Gen Z is coming into its spending power with older members assuming more responsibility for domestic budgets and beginning families – making them a prime target for CPG brands trying to boost household penetration and win lifetime loyalty.
While many of the marketing strategies that wooed older generations also attract the 13- to 28-year-olds who make up Gen Z, the group has unique characteristics that require shifts – some subtle and others dramatic – in messaging and communication delivery.
In FoodNavigator-USA’s latest special edition, Marketing to Gen Z and Alpha, we explore what types of claims, communication channels, products and brands resonate with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who are still too young for direct marketing but who can wield significant influence over household purchases.
For example, Deputy Editor Deniz Ataman explores how social media, including TikTok, inspire Gen Z’s food and beverage choices and brands can better reach the digital natives online by co-authoring advertising.
While younger generation’s obsession with social media creates new ways for brands to communicate directly to young shoppers, Senior Editor Elizabeth Crawford reports on the dark side to the ever-present and often critical eye of social media on shoppers’ diet choices.
Likewise, while digital marketing is powerful – it is not everything, reports Senior Correspondent Ryan Daily. She shares the importance of marketing IRL and physical experiences.
Check out the details of these stories and more by clicking through on the headlines below, or if you are a FoodNavigator-USA subscriber, by checking your inbox for the special edition on Marketing to Gen Z and Alpha.
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Marketing to Gen Z and Alpha
Navigating Gen Z’s obsession with specialty diets and tracking their eating habits – Between the return of weight-loss culture, fueled in part by the rise of GLP-1s, and the critical eye of social media perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards with filters, Gen Z is under pressure to look a certain way, which is influencing their relationship with food.
How to create omnichannel experiences for Gen Z: Do not forget the physical – Digitally native but craving physical experiences, Gen Z consumers want brands to adopt omnichannel marketing strategies that blend new techniques.
How can brands and retailers ‘co-author’ their advertising with Gen Z? - Gen Z’s communication style is shaped by the digital world, and brands need to co-create content with them to speak their language.
Inside Instacart’s app for Gen Z: Fizz joins the party – Gen Zers preference for occasion-based snacking and drinking inspired Instacart to create the Fizz app.
Gen Z is reshaping beverage sales by forgoing alcohol – requiring a new marketing playbook - Health-conscious and digital savvy younger consumers are increasingly interested in non-alcoholic beverages – requiring brands to rethink their innovation, branding and advertising strategies.
From aisle to algorithm: Why Gen Z’s frozen food discovery starts on TikTok, not in the freezer aisle - Gen Z may still walk through the freezer aisle, but their decisions start long before the reach the store.