Consumers’ habits to the F&B industry

This article serves to help companies to gain a better understanding of the Millennials in order to capture their share of the market effectively.

Based on research and statistics, we drew the following conclusions on the target segment and their behaviour.

1. Millennials want High quality food at Cheap Price

2. Millennials are Health Conscious and Price Sensitive

3. “Photogenic” Foods

4. Transparency of Food, and social & environmental responsibility

5. Adventurous, keen to explore new and innovative flavours

6. Rely on reviews for the choice of brand

7. Willingness to pay more for premium products

1.    Millennials want High quality food at Cheap Price

The Millennial generation values both quality and price competitiveness. Food companies are now putting more emphasis on health and high-quality ingredients in order to appeal to Millennials. For example, the makers of Oreo launched “Oreo Thins”, a slimmed-down version of the original Oreo Cookie which contains lesser cream filling and calories, which then generated USD $60 million in sales.

Additionally, cheap restaurant chains targeting Millennials are gaining popularity in Japan recently. Major Japanese izakaya chains are too, filling up their menu with lower priced snacks.

            
            2. Price Sensitive

Although Millennials put much importance on health and the quality of food ingredients, they are also price-sensitive. Fast casual restaurants are hence growing at fast pace as they are able to satisfy the Millennials by presenting a healthier, better quality alternative to traditional fast food chains. Singapore is one of the leading countries in Asia in regards to fast-casual industry. An example will be Singapore based Zest Group who owns and operates 3 brands, and now owns more than 40 outlets across Asia.

 

 3. “Photogenic” Foods

According to Mintel’s 2014 research, 29.2 million of Americans have posted on a food or drink picture at a restaurant on their social media platforms. A recent study was done by Maru/Matchbox further stated that 69% of millennials (out of a sample of 310 Americans) take a photo or video of their food before eating. Other than keeping on a lookout for a cheaper food option, a number of Asian Millennials also value “Instagram-able” food,

which is photogenic enough to be posted online. According to a survey by MasterCard, 36% of millennials post comments and reviews of their dining experiences online. With the results being more prominent for Chinese and Thai millennials, where more than half of the young people post regular reviews after a meal.

           4. Transparency of Food, and social & environmental responsibility

Millennials expect to know what is in their food and where it came from. According to an analysis done by Nielsen, a Global Marketing Research firm, 81% of the surveyed Millennials want to know more about how their food is produced and 80% will want to “see the story behind the scenes” of their food. Additionally, 51% of them check the packaging to ensure that the food they purchased contributes to positive social and

environmental impact.

         5. Adventurous, keen to explore new and innovative flavours

Millennials are interested in new products and are more adventurous to try out new & innovative flavours than previous generations. It was reported that 40% of the surveyed millennials like to try new kind of ethnic cuisines and food that are new and different.

Nearly half of the millennials are also willing to pay a premium for innovative products, as stated by a recent analysis by Nielsen, a Global Marketing Research firm.

         6. Words of Mouth (WOM)

According to a survey done by MasterCard on Asian Dining Trends, consumers in Asia Pacific still prefer to rely on words of mouth and recommendations from friends and family. Millennials too, trusting word of mouth recommendations (52%) more than online reviews (38%).

         7. Willingness to pay more for premium products Premium Products

Market Insights firm, Maru/Matchbox, reported that millennials are willing to pay more for premium products such as “organic” and “natural” products. Millennials feel that such products make them feel more responsible and health conscious, and hence deserving of a higher price. According to the report, 68% of the millennials are willing to pay more for organic foods and 66% are willing to pay more for sustainable foods. 

For local food supplier and local food distributor in the country, it is necessary for their management to sit up and listen intensely to all these changes in their operating environment. Paying attention to the end consumers’ needs & wants will serve them well in the long term. For food distributor in Singapore such as Oregano Trading, they have embarked a re-branding exercise to keep themselves abreast with the latest trends and happenings. A revamp on their brand strategy is also necessary for them to maintain their leading position in the market and to achieve sustained growth in years to come.

The management believes that brand promise is very important. As a wholesale food supplier in Singapore, whereby they also provide wholesale meat Singapore and also a seafood supplier Singapore, freshness and storage of the items are upmost importance.