Overview

Millennials are an important marketing priority—especially to companies and

brands across food-related industries. They are a brand-averse generation re-

writing the rules of marketing. Resistant to most conventional forms of

marketing, we see the developments with Millennials as a part of a longer-

term trajectory of cultural change. Consumers are increasingly skeptical and

conventional marketing as we know it must transform itself—perhaps quite

radically—if it wishes to prove effective in the years to come.

Today’s Millennials are coming of age in a postmodern world—which

encourages consumption with playful, reckless abandon—it's likely they will

be consuming at levels relatively higher than their predecessors. Believe it or

not, in the future we'll all likely be buying more stuff and our youth will lead

the charge.

The challenge, of course, is that we have no blueprint to help us navigate a

terrain marked by unabashed consumption styles, excessive choice and a tacit

desire to "unchoose." So, how do you communicate to a generation that has

adapted to its environment by learning not to listen?

The Hartman Group’s Culture of Millennials 2011 report gives you an up close

and personal look at Millennials, a generation that is transforming the cultural

landscape and will have a profound impact on the marketplace in ways yet

imagined.

With Millennials forming and shaping their spending habits and beliefs about

companies and brands now, and with their prime earning years ahead of

them, isn’t it time for you to get to know Millennials better?

A Hartman Group National Syndicated Study

Key Topic Areas Explored

One of the most inspiring aspects of the report is the concluding section on strategies for brand-building. Additionally, the report provides an in-depth look into the following: Millennial Lifestyle. Portrait of how Millennials are distinguished from other generations (entertainment, leisure, politics, etc.); current view on life; hopes and fears; examine differences across demographic variables, explore the ways in which they navigate the “new” economy Culture of food. In-depth look at what influences food and beverage choices; explore the establishment of consumption habits along their life cycles, the transition to an adult food identity; dining in vs. dining out; role of health and wellness Brand loyalty. Principal factors that encourage brand loyalty, explore the development of trends Social media and acquiring/sharing information. Understand the importance and role of social media in purchase and consumption behavior; where do they turn for information about products and brands; what are the trusted sources? Connecting with Millennials. Understand and articulate how to message to Millennials Outlook on the future. What will influence food and beverage buying decisions in the near-term future

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REPORT INTRODUCTION Why Are We Here? Suffice it to say, there has been no shortage of interest in Millennials these days. But all too often we find the same clichés and observations put forward with little empirical data:

“They’re too sheltered from all of the helicoptering…”

“They don’t know what it means to lose…”

“You cannot tell them you are disappointed with them”

So, we decided to find out for ourselves—as well as our clients—what was up with this “most curious generation” of consumers. We headed out into the field with few assumptions and many questions. The results of these investigations are presented here. An important caveat. There are many different versions of age brackets for the term “Millennial” or “Gen Y”:

Strauss and Howe use the years 1982 to 2001, which would translate to ages 10-29 in 2011.

Other sources, especially in Australia, use 1982 to 1995 (ages 16-29 in 2011). Ultimately, of course, the decision of where to place the brackets is arbitrary. For purposes of this study we have chosen to define Millennials as those currently between the ages of 16 and 30.

METHODOLOGY Integrated qualitative ethnography and quantitative online survey. Qualitative fielding in two major US markets: Atlanta and Seattle. Online survey: nationally representative sample of 2,674 U.S. consumers 16-65 years of age of which 2,358 respondents comprised key Millennial group (ages 16-30). Millennials are compared with other age cohorts (Gen X and Boomers). Other comparisons of Millennials include three different life stages:

Living with parents (without children)

Living away from parents (without children)

Living with own children (regardless of where)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and Methods

Who are the Millennials

Mapping the Millennial Cultural Lifestyle

Health and Wellness

Category Deep Dives

“The Culture of Food”: Food and Beverage

Food Service

Personal Care

Household Cleaners

Special Topics of Interest

Social Media and Technology

Shopping and Purchasing Power

Brand Relationships

Sustainability

Advertising Idea Generators

Conclusions—Including Strategies for Brand Building

Everywhere we turn,

we read that Millennials

are diverse. But what

does this word “diverse”

really mean?

The generation of

Millennials is vastly

more diverse at all levels

than the portrayal of

the Millennial we see by

marketers, branders,

advertisers and the

media.

Also, the role of

technology in

Millennials’ lives is not

as you might think.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There’s no shortage of interest in Millennials, they are an intriguing and confusing generation. Comprising one-quarter of the U.S. population and influencing over $170 billion in spending power annually (one out of every five household dollars is spent on or by a Millennial), it is a non-traditional generation: one-third live with relatives, about half receive some sort of financial support from their parents. Millennials are heavy users of social media and non-traditional forms of communications. They are the present and future of the marketplace. They’re forming and shaping their spending habits and beliefs about companies and brands now. This report is the result of in-depth qualitative and quantitative exploration into the culture of Millennials fielded April and May 2011 in the U.S. marketplace. In addition to providing insights into lifestyle, culture of food, brand loyalty, usage of social media and how information is acquired and shared, and Millennials’ outlook on the future, the report provides strategic recommendations on how to connect with Millennials. MILLENNIAL LIFESTYLE

There are three primary ways in which Millennials differ from other generations: They have a greater self-

awareness and self-focus; a heightened interest in travel; they are comfortable with technology in a way that reflects its importance in their daily lives. Travel is the single area in which this group wants to be significantly different than their parents.

Millennials have significant spending power yet most are saving very little: Those who are lower-income are still spending significantly (on travel, technology) and are not savings-oriented.

Exercise is all about staying active and having fun, yet they don’t like to think of what they’re doing as exercise. They’re more interested in home DVD’s, home equipment, playing group sports, Wii or Kinect, biking to/from work—things they’re able to integrate into their life/lifestyle without too much extra effort. Many Millennials engage in yoga, but most practice it informally and infrequently.

Millennials approach household cleaning the same way they do many other facets of their life: Seeking balance,

they clean when it’s convenient but not at the expense of family time and having fun. As with foods, Millennials view their household cleaner choices as greener and more effective, but as costing more than their parents’.

Millennials are more apt to say they are less involved in sustainable practices than Gen X and Boomers. Like Gen Xers, Millennials are less enthusiastic—and more skeptical—of sustainable products than are Boomers. Similarly, Millennials are no more likely than any other cohort to consider environmental concerns or social justice concerns when shopping and they are almost always less involved in conventional sustainable practices. Where Millennials do respond is to companies that appear to have a “sustainable organization”. That is, companies that treat their employees well.

CULTURE OF FOOD

There is no such thing as a typical Millennial “day of eating”: Despite eating as regularly as older consumers,

Millennials are more flexible in their eating routines. While Millennials are more cavalier about what they eat, they prefer to eat with others than alone and to eat impulsively, and to not “really think about it too much…just eat whatever I want when I feel like it” as well as skip home-cooked meals.

Millennials have a different take on H&W than their parents: All food is okay (even “bad food). Although growing interested in healthy eating, Millennials approach it differently than older consumers—preferring fresh/less processed foods to foods with focused functional benefits. Millennials will be the first generation to be raised under the mantra of “fresh/less processed”: They may choose to eat (in their words) “unhealthy”—and they may well do so very, very frequently—but they will forever regard processed foods as inherently unhealthy.

Millennials lead the broader trend toward more meatless eating and they are more likely than older consumers

to want new taste experiences. Millennials believe their food choices are healthier—but more expensive—than their parents. Their eating preferences are heavily influenced by exploration. 72% of Millennials say they enjoy cooking and/or want to learn how to cook more.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (continued) BRAND LOYALTY

Millennials begin to shift their brand preferences away from the brands they grew up with when leaving home. Close to a third (29%) of Millennials

shift back toward their parents’ brands after having children. One out of five Millennials switch almost entirely to different brands when they move out on their own.

Millennials have a different—less definitive—relationship with brands and products: As a whole, Millennials only care about brands in categories where there is a significant cost to getting it wrong (e.g., cars, computers) and surprisingly few claim to be interested in popular fashion brands—or fashion brands in general.

Millennials who claim to want brand relationships are most interested in categories that contribute to their own image: fresh foods, personal care products, local groceries, and electronics. Most Millennials who don’t want brand relationships haven’t really thought about why (60%).

SOCIAL MEDIA and ACQUIRING/SHARING INFORMATION

Technology is fundamental to the lives of Millennials: while some argue that technology inhibits their social interactions, we find that Millennials

believe they may actually spend more time with their friends and family because they’re so technologically connected. They also perceive technology as something that’s had a negative impact: Constant preoccupation with devices; loss of privacy; loss of traditional English (e.g., texting).

Among Millennials texting has become the single most utilized mode of communication: Few use email as a source of communication between friends. Texting is for time-sensitive, personal communication: Millennials are twice as likely to say they'd rather receive communications from companies by email or facebook than by text

The two most important sources of information for Millennials are online and through their social networks/friends. There is a tendency not to rely on a single source for information. Millennials have a love/hate relationship with Facebook: Most are not active participants (posting, commenting, etc.) but spend more of their time “creeping” or looking at others’ posted content

While older consumers have caught up with—and surpassed—Millennials in using the Internet for shopping, Millennials are leading the

smartphone charge using web-enabled phones to gather information and make purchases at triple and double the rate, respectively, when compared to Boomers.

A LOOK INSIDE Sample pages from inside the report

REPORT DELIVERABLE Highly visual presentation of study findings, analysis and insights across 135 pages in PowerPoint format. Report package includes a set of data tables by standard demographics in Excel format.

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