With apps by the thousands cranking out information about food, health and fitness, all too often it’s too easy for interconnected consumers to try to micromanage — but sometimes mismanage — their daily diet.
“One week it’s one new ingredient, and another week it’s another,” noted Robb MacKie, president and chief executive officer of the American Bakers Association. “It’s easy to lose sight of the holistic approach to health and wellness.”
However, he added, a greater number of people are taking steps to more effectively enhance their overall lifestyle and sense of well-being.
“There is a lot more thought in terms of planning for meals and exercise,” Mr. MacKie told Baking & Snack recently. “Today, people share their meal and exercise plans for the week. Growing up, we didn’t have an exercise plan. We went to the gym or out for a run, and definitely didn’t have a meal plan.”
That’s especially true with millennial families and the potentially even more influential Gen Z generation, whether they are eating at home — or more likely not. At the A.B.A. convention, to be held April 5-8 in Naples, Fla., Jason Dorsey, president of The Center for Generational Kinetics, will present the findings of a national study that provides key data and takes a deeper look into these influential consumers, their hidden buying drivers, and their perceptions and thoughts about baked foods.
Bakers, Mr. MacKie added, need to compellingly communicate to these generations through a myriad brand-building tools about the health and wellness benefits of their core products. They also need to remember the strong emotional connect consumers have to their products.
“It’s a whole different mentality, and the industry has to catch up to it,” he said. It just takes one step at a time.