Teens just love Chick-fil-A.
That is, at least, according to Piper Sandler’s latest Taking Stock with Teens survey. The semi-annual survey has labeled Chick-fil-A teens' favorite restaurant, a rank it's held for the last few years running.
This year, the chicken chain led teen food spending by making up 13% of their share of wallet.
Starbucks came closely behind with a 12% share, and Chipotle followed with 7%.
Investment bank Piper Sandler, which surveyed 5,690 teens on their discretionary spending trends and brand preferences, also revealed that male teens spend more on food than their female counterparts. Food was the No. 1 spending priority for males at 24% share of wallet, while clothing was the top priority for females.
Self-reported spending was up 2% year over year.
Per the survey, it appears teens' willingness to try plant-based meat is on the decline. Piper Sandler found that 42% of teens consume or are willing to try plant-based meat, down from 49% in spring 2021. Of those surveyed, 40% either consume plant-based dairy or are willing to.
And when it comes to social media, TikTok is still young people’s favorite platform, taking 37% share, but it has decreased by 100 basis points compared to fall 2022. Snapchat came in at No. 2, followed by Instagram.
As teens continue to spend more at restaurants, K-12 and higher-ed dining programs are keeping a close eye on what students gravitate to off campus to make their menus more appealing on it. Aurora Public Schools in Colorado even went as far as adding drive-thrus at two of its high schools in an effort to keep students from visiting fast-food spots during lunch.