Nutritional habits in people are a characteristic of social and cultural norms, individual food preferences and living conditions. In young adults, they can also be attributed to developmental changes their nutritional behavior undergoes as they navigate towards autonomy.
As youngsters move out of their parental homes and embrace self-sufficiency, nutrition is hardly a priority. More often than not, the focus is on getting access to delicious and cheap food quickly and easily. Which is why, junk food and fast food is a particularly common option among young adults.
However, there are also health-conscious groups of the population whose food preferences gravitate towards healthy, nutrient-rich items to ensure peak performance and smooth body functioning in the early 20s and beyond.
Analyzing food preferences among young adults requires a hard look at the factors influencing their drives and decisions. However, given the rapidly-growing fitness-first revolution across all age groups today, healthy eating is increasingly becoming the norm.
In addition to this, the shift to plant-based diets from animal-based eating habits is expected to significantly shape the food and beverage industry in the coming years.
What we are saying is, it’s important to focus on current trends in the market to future-proof your brand and scale your business to new heights.
In this article, we’ve listed X top food preferences among adults aged 18 to 25 to help you refine your offerings for your target audience.
Top 5 Food Choices Among Young Adults of Today:
The ever-so-essential proteins
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be an eye-opener for a huge percentage of the population that is now interested in healthy, immunity-boosting foods that help maintain optimum health.
Most young adults today are either looking to slim down or tone up. As yoga instructor and nutritionist Lola Berry explains it, “When you’re in your twenties, you’re still growing and often burning the candle at both ends.” And protein is the key building block that keeps you going—and growing.
It helps build muscle, strengthens bones, and keeps organs healthy. Foods like nuts and dry fruits ensure heart health, increase satiety, and indirectly help reduce fat.
Needless to say, the global consumption of protein-rich foods has significantly increased in the last decade; by 40% between 2000 and 2018, to be precise.
From chicken, tofu, steak to soya, cheese, milk, young adults are heavily dependent on high-protein diets to meet their lifestyle goals—catering to them are fresh food delivery apps like Rastelli’s, Big Basket, Butcher Box.
Plant-based foods
The demand for plant-based foods & beverages is at an all-time high. Several acclaimed nutritionists and fitness enthusiasts believe plant-based diets are the future, with the global market value expected to hit $74 billion by 2027 (Meticulous Research).
As per the Food Industry Executive, “Double to triple-digit growth in emerging categories—snacks, dips, sauces, cheese, spreads, creamers, etc.—are driving increased plant-based sales.”
With consumers actively looking for meat substitutes to indulge their cravings, companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger are helping food giants adopt plant-based replacements that are significantly close in texture and taste to meat.
An excellent example here is fast-food chain McDonald’s that partnered with Beyond Meat to temporarily launch McPlant, a plant-based burger to serve its growing number of non-meat eating consumers.
Much-needed complex carbs
Developing healthy nutritional habits requires conscious examination of eating patterns and behaviors from a young age.
Avellino, Fitness Director at NY Health and Wellness explains, “research supports that teenagers to 20-somethings should create adult habits—so it’s imperative to give the body all the nutrients it requires for optimum health,” explains Lisa.
People in their 20s are super active and complex carbohydrates like quinoa, fruits, whole grains, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, brown rice, etc are the much-needed fuel for providing sustainable energy.
Healthy snacking foods
The word “snacking” comes with negative connotations, given that regularly binge-ing on packed and processed foods is linked with weight gain and lower diet quality.
However, (snacking) habits die hard—and to keep the practice going, consumers are looking to replace processed snacks with whole-food based healthy bites.
A good number of brands like Snackbible, True Element, The Whole Truth, etc have already come up with an assortment of high protein, low-calorie, refined sugar-free snacks for people to munch on in between meals. Plenty of other brands are following suit—so much that snacking is finally losing the bad rep it carries in fitness-first circles.
Some favorites in this category include protein bars, sugar-free peanut butter, dried fruits, nuts, favored seeds, baked goodies, whole-food based chips & puffs, etc.
Home-made convenience
There’s another change that’s being observed in the food habits of the young consumer since the COVID-19 pandemic — the inclination towards quickly and freshly-prepared home-cooked food, especially to recreate the restaurant experience. For instance, cooking with pre-packaged meal kits, using flavorful ingredients sold by branded restaurants, recreating recipes of artisan producers, etc.
This has increased the demand for home appliances like air fryers and multi-cookers. As per Darren Seifer, a F&B industry analyst, food producers should “look for more products that are specifically made for these appliances, or existing products that now show cooking instructions or recipes.”
For instance, vegetable bites, potato/kale/beet chips, quick desserts, fried chicken, and so on.
Food brands looking to take their offerings to the next level should closely consider the food and beverages trend in Asia of young adults who represent a major section of the current population. It also pays to keep tabs on the factors and trends influencing the food industry.
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