SugarCreek: Brandworthy Food Solutions

American Food Culture: Millennials Use Food as Alternative Medicine

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 20, 2015 2:30:00 PM

Millennial foodies' concerns with healthy eating habits aren't derived solely from an ethical belief. Many young adults seem to be embracing diet as a form of alternative medicine. Adherents to diets like paleo, gluten-free and others often tout food lifestyle changes as a path to better general wellness.

So how can food companies and food entrepreneurs play to this trend? Obviously, if you're not developing and producing healthy foods, you're going to have a hard time tapping in to the Millennial market.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, American food culture

Will Snackification Lead to an Oversaturated Breakfast Market?

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 17, 2015 2:30:00 PM

Breakfast is hot and ready. No, really, it is. Ready to take over the food industry, that is. Traditional mealtime-food pairings don't mean a heap of beans anymore. Eggs for dinner. Salad for breakfast. Beetroot chocolate cake for dessert?!? There are no rules anymore.

Why? Millennial foodies—those non-conforming young adults who are always on the lookout for the next great food experience—that's why. Millennials have spearheaded an increased demand for unique and flavorful breakfast foods anytime, anywhere, anyhow. And the movement toward snackification has made breakfasting easier than ever before.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, Snackification

Millennial Grocery Shoppers Crave Cheap, Healthy Eats to Go

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 16, 2015 2:30:00 PM

We've talked a lot about Millennial consumers and their preference for fast-and-fresh—or even fine dining—over traditional quick-service restaurants (QSRs) like McDonald's. And we've talked before about the trend toward snackification. What we haven't touched heavily on, though, is the fact that Millennials are savvy food shoppers.

Young adults today want quality ingredients and exotic food experiences, but they also want value. For every shared meal out with friends, a typical Millennial eats a bevy of cheap, small meals by him- or herself. And increasingly, it seems, they're turning to convenience stores to find them.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, Snackification, Retail

What Does Transparency Look Like in the Food Industry?

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 13, 2015 2:30:00 PM

Millennials are concerned with transparency in all things: government, work, public relations and… their food? Yes, food. We've talked about it before: Millennial foodies want to know what's in their food. They want to know how it got from farm to plate. They want to know who handled it and how.

Enter Domino's Live. Back in 2013, as the company sought to reinvigorate what had become a stagnant brand, the venerable pizza chain began experimenting with different ways of engaging Millennials (young adults being, of course, the core constituency of the pie-slinging biz) on their own turf—the Interwebs.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, Supply Chain

Will Millennials Go for Fast & Fresh Brands Lagging on Sustainability?

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 9, 2015 2:30:00 PM

News flash: Millennial foodies demand foods produced by sustainable means. Oh, you knew that? Then why isn't your brand living the sustainable mantra? Too many food brands recognize the appeal of sustainability and market to it, but fail to live up to expectations. In an era when a bit of research is as easy as typing up a query on one's smartphone, however, disingenuousness doesn't play well.

If price and perceived quality are close enough so as not to be distinguishing factors, sustainable production is likely to become the deciding factor in a young adult's food purchase decision, according to Jeff Fromm, the co-author of Marketing to Millennials. Moreover, if your food company lacks transparency, be prepared to lose ground to your competition.

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Topics: Sustainability, Millennial Consumers, Retail

Shareable Content May Get Attention, But Is Your Brand Connecting?

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 3, 2015 2:30:00 PM

So, you're creating social media content and posting it to your food brand's various feeds in order to attract the attention of Millennial foodies. How's that working out for you? Are you seeing quantifiable returns—increased website traffic, higher sales, repeat business—or do you sometimes feel like you're having a one-sided conversation?

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Topics: Millennial Consumers

Gamification: The Hot New Growth Strategy for Food Brands

Posted by SugarCreek

Apr 2, 2015 2:30:00 PM

Creating a food culture can be challenging—especially with so many dining choices available to American consumers today. Millennial foodies, an exploratory demographic, can be a particularly hard segment to target with loyalty programs. Young adults view food as an opportunity to experience as many tastes, smells and sights as possible; they're always looking to expand their product horizons.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, American food culture

Sous Vide Shortcut: The Easy Way to Meet the Fast and Fresh Demand

Posted by SugarCreek

Mar 20, 2015 2:30:00 PM

MTV, where video first killed the radio star, is turning to an unexpected source to keep younger audiences tuning in— cooking shows. In April 2015, MTV will begin hosting a televised version of the popular YouTube channel Brothers Green Eats, featuring the culinary duo of Mike and Josh Greenfield.

And, given the central role that food plays in the life of Millennials, it’s not an altogether bad idea.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, Retail

Decoding the Language of Millennial Food Culture

Posted by SugarCreek

Mar 17, 2015 2:30:00 PM

A large and unique generation, millennials have captivated the minds of marketers in all industries. According to Forbes, members of this generation tend to be more optimistic and independent when it comes to their world views. They also tend to be less traditional than the generations that came before them when it comes to experiencing various life stages. These characteristics pose distinctive challenges to marketers in the food service industry, who must come up with new and interesting strategies to keep their brands at the top of millennials' minds.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, American food culture, Retail

Are You Using the Best Medium to Engage with Consumers?

Posted by SugarCreek

Mar 10, 2015 2:30:00 PM

How are you reaching out to foodies? If you said via social media, you're on the right track for success. But which social media platforms are you using? Pinterest? Yelp? Instagram? Those are all great for food marketing, but the evidence to date indicates that they aren't necessarily the best. It turns out the consumers prefer watching and sharing YouTube videos over scrolling through static images on other social media platforms.

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Topics: Millennial Consumers, American food culture