Condé Nast, New York, and Goldman Sachs, New York, released the 2017 Love List: Food study.
What is said to be the first of its kind study identified three key trends:
- Millennials want healthy snacks. 40% of brands that made the Love List are traditional snack brands, of those, 75% have a health focus. Top attributes for all brand favorites include “convenient,” “easy to find” and “good tasting.”
- Millennials are one-stop-shoppers. Focused on convenience, they are more likely to shop at retailers that offer a variety of options outside the food category. Notably, Wal-Mart ranked as their No. 1 shopping destination and they are nearly twice as likely to shop at Target, a probable result of their new small-format stores and redesigned layout with grocery front and center.
- When price and quality are consistent, brand ethos is paramount. When it comes to the brands they buy, consumers are focused on authenticity, transparency and connectivity—successful brands are clear about what they stand for.
“Our Love List Brand Affinity Index is a strong indicator of next-generation consumers’ attitudes toward the retail experience, and among Millennial food enthusiasts, we’re seeing similar trends that surfaced in our fashion study – namely that brands shouldn’t underestimate the powerful combination of convenience and authenticity,” says Pamela Drucker Mann, chief marketing officer of Condé Nast. “Millennial consumers are looking for good value, convenience and consistency, which is why we’re seeing retailers like Wal-Mart and Target rise to the top of the list. However, when it comes to the brands they’re choosing to purchase, Millennials are looking to brands that connect with them and fit into their lifestyles.”
Additional micro findings include:
- Yogurt brands are on the rise. Yogurt brands took three of the Millennial Love List spots (Yoplait, Noosa and Fage) and four of the Next List spots (Oikos, Fage, Noosa and Chobani)
The 2017 Food Love List was conducted as an aided brand affinity study among a national sample of 7,555 U.S. consumers, with a subset of 564 Condé Nast Millennial food-enthusiast consumers who expressed a high interest in cooking, dining and entertaining. The study prompted respondents with 35 attributes that were used to describe brands they purchased from a master list of 172 brands and 58 retailers. The following research reflects brand preferences and shopping behaviors ranked by percentage.
THE 2017 LOVE LIST: FOOD
MILLENNIAL FOOD ENTHUSIASTS:
1. San Pellegrino 81%
2. Angie’s 77%
3. Haribo 71%
4. Duncan Hines 70%
5. Bertolli Frozen 67%
6. Nespresso 67%
7. Poland Spring 67%
8. Starbucks 67%
9. Yoplait 67%
10. Noosa 64%
11. Ferrero Rocher 60%
12. Justin’s Nut Butters 59%
13. Coca-Cola 59%
14. International Delight 57%
15. Kashi 57%
16. Dove Chocolate 56%
17. Pillsbury 55%
18. Clif 55%
19. Cheez-It 53%
20. Fage 52%
NATIONAL SAMPLE:
1. Nespresso 68%
2. San Pellegrino 59%
3. Starbucks 57%
4. Ben & Jerry’s 55%
5. Coca-Cola 55%
6. Noosa 55%
7. Angie’s 54%
8. Folgers 53%
9. Fage 51%
10. Peet’s Coffee 51%
11. Boar’s Head 51%
12. Stouffer’s 51%
13. Simply Orange 51%
14. Ghirardelli 50%
15. Cracker Barrel Cheese 50%
16. Hershey’s Chocolate 50%
17. Special K 50%
18. Tates 50%
19. Yoplait 49%
20. Haagen-Dazs 48%
THE 2017 NEXT LIST: FOOD
MILLENNIAL FOOD ENTHUSIASTS:
1. Oikos 100%
2. Clif 100%
3. Udi’s 100%
4. Bear Naked 96%
5. Kashi 95%
6. Smartfood 94%
7. Birds Eye 93%
8. Ghirardelli 92%
9. Honest Tea 91%
10. Fage 91%
11. Justin’s Nut Butters 91%
12. Angie’s 91%
13. Yoplait 91%
14. Silk 90%
15. Noosa 90%
16. Chobani 89%
17. Amy’s 90%
18. Sabra 89%
19. Nature Valley 88%
20. V8 88%
NATIONAL SAMPLE:
1. Siggi’s 98%
2. Tates 98%
3. Sahale Snacks 95%
4. Odwalla 94%
5. Fage 92%
6. Justin’s Nut Butters 91%
7. Bear Naked 90%
8. Sabra 89%
9. Kashi 89%
10. Naked Juice 89%
11. Simply Orange 89%
12. Kind Snacks 88%
13. Oikos 87%
14. Popcorn, Indiana 87%
15. Noosa 87%
16. Weight Watchers 86%
17. SkinnyPop 86%
18. V8 86%
19. Cape Cod 86%
20. Chobani 86%
TOP RETAILERS:
MILLENNIAL FOOD ENTHUSIASTS:
1. Wal-Mart 43%
2. Target 42%
3. Whole Foods 39%
4. Trader Joe’s 34%
5. Costco 30%
6. Kroger 21%
7. Amazon 17%
8. CVS 17%
9. Aldi 14%
10. Walgreens 13%
11. Safeway 13%
12. Sam’s Club 11%
13. Publix 9%
14. SuperTarget 9%
15. 7-Eleven 9%
16. Sprouts 9%
17. Dollar General 8%
18. Albertsons 7%
19. Stop & Shop 7%
20. Wegmans 6%
NATIONAL SAMPLE:
1. Wal-Mart 35%
2. Costco 34%
3. Trader Joe’s 33%
4. Whole Foods 32%
5. Target 25%
6. Kroger 19%
7. Safeway 16%
8. Aldi 15%
9. Sam’s Club 13%
10. Amazon 12%
11. CVS 11%
12. Publix 10%
13. Walgreens 9%
14. Albertsons 8%
15. Sprouts 8%
16. Stop & Shop 8%
17. The Fresh Market 7%
18. SuperTarget 7%
19. Dollar General 7%
20. ShopRite 6%
