How Snack Brands Can Win the Generation Game | Industry Trend Insight
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Snacking habits differ across the generations. From older Baby Boomers to the emerging consumers of Gen Alpha, each generation has different snacking needs with implications for flavours, textures, ingredient claims, and packaging. In this special global consumer report, Mintel examines how consumer demands differ between the five main generations: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha., and the best methods for snack brands to win over these consumer groups.
This report also includes examples of quintessential snacks for each generation, created by Mintel’s new AI product concept generator, Spark.
Key Insights Delivered in this Report
- What are the favoured features of Gen Alpha snacks
- How Gen Z snacking can be enlivened with flavour experimentation.
- How are mindfulness and an adventurous mindset influencing Millennial snacking habits.
- What are the most important aspects of Gen X snacks.
- How can snacks cater to the increasingly active lives of Baby Boomers.
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report is written by Jonny Forsyth, Director of Mintel Food & Drink. Jonny has been an analyst at Mintel for 15+ years and previously specialised in coffee and alcoholic drinks, regularly appearing on TV to share his insights. Jonny previously worked for a global media agency and national newspaper.
Snacking has disrupted ‘old-fashioned’ mealtimes. However, snacking needs differ as consumers age. Get inspired; discover how to make each generation hungry for your snacks.
Jonny Forsyth
Director of Mintel Food & Drink
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- What you need to know
- From energy and excitement to sustenance and satiety
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snacks that will make gen alpha hungry
- Pester power has evolved – the kids are now in control
- The new kids want food offering fun and flavour
- Why snack brands need to up their game to win over Gen Alpha
- Graph 1: proportion of video game players, by generation, 2024
- Cute – and kawaii – is the new cool
- Snack brands still need to keep parents happy some of the time
- Mintel’s concept generator creates three quintessential Gen Alpha snacks
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snacks that will make gen z hungry
- (Say you will) boldly go where no snack flavour has gone before
- Snack brands that challenge Gen Zs via taste and appearance
- For Gen Z, handling flavour intensity is a badge of honour
- Gen Zs may have more energy, but they also need more energy
- Graph 2: which time of day consumers snack for energy, by generation, 2024
- Energy snacks can steal a greater share from energy drinks
- Nostalgic snacks are soothing for an angst-ridden cohort
- Graph 3: behaviours related to eating and buying chocolate, by generation, 2022
- Nostalgia is in the past! Tap into ‘nowstalgia’, ‘fauxstalgia’ or ‘newstalgia’
- Mintel’s concept generator creates three quintessential Gen Z snacks
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snacks that will make millennials hungry
- Compared to Gen Z, Millennials are more mindful and adventurous snackers
- Graph 4: attitudes to international foods, by generation, 2023
- Target Millennials with exotic flavours and cleaner ingredients
- Millennials and social media are creating demand for pretty, exotic snacks
- Snack brands can help Millennials become more mellow
- Brands to help Millennials de-stress and refocus
- Mintel’s concept generator creates three quintessential Millennial snacks
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snacks that will make gen x hungry
- As Gen X face up to being ‘old’, permissibility becomes a priority
- Graph 5: interest in different snack bar attributes, by generation, 2024
- Dial down sugar and sweetness and dial up benefits
- As taste becomes more sophisticated, texture matters more
- Graph 6: agreement that an appealing texture (eg extra creamy, crunchy) makes a food or drink an indulgent treat, by age^, 2024
- How texture can make snacks more enticing for Gen X
- Mintel’s concept generator creates three quintessential Gen X snacks
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snacks that will make baby boomers hungry
- Snacks can cater to the increasingly active and healthy lives of older people
- Baby Boomers are deadly serious about health, but still seek occasional indulgences
- OK Boomer, time to embrace morning snacks
- Graph 7: typical breakfast and morning snacking habits, over-55s*, 2024
- Light, nutritious and tasty products can tempt Baby Boomers to have a morning snack
- Target Baby Boomers with acceptable afternoon indulgences
- Graph 8: times at which over-55s typically snack, by daypart*, 2024
- Make indulgent snacks more permissible for Baby Boomers
- Muted taste buds call for stronger snack flavours
- Richer-flavoured snacks that can tempt Boomers to treat themselves
- Mintel’s concept generator creates three quintessential Baby Boomer snacks
- Key takeaways
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