SugarCreek: Brandworthy Food Solutions

McDonald’s might have fallen among the Millennials. According to the Wall Street Journal, consumers between ages 19 to 21 have been cutting Mickey D’s out of their diet at a rate of 12.9 percent since 2011. Even more notable, high-earning Millennials have reduced visits to traditional casual dining favorites like Olive Garden and Red Lobster by 21 percent, as noted by Forbes. Instead they are going out to eat at a new kind of eatery—the fast (and fresh) casual restaurant. Millennials are opting more and more to spend their food dollars at places like Chipotle, Starbucks, Panera, Five Guys and Qdoba where healthy ingredients are whipped together in front of customers and followed by a stream of digital content and online entertainment.

Savory waffles for dinner? A three-egg omelet for lunch? Absolutely— just don’t forget the side of bandito loco spicy coffee beef jerky or savory bacon coconut chips. Breakfast all day, every day is one of the top trends in the food industry, according toGrocery Headquarters. Consumers are craving their all-day breakfasts, and like all their foods this year, they want great taste, a sense of adventure, and a decided healthy glow, too, says Denise Purcell, editor ofSpecialty Food Media.

Organic foods have, in the last 15 to 20 years, become big business and one of the hottest trends in the food industry. There's no sign that business is going away; sales of organic products are steady. But the growth of organic sales has flattened. Why? Have we reached "peak organic," so to speak? Or is the bloom starting to come off the rose?

Millennial consumers— those born between roughly 1980 and 1997— are expected to be contributing an average of $1.4 trillion dollars annually to US GDP, according to a new study by Accenture. That potential future purchasing power has most marketers' keen attention. Writing for Forbes, contributor Patrick Spenner examined the rush to meet Millennial consumers' demands in the marketplace today.

We have previously discussed the difference between brand storytelling and brand storymaking. Storytelling is a one-way discussion; your brand essentially does all the talking and asks consumers to buy in. But storymaking involves inviting your customers to share their stories about how your company's goods or services add value to their lives, then curating those stories for public display.

The difference for the end consumer is in the level of engagement.

America's grocery aisles are changing— fast. You may have noticed that groceries are bigger, offering a wider variety of goods and boasting a wider variety of brands than ever before. Many have even started opening on-site cafés. Shoppers' demands for convenience, selection and fresh preparation are at the heart of this shift.

We've talked a lot on this blog about how the consumer habits of the Millennial generation are reshaping the food market. Food marketers are increasingly seeking new ways to attract Millennial dollars: designing new, innovative food packaging, marketing via social media and revamping menus.

Younger Americans are more health-conscious than their Baby Boomer parents. They value things like organic produce, exotic tastes and locally-sourced ingredients. But why? What informs this generational shift?

Organic. Gluten free. Cupcakes. Bacon on everything.

These days, when a new food trend first rises to popularity, there’s no telling if the innovation will flame out quickly or catch on and become not just a trend but a permanent addition to restaurant menus, packaged meals and dinners eaten at home.

It's easy to fall behind your competitors— especially in the food service market— if you aren't staying in touch with your consumers' preferences. And that's especially true if you're trying to attract the 75 million members of the Millennial generation to your table.

Millennials— young adults between 20 to 35 years of age— now make up the largest age demographic in America. With their best income-earning years ahead of them, their potential purchasing power is broad, and their preferences have been quickly reshaping the market for new food products.

News flash: the Baby Boomers (people born roughly between 1946 and 1964) no longer make up the largest portion of the United States' population. Food companies whose product development and marketing strategies are still oriented toward them are facing serious problems. To remain competitive, they must attract consumers among the now-largest consumer group— Millennials.