Generartion Y Food Trends

Every generation has a Specific food trend that they become credited to. Examples of this is when the baby boomers prefer “classic” comfort foods such as braised meats, casseroles and ice cream, but many also enjoy gourmet choices such as high-quality dark chocolate and fancy cheeses. They crave foods from their childhoods. Generation Xers are more accustomed to commercial fare, and crave fast food (especially hamburgers). They cite branded foods more often than the other generations, including favorite packaged cookies, ice creams, candies and snacks. Generation Yers are also partial to fast food but in contrast to other cohorts, many also include healthier foods, including sushi and fruits, among their favorite comfort foods. They are less inclined than Gen X to associate specific brands with comfort foods (Millennial Marketing). The healthy food trend in the food service industry is not a new trend but a trend that is increasing by significant numbers thanks to the new up incoming generation Y. This can be divided into different sub categories that can all be interrelated to one another. These are Sustainable Food service trend, organic food service trend; which can also coincide with Transparency trend, and the small plate food trend; or the correct portion for an individual (Lempert). With a realization a staggering two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the United States are overweight or obese caused the health food trend to rise mostly lead by the Millennials, but also the baby boomer generation has realized that eating healthy is the way to as quoted in Forbes “Studies by the NPD Group show that nutrition and healthy eating habits are top meal-planning priorities for Baby Boomers…Boomers will focus on their intake of antioxidants as they continue their search for the fountain of youth. Boomers will control more than half the dollars spent on grocery foods by 2015, look for more heart-healthy antioxidant-rich foods including oily fish such as salmon, as well as green tea, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, popcorn, berries and whole grains to take over supermarket shelves.”
Showing the increasing demand for healthy and organic food. This leads to the organic food trend that is becoming popular and is just another way of eating healthy. You can still eat healthy by not eating organic, but Generation Yers feel the need for the healthy lifestyle since the Millennials are considered to be self-centered. So they want the best their body can have. Knowing where their food comes from gives them a sense of satisfaction. An example of this was the "Pink Slime" Controversy that happened in 2012 has caused a distrust from consumers to the food they were buying. California’s Proposition 37 fueled a growing debate about food labeling, and even though the proposition was not passed, the debate will likely continue into 2013. This trend of Transparency and eating healthy will likely cause the rise of the Celebrity Farmer and the death of the Celebrity Chef. More shoppers are interested in knowing not only where their foods are coming from, but also want to know about the people making their foods and are learning about their stories. 2013 will be a transitional year as on package claims proliferate and may confuse; look for supermarkets to take up the role of gatekeeper and actually demand proof (Gould; Lempert). Consumers will come to know how and where their food they are consuming comings comes from. The realization is starting to dawn on people how much food is being thron away. All this waste is considered a bad word among most people in the culinary field but now the consumers are also realizing how bad of a word waste can be. Lempert shows an example on how food a wasted: The National Resource Defense Council estimates that about 40 percent of all food here in the United States goes uneaten – that’s about $165 billion wasted each year; and costs the average family of four between $1,350 and $2,275 a year. To paint an even better picture, that 's about 20 pounds of food wasted per person each month. As we have seen America’s waistlines grow, so has the amount of food we waste. In fact, NRDC estimates we discard 50% more food than we did back in the 1970s.
Some was that starting to come by combating waste is the innovative way were Halfsies, a social initiative giving restaurant diners the ability to eat a half portion of their meal and donate part of the plate’s cost to a charity, and Sian’s Plan, a new meal planning tool designed to help families make cooking and shopping easy, fun and more efficient(Gould). Restaurants can follow this trend also with the farm to table model that is becoming popular with this generation. The concept of this model is that the restaurant buys products and produce straight from the farmer. Since waste is a bad word among chefs, it is the chefs responsibility that the nothing goes to waste. So therefore making the restaurant a sustainable practicing restaurant, but also it goes along with the transparency/organic trend, and health trends. Last but not least is the small plate/portion concept that food service establishments are starting to serve. This is a result of a few things, first snaking on healthy items is becoming more common resulting the need for smaller portions at mealtime. Also with the realization that the amount served are disproportionate to what we should actually be consuming. As Shown by Lempert: We predict that 2013 will see a smaller bites/more frequent eating pattern that reduces overall portion sizes and increases variety. Led by the ubiquitous Millennials, who crave flexible menus with many choices of appetizers and small plates, look for snacking occasions to increase throughout the day.
This trend will continue to grow and could also be intertwined with the other food trends of sustainability and Transparency/organic in one Food Service Establishment. These trends are just the beginning of an ever evolving generation that could influence the later generations in the future. Trends that have been mentioned come from the mind of the Generations Yers of living healthy due to their nature of what they want. Also, many more trends can be related to the major trend of eating healthy that one paper alone cannot describe.

Works Cited
"Gen Y Food Preferences: You Are What You Eat." Millennial Marketing. Millennial Marketing, 1 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 June 2013.
Gould, Danielle. "2013 Food Trends Get Technical, Sustainable & Healthy." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2013.
Lempert, Phil. "Top Ten Food Trends 2013." Top Ten Food Trends 2013. Consumer Insight Inc., 2013. Web. 12 June 2013.

Cited: "Gen Y Food Preferences: You Are What You Eat." Millennial Marketing. Millennial Marketing, 1 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 June 2013. Gould, Danielle. "2013 Food Trends Get Technical, Sustainable & Healthy." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 June 2013. Lempert, Phil. "Top Ten Food Trends 2013." Top Ten Food Trends 2013. Consumer Insight Inc., 2013. Web. 12 June 2013.