. The findings could be very important to the beef industry given the influence Millennials have on the future of the food market landscape and the next generation of consumers.
Millennials are usually defined as those Americans born from 1980-2000. In “Food purchase decisions of Millennial households compared to other generations,” however, they are defined as Americans born between 1981-2003. Despite this, the report only looked at Millennials born from 1981-1996 so that the youngest participants would be of an age to be buying their own food.
Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S., with an estimated population of 83.1 million in 2015—a quarter of the nation’s population—versus 75.4 million Baby Boomers. They are also the primary generation having children now. Their food-buying patterns will set the stage for the eating habits of the next generation.
“Millennials will be an important driver in the economy for years to come,” summarized the report. “Their grocery store habits may change as they age, but current differences from older generations could have implications for future food demand.”
Lowest red meat spending
“Millennials generally allot the lowest shares of their food budgets to red and white meat,” the report noted. Their expenditures on red meat in particular, as a share of their food budget, was about 2.4 percent on average, the lowest out of all the generations examined. Other generations included Gen Xers (born 1965-1980), Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), and Traditionalists/the Silent Generation (born before 1946).
The report did find an extreme drop-off in purchase of “white meat” (i.e., poultry) among Millennials as their incomes increased. Purchase of red meat increased with wealth, but even the wealthiest Millennials—those earning over $100,000 annually—allot a very small share of their food budget to red meat. See Graphs 1 and 2.
Across income groups, Millennials almost always allotted more of their food budget to fruit and vegetables than almost any other generational group, with spending on these categories outstripping other generations at higher income levels. See Graphs 3 and 4.
“Overall, Millennials have an increasing appetite for fruits and vegetables as income rises and allocate less to animal proteins, though there is a positive relationship between income and red meat,” summarized the report.
“From this, we intuit that Millennials have a stronger preference for fruits and vegetables and less for white and red meat when purchasing [food at home] compared to older generations.”
Time is money
Another key finding of the report is that Millennials, despite having the lowest average incomes, allocate the largest share of their food budgets on “food away from home” and prepared foods compared to other generations. This dynamic existed across all income groups among Millennials.
“Evidence shows that Millennials exhibit a higher preference for convenience, the report summarized.
The study also found that Millennials allocate more of their food budgets on pasta, an inexpensive and easy-to-prepare food, than any other generation. This dynamic was observed across all Millennial income levels. Additionally, the study found Millennials spend the least time preparing meals, eating, and cleaning up after meals. This fits with the comparatively higher incidence of eating away from home and preference for prepared or ready-to-eat foods than seen in other generations.
Economic scars
“Millennials in particular were significantly affected by the Great Recession,” the report noted.
“College graduates and first-time job seekers entering the labor market during economic downturns have been found to suffer persistent negative wages effects. This phenomenon can alter consumer and food shopping patterns.”
The study separated out “Recession Millennials” from “non-Recession Millennials.” The former are those who entered the job market during the 2009-2012 Recession, while the latter were younger and less impacted by it. This division was to try to determine how the experience impacted food purchasing behavior. They found that Recession Millennials spent the most on pasta and grains per capita.
“Both categories include foods that are generally cheap, shelf stable, and full of starchy carbohydrates,” the report pointed out.
The report also noted that “the Recession may have fundamentally altered Millennial shopping behavior through its negative impact on employment and earnings.” — Kerry Halladay, WLJ
