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It is projected that Millennials will have $200 billion in buying power and comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025. It is further predicted that by 2017, Millennials will outspend the Baby Boomer Generation altogether.
It is important that the foodservice industry begin to focus attention on the wants and trends of this increasingly influential generation. If top contenders within the industry plan to stay on top, it’s essential that they begin to cater to Millennials because they will have the power to make or break entire establishments or food chains.
Millennials love their food, and they take it very seriously. They want camera ready food they can post on social media, so Instagram followers can share in their food experiences. (They love sharing food pictures so much they coined a term for it: food porn.) They value quality over quantity, and they’re willing to spend good money at establishments that advertise two specific words on their menus: locally sourced. They want high quality ingredients and creative menus filled with adjectives like fresh, organic, or premium. Millennials also want healthy options on their menus.
Millennials are health conscious. They love posting selfies at the gym just as much as they love posting pictures of their gorgeous plated food. Unfortunately, this means they’re beginning to eliminate the option of dessert. Market researchers from the NPD Group released results from their 29th annual Eating Patterns in America study, a report that tracks the eating habits of people and households nationwide. The report shed a bright light on this consumer group, and showed us Millennials aren’t eating dessert anymore. According to the report, last year only 9% of dinners belonging to the consumers in this age group, defined as 18-34, included dessert. This number pales in comparison to 1984’s 17%.
So how do we get Millennials to start ordering dessert again? Restaurants need to appeal to their dessert desires so Millennials will start craving sweets! Here are the top 5 dessert trends that Millennials are looking for on menus in 2016, and we’d love to see what you’ll do with these trends, too! Send us pictures of your creations at PastryTeam@auifinefoods.com or post them to our Facebook page.
1. Healthier Options
Millennials want to have their cake and diet too, but still enjoy themselves. Mini desserts are still great options; consumers feel like they haven’t cheated, yet they’re still satiated. Load your dessert menu up with options ripe with fruit!
Mini Banana Tartlets. They're healthy, we promise!
2. Ethnic Desserts
Millennials crave experience. Ethnic desserts allow consumers to experience cultures of other countries, so they can develop their worldly palates without spending cash to travel the globe. Latino desserts, like Alfajores or Churros, have become particularly popular.
Alfajores are exotic, tasty, and cute. Could they be the new macaron?
3. Pate a Choux
Pate a choux is nothing new, but it’s so darn versatile and delicious. Would you like to deep fry it and turn it into churros? Would you like to pipe it into crispy, creamy, dreamy éclairs? We think choux is going to see a big revival in 2016.
These Banana Split Éclairs put a contemporary spin on a classic pastry.
4. Hybrid Desserts
The ice cream cookie sandwich is back in a very big way. It’s made its way on dessert menus, and even customizable franchises centered on this idea are opening around the USA.
What if a macaron had a baby with a box of Neapolitan ice cream? Neapolitan Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches.
5. Sweet Childhood Nostalgia
Millennials yearn for childhood memories. Flavors of their childhoods are back in a big way, with luxury hotels like The Four Seasons in Washington, DC serving their renditions of a Rootbeer Float and S’mores.
A decadent recipe for S'More Bars that will appeal to kids of all ages.
The facts in this article were sourced from:
• Horovitz, Bruce. Bye, Bye American Pie: Desserts Are Disappearing. USA Today. Gannett, 26 Feb. 2015.
• Leon, Alison. 6 Ways to Attract Millennials to Your Restaurant. Fast Casual. Networld Media Group, 07 Jan. 2016.
• UCI Trend Lab. Millennials: The Foodie Generation - Univision . Univision. Univision Communications Inc., 15 Dec. 2014.
• Gen Y Food Preferences: You Are What You Eat. Millennial Marketing. Millennial Marketing, n.d.
Danielle Romano graduated from Towson University with a degree in English Literature and Writing. Since then she has put her knowledge of grammar and syntax to good use, working as an intern and freelance editor for a multitude of magazines and online newspapers. Danielle has also worked in the medical field for a number of years, but recently left medicine behind to join AUI as an Executive Assistant; she claims she did it for the chocolate.