Biscuits and instant noodles are the most favored snacks between meals for the new generation. The internet has given rise to a new generation of consumers, and any food category must keep pace with the times to thrive. Post-90s and post-00s are a generation that grew up in the internet era. Over time, they have become the mainstream consumer group in society, and pleasing them is key to grasping overall consumption trends. So, what snacks and beverages do new-generation consumers prefer? New Generation Snack Consumption: For Hunger and Craving Biscuits and instant noodles are the most favored snacks between meals for the new generation. According to Mintel data, regarding snacks, 52% of new-generation consumers choose biscuits, while 35% (rising to 43% among 18-19-year-olds) choose instant noodles. This indicates that besides staving off hunger, convenience and portability are also crucial. When hungry, 18-19-year-olds choose a more diverse range of hunger-relieving products than younger teens, with a higher likelihood of choosing nut snacks (24% vs. 16.5% for 13-17-year-olds) and legume snacks and flour products (21% vs. 17% for 13-17-year-olds). Furthermore, snack consumption for craving and sharing occasions is clearly not for hunger relief, so teens show little interest in biscuits and instant noodles in these contexts. When craving snacks, they prefer puffed snacks (average 39%, rising to 43% among female teens) and ice cream (30%); melon seeds, nuts, chocolate, and candy also satisfy teen cravings, with over 20% of teens saying they choose these snacks when craving; male teens are particularly interested in poultry snacks (17% vs. 11% for female teens). When sharing with friends and classmates, puffed snacks and melon seeds are their preferred choices, followed by nuts, chocolate, and candy. Female teens (14%) are more likely than male teens (7%) to consume snack bars in sharing occasions. In sharing and craving occasions, teen snack preferences are very similar, indicating intense competition for products positioned for craving and sharing. New Generation's Snack Preferences by Occasion What snacks do they most want to eat when hungry between meals, when craving, and when sharing with friends and classmates? Energy snack bars have huge growth potential in the hunger-relief occasion. According to Mintel's "Savory Snacks - China, February 2016" report, in the six months before October 2015, 51% of respondents ate snack bars for hunger relief, 34% for craving, and 23% for sharing, showing that snack bars have the greatest potential in the hunger-relief occasion. Portability and convenience are crucial for hunger relief, explaining why consumers prefer biscuits over instant noodles in this occasion. Since snack bars also have similar packaging advantages, this category can be positioned as an alternative to biscuits. However, snack bars are still a relatively new snack category for Chinese consumers. When competing with biscuits, snack bar brands need to create a recognizable product image. According to Mintel's Global New Products Database, from July 2014 to July 2016, the most common claims for newly launched snack bars in China were no additives or preservatives (31%), high fiber (13.8%), slimming (6.9%), and aiding digestion (6.9%). Clearly, in the Chinese market, snack bars are typically positioned as health products with beauty benefits. Currently, the positioning of snack bar products in China is not strongly relevant to teens. Intense academic pressure means teens need sustained emotional and physical support, so energy-boosting claims would be more appealing. A classic marketing communication example is Snickers' TV ads, which use exaggerated before-and-after comparisons to humorously highlight the product's energy-boosting effect, such as turning the frail and sentimental Lin Daiyu back into a goalkeeper, or turning a sickly woman back into a young athlete. Since taste is the most important factor influencing teen snack choices, product innovation is essential to fully unlock the category's market potential. Offering innovative flavors (such as adding nuts, fruits, grains, or even chocolate) is crucial for snack bar brands. Chocolate products should not be underestimated. According to comprehensive data from these three occasions, puffed snacks are teens' favorite category, followed by biscuits and chocolate snacks, indicating that teens generally enjoy chocolate products. Chocolate's popularity is almost evenly distributed across all three occasions, meaning existing chocolate brands need to develop various chocolate products for different occasions and emotional needs (such as energy boost, special reward, or daily sharing). Brands need to launch competitive campaigns, and one innovation opportunity is to add other snack categories to chocolate to create fusion flavors and new taste experiences. Making instant noodles a proper meal. More 18-19-year-olds choose instant noodles to satisfy hunger, possibly because they are less regulated than younger teens and are more likely to have instant noodles as a regular meal. According to Mintel's "Noodles - China, January 2016" report, "with real side dishes" (63%) is the most important factor encouraging consumers to pay a premium, followed by "higher-grade ingredients" (52%), "unique flavors" (50%), and organic ingredients (4%). Clearly, consumers are unwilling to compromise on the taste of instant noodles. Using real ingredients to improve product quality and marketing around "real meals" may be a good solution, as it also meets the nutritional and health needs of increasingly health-conscious Chinese consumers. Besides snack consumption, new-generation consumers also have a strong preference for beverages, no less than snacks. Which beverage products are more attractive to them? Ideal Beverages: Iced, Milky, and Sweet In terms of beverages, iced drinks are teens' favorite flavor, with milky and sweet flavors ranking second and third. Notably, although teens like milky flavors, the frequency of consuming dairy-containing beverages and flavored milk is much lower than other types of drinks. This is because most teens drink milk daily or several times a week, so they prefer to experience different flavors. In contrast, non-sweet flavors are less popular; salty is the least favored flavor among teens, followed by grain, floral, and carbonated flavors, with less than one-fifth of teens preferring these flavors. Teens Not Interested in Light Flavors Although light flavors are increasingly popular among adult consumers, according to Mintel's "Soft Drink Consumption Trends in Foodservice Channels - China, May 2016" data, 50% of urban elite consumers say they prefer light-flavored soft drinks when dining out, compared to 36% among other groups, but light flavors do not attract teen consumers. Flavor preferences vary by age, gender, and allowance. Teens aged 13-15 prefer sweet flavors (45% vs. 37.5% for 16-19-year-olds), while 18-19-year-olds are more interested in light flavors (26% vs. 19.5% for 13-17-year-olds), partly because as they age, they become more health-conscious. Compared to male teens, more female teens are interested in milky flavors (45% vs. 36%), fruity flavors (37% vs. 29%), and sour flavors (37% vs. 27%). Carbonated drinks have long been favored by teens for their sweet, iced, and fizzy flavors; teens who drink carbonated drinks more often prefer sweet, iced, and fizzy flavors. If more room-temperature or lightly carbonated drinks were available, low-frequency consumers might buy more; and launching healthy light-flavored carbonated drinks could attract non-consumers. Fruit Pulp Can Enhance the Image and Taste of Plant-Based Protein Drinks Since plant-based protein drinks are nutritious and suitable for lactose-intolerant consumers, this category has a good chance of becoming an ideal beverage for teens. However, there is a major issue with plant-based protein drink consumption among teens. According to Mintel's "Plant-Based Protein Drinks - China, January 2015" data, parents generally do not believe plant-based protein drinks are healthy alternatives to dairy drinks (such as milk and yogurt), with 13% of parents not trusting the ingredient list, 20% worrying about additives, and 28% of non-consumers saying they dislike the taste, making them unlikely to buy such products for their children. Research shows that frequent consumers of plant-based protein drinks also prefer drinks with fruit pulp, so adding real fruit pulp to plant-based protein drinks could be a good idea. According to Mintel's "Plant-Based Protein Drinks - China, January 2016" data, the main consumption occasion for plant-based protein drinks is breakfast (64%), which is a very important meal for teens. Marketing strategies that highlight the nutritional benefits of real fruit and plant protein, and the satiety of chunky pulp, can effectively attract parents. The same report also shows that the second-largest consumption occasion is leisure and relaxation (52%). Premium ingredients (65%) and pleasant and unique flavors (45%) are factors driving premiumization, and parents tend to buy premium products for their children, so launching products with exotic flavors and uncommon nuts and fruits may be more appealing. Plant-based protein drinks are usually consumed warm or hot; "iced" has the lowest association with frequent consumers, indicating a strong demand for self-heating packaging, especially when teens eat breakfast on the go in winter. On the other hand, if plant-based protein drinks could be sold iced in summer, there would be an opportunity to attract non-consumers and increase consumption frequency among low-frequency consumers. Source: Food Business (ID: tyjzksp) -END-