Age, ethnicity, life stage, and values influence current and future eating behaviors, according to a recently released study by the NPD Group that compiles 30 years of consumption data to quantitatively examine eating patterns among the generations.
According to NPD’s A Generational Study: The Evolution of Eating, there are some cross-generational shifts in eating patterns, such as moving away from sugar and red meat and embracing convenient and healthy snacks. Some patterns do differ by generation, such as Millennial parents’ lesser conversion to kid-friendly foods compared with prior generations and their preference for healthy foods. Boomers, meanwhile, are choosing convenience and dining out more often than Millennials.
“It is undeniable that people of different ages have different eating patterns,” says David Portalatin, vice president, food industry analyst at NPD Group. “The more important questions we must answer are whether these differences are the results of current life stage and circumstance, or whether an emerging set of new values will have the power to transcend life stage or circumstance. This analysis helps identify the unpredictable behaviors that will be the white space opportunities in the future.”
