Here’s a look at how diners from different generations are interacting with foodservice, compiled from Technomic’s most recent Generational Consumer Trend Report.
Younger diners are leading in foodservice usage, with 68% of Gen Zers and 76% of millennials patronizing a restaurant weekly. The same can be said of just half of Gen Xers and 42% of baby boomers.
One-fifth of consumers overall say that they’re ordering food for delivery more often than they did two years ago, and the same amount say they’re ordering more takeout. Use of both is highest among Gen Z diners.
Millennials are the most likely to try unfamiliar menu items, with 45% saying they “always and often” try new or unique offerings. Just 11% of baby boomers say the same.
Baby boomers appear the least primed to cut back on foodservice purchases because of rising prices, with just 24% saying that they have or plan to do so, compared to 31% of consumers overall.
Gen Zers and millennials are also the most likely to visit nontraditional foodservice formats. More than half (54%) of millennials say they go to a food truck once a month, and 47% visit micromarkets monthly.
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