Milling & Baking News - May 7, 2019 - 40

Industry Activities

A.B.A. breaks new ground with
millennial, Gen Z study
NAPLES, FLA. - In a landmark survey of the largest generation of U.S.
consumers, the "American Bakers Association 2019 Study: Attracting Gen Z
and Millennial Customers" revealed
the relationships, habits and perceptions of these consumers toward commercially baked foods. The results
not only showed their perceptions of
health, purchase drivers and digital
experiences related to the $153 billion
baking industry but also indicated
key trends for all consumer packaged
goods companies to consider, said
Robb MacKie, president and chief executive officer of the A.B.A.
Not surprisingly, the study showed
that bread, sweet baked goods, tortillas,
rolls and buns, and crackers rounded out

research is needed to indicate if this is
a long-term trend, Mr. Dorsey said.
Overall, the study provided a wealth
of other insights and myth-busting conclusions about millennials, Gen Zers
and their perceptions and buying habits
concerning baked foods. Instead of shying away from carbohydrates, for instance, 78% of Gen Z and millennials responding to the survey eat carbs in their
regular diet. Further, three-quarters of
these consumers are not dissuaded from
consuming baked foods because of a
concern about carbohydrates.
"The bottom line is: Almost 8 out of 10
eat carbs in their diet, and that's just no
big deal," Mr. Dorsey told a packed audience, most of whom qualified as baby
boomers in age. "But if we all went on

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The report found most
consumers (73%) have
purchased bread in the
last week, and 63% purchased a sweet baked
good in the past week.

the top five products purchased by surveyed millennials, or consumers ranging
from 25 to 40 years in age, and their Gen
Z counterparts who ranged from 18 to 24
in the comprehensive study.
In fact, the report found most (73%)
have purchased bread in the last week
and 63% purchased a sweet baked
good in the past week. Additionally,
millennials and Gen Z consumers
have positive nutritional associations
with many types of baked foods.
"The opportunity for this industry
is massive," noted Jason Dorsey, president of the Center for Generational Kinetics and the report's author, during
the A.B.A.'s annual convention, held
April 7-10 in Naples.
On the flipside, Mr. Dorsey added
there are some major areas of concern.
Perhaps one of the biggest, he noted,
is that roughly half of millennials and
Gen Zers are buying fewer baked
foods than they did one year ago.
Sweet baked goods, flatbreads and bagels were declining the most. Further
40 / May 7, 2019

Milling & Baking News

social media right now, what would you
hear? Millennials won't eat carbs ever.
It's fascinating that what tracks on social
media doesn't actually match the data."
Across all product categories, Gen Z
and millennial respondents stated the
most important nutritional descriptors
for baked foods are "whole grains,"
"freshness" and "natural ingredients."
Defining those terms, however, isn't
always easy. In some cases, Mr. Dorsey
noted, the perception of what's "natural" or "fresh" varies. Bakers don't necessarily need to describe these items as
par-baked or made from scratch.
"They want to hear 'fresh baked,'"
he said. "By the way, they have no
idea what that means."
The amount of sugar, artificial ingredients and the number of calories per
serving can dissuade consumers from
purchasing some baked foods.
"The perception is that sugar is bad,"
Mr. Dorsey said, adding that "perception is reality" for most consumers.
Perhaps one understated trend

involves food waste. In particular,
when it comes to bread, food waste
remains the main concern that inhibits
purchases. The study uncovered that
nearly three-fourths of surveyed consumers are bothered by wasting bread.
Mr. Dorsey said another significant
finding was that having to throw away
bread deters future purchases. Additionally, the study found that more
than one in five consumers often or always skip buying bread on their next
trip to the store after throwing it away.
Another popular myth involves the
prevalence of online grocery shopping.
"The majority of consumers have
not ordered groceries online - period," Mr. Dorsey said.
That's especially true in the baking
and snack categories.
"We are not shopping on Amazon to
buy baked goods," he said.
He added that online grocery shopping will happen eventually, but it's a
matter of when.
Mr. Dorsey started off his presentation about myth-busting millennials in
general. He pointed out that they are
older than most media reports portray.
"Everyone thinks millennials are 25
years old, and their pants are falling
off," he said. "But the truth is that pop
culture has been saying that story for 15
years. The oldest millennials are now
around the age of 40. The average age
of millennials in the United States is 30."
Mr. Dorsey cautioned against stereotyping millennials, whose numbers
top 83 million in the nation. Those who
are older than 30 often have different
attitudes from millennials under 30.
"Nobody talks about that," he said.
In fact, he added, studies show that
some millennials are turned off the most
by their counterparts who reinforce
the reputation that shadows this generation, a feeling of entitlement that has
been fostered by their boomer parents'
upbringing of them, Mr. Dorsey said.
On a pure financial level, Mr. Dorsey noted, millennials now also outspend every other generation while
boomer spending has peaked as many
of them begin to simplify their lives as
they get older. But just because millennials spend more, their funding often
comes from elsewhere.
"Millennials don't have the money,"
Mr. Dorsey said. "Boomers have the
money."
He added that the transfer in wealth
from one generation to another will be
one of the most dramatic shifts in the
coming decades.
From a more generational financial
perspective, Mr. Dorsey noted that
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Milling & Baking News - May 7, 2019

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