Food has become more important than fashion as social currency for 18 – 29 year olds - dubbed Millennials or Generation Y – who share photos of food over social media an average of three times a week.
That is according to research from creative agency Haygarth and insight specialist Flamingo, which urge food companies to aim marketing at this generation rather than family-inspired marketing messages.
Only 11% of Millennials said they feel marketing is aimed at them suggesting this important segment of consumers is largely alienated despite being the most involved in sharing food images online.
Being knowledgeable about food is deemed to be more important than knowing about fashion by 40% of the group compared to 26% who valued fashion.
An ‘Instagram effect’ was noted in the research within the millennial group who favour visual and aesthetically pleasing brands and thus packaging design was found to significantly impact purchasing decisions – 29% of 18-29 year olds said the packaging affected their decision compared to 8.2% of their parents.
Sophie Daranyi, Haygarth executive, said: “Millennials make up almost 20% of the population but we felt, when we considered marketing activity in FMCG and grocery retail, they weren’t regarded as a significant target audience by most brands. The ‘Inspiration Generation’ research has given us a really fascinating insight into this under-considered audience, helping us to formulate the ‘golden rules’ for retailers and brands to really engage this passionately foodie generation. Already spending almost as much as their parents on food every week, as they progress through their lives and their disposable income grows, the opportunity for brands who successfully recruit them as advocates is immense.”
Haygarth suggested brands need to engage with Millenials through relevant communications, highlighting novelty, inspiring culinary exploits and appealing to their keen eye for design to capitalise on the significant growth potential of the ‘Inspiration Generation’ market.
Haygarth’s ‘Inspiration Generation’ research employed the latest technology and research techniques including Google Glasses and digital mobile ethnography which captured real-time shopping attitudes and behaviours. Coupled with in depth interviews and online quantitative research with 1,000 participants from London, Leeds and Birmingham, the study provided a broad and truly fascinating insight into the grocery shopping habits of 18-29 year olds. These results were then combined with additional research into the habits of their parents, giving a cross generational context to the findings.
