Once upon a time, the baby boomer generation drove product development and marketing as companies aimed to get a bigger piece of the demographic pie. Today, the big boom comes from the millennial age group and in particular, how they snack.
Born roughly between the early 1980s and 2000, millennials love to snack. Mintel reports that millennials are significantly more likely to snack compared to older consumers, with a quarter of millennials consuming four or more snacks a day.
Raised in a diverse, wellness-embracing culture, millennials tend to seek out heathy snacks. According to Euromonitor, millennials often replace a whole meal with snacks and gravitate towards healthier snacks, like nuts, meat snacks and Greek yogurt. Y-Pulse conducted a survey of a large age-group panel revealing that 83% of millennials consider healthiness important when buying snacks.
More products — and packaging — reflect millennials’ penchant for snacking. One only has to walk into a Starbucks and see the special rotating snack display filled with grab-and-go snacks in a wide range of package formats, such as stand-up pouches of Moon Cheese, individually wrapped Megpies artisan tarts and boldly colored Buck Wild snack bags filled with varieties like Chocolate Banana Snack Mix and Jalapeno Jack Tortilla Chips, among others.
Companies continue to launch snacks aimed at millennials. Seattle-based La Panzanella Artisanal Foods, for example, introduced a new line of seasoned snack crackers called Croccantini Bites, packaged in stand-up, resealable pouch packages with a bright banner across the front designating flavors and a viewing window. “Croccantini Bites that are right on target with the latest trends in healthy snacking and consumers’ growing desire for bold, spicy flavors,” remarked CEO Paul Pigott.
Another example of a millennial-friendly snack — and one that appeals to older millennials who are now parents — comes from Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Hummus Plus, which recently debuted a Hummus Plus Chicken 4-oz. snack featuring hummus paired with chicken in a grab-and-go container with its own utensil and napkin. Mesa, Ariz.-based Lehi Valley Trading Company, meanwhile, recently rolled out a line of Snackworthy products targeted to millennials; the budget-friendly items include USDA Organic, gluten-free, whole grain and trans fat-free snacks sold in clear packages with a vibrant logo and colors set against a background with a natural, eco-friendly look.
