RESEARCH WITH MILLENNIALS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Transcription

1 RESEARCH WITH MILLENNIALS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Prepared for: THE BEEF CHECKOFF 9000 E. Nichols Ave., Suite 215 Centennial, CO Prepared by: SHUGOLL RESEARCH 7475 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 200 Bethesda, Maryland (301) FEBRUARY 2014 (REVISED)

2 Table of Contents Section Slide Number Conclusions And Recommendations 1 Executive Summary 5 Methodology 16

3 Conclusions And Recommendations

4 Conclusions And Recommendations 1. As the beef industry looks to adjust to the unique views of millennials, note that they are similar to older Americans in many ways. They eat beef at similar frequencies, are likely to agree that everyone in their household enjoys the taste of beef, say the same factors are most important in what they serve at home (great taste, good value, something they feel confident in preparing, a food they feel good about and an ideal balance of taste and nutrition) and name the same drivers in menu planning for children (taste, nutrition and cost). They cite the same positive attributes of beef (great taste, great source of protein, has quick and easy to prepare options, is a food they feel comfortable and confident preparing, provides energy and fuel for the body, is a food they feel good about and has many lean cuts). In these areas with common results, no strategic adjustments are necessary by the industry. 2. While millennial beef eaters are similar in many ways to non-millennials, the research suggests that a larger percentage of millennials (17%) do not eat beef (and were terminated from the study) than non-millennials (12%). This increase could have a significant impact on the industry. The industry should examine specific reasons why these millennials don t eat beef to determine if any strategies can be implemented to address these reasons. 3. While both groups agree on what is most important in what they serve at home, one difference is that millennials say including a source of protein is less important. Since beef scores well as a source of protein, even among millennials, the industry should continue to educate them on the value of protein in their diets. 4. A small but potentially important difference between generations is that millennials are slightly less likely to cook at home and more likely to eat out. Strategies to ensure significant presence of beef on restaurant menus is increasingly important. 5. Millennials are somewhat more price sensitive, that is, they are more likely to say price and value are important when purchasing a cut of beef. They also often feel overwhelmed by financial burdens. Further, there is a gap between the high importance of value when making decisions about what to eat and the moderate perception of beef as a good value. The industry should focus on promoting the value of beef including the nutritional benefits and great taste plus the wide array of price points. 6. Millennials primarily purchase beef at conventional grocery stores, but are more likely than non-millennials to buy at mass merchandisers like Walmart and Target (although this happens primarily in the Southeast and Midwest). The industry must be sure it does not overlook point of purchase marketing in these stores. 2

5 Conclusions And Recommendations 7. Millennials more than older Americans get recipes and cooking ideas digitally, including websites, Pinterest, Facebook and blogs. Note that millennials also rely more on friends and family for this information (which often is conveyed via social media). In addition, a minority, but a significant one, say eating out is a social experience and like to share their experience with friends and family. This underscores the importance of the industry having an active presence on social media. 8. Millennials also say they are learning to cook more than older generations from cooking shows. While most continue to learn from their parents, collaboration with cooking shows can be beneficial to the industry. 9. Millennials say the "right" amount of beef for children and teens is slightly lower than non-millennials. The industry should continue to educate about the importance of beef in a child's diet. 10. Ground beef continues to be the way most beef is consumed by millennials, particularly in recipes (tacos, spaghetti sauces, chili, etc.) but also in hamburgers. The industry should develop and communicate new recipes for using ground beef, particularly ones that are easy to prepare (something that is important to millennials because few consider themselves gourmet cooks and they tend to say their lifestyles are busy). 11. Among the most important factors in what millennials serve at home, beef scores high on two of them: great taste and a food they feel confident in preparing. These can be leading communications points promoting beef consumption appropriately targeted to consumers, restaurants and supermarkets. Important factors in what they eat where beef scores lower are as a food they feel good about, having an ideal balance of taste and nutrition and being a good value. As already indicated, the gap is largest on value, an issue that should be addressed in industry communications targeting millennials. Because beef already scores high on taste, educating consumers on its nutritional performance is important since the taste/nutrition balance drives what consumers purchase. 12. The issue of how cattle are raised is not a dominant issue among millennials, but is a concern to a significant minority. About a third are very concerned about how cattle are raised and slightly more say it impacts what they serve at home. The industry can continue to correct misperceptions about this issue, although this strategy is not likely to eliminate the issue. 13. Millennials are more likely to be food and health involved and food and health involved influencers. However, the health concerns of beef are not a dominate issue to millennials. Only around a fifth to a quarter express significant concerns about fat in beef, cholesterol in beef, eating beef too frequently for health reasons or the safety of eating beef. The industry should pay attention to this significant minority, but should understand that they are not the majority views of millennials. 3

6 Conclusions And Recommendations 14. Only moderate numbers of millennials pay particular attention to the nutritional value of food, read food labels and try to eat the healthiest food they can buy. However, there are indications that these numbers could rise. Significant numbers say they are interested in eating more healthy foods and have begun to change their diets primarily by improving how they cook foods and choosing healthier foods. The industry can help millennials in these attempts by leveraging the positive attributes of beef as a source of protein and nutrition which can be prepared in healthy ways. 15. In purchasing steak, millennials primarily look for fat trimmed from the outer edges. But they tend to want some marbling for flavor slightly more than they look for meat that is consistently red in color. The fact that millennials want excess fat trimmed from the outsides of steaks should be communicated to supermarkets and other sales channels. 16. Millennials usually make shopping lists and know what they plan to purchase before they go to the store. This makes communicating direct to consumers outside the point of sale important for millennials. 17. A significant number of millennials are interested in becoming better cooks. This may be a factor that the industry can align itself with, providing tips on how to improve cooking skills that are branded by the beef industry. 18. The segmentation analysis suggests that it may be easiest to increase beef consumption further among those who already consume more (Casually Food and Health Engaged, Foodies) than those now eating less (Health and Nutrition Avoiders, Apathetic Millennials). While Foodies eat the most beef and more expensive cuts, Casually Food and Health Engaged are just behind and represent the largest number of millennials. Both groups have positive views about beef. Health and Nutrition Avoiders have the lowest incomes and are least likely to be working, attributes that inhibit beef consumption. Apathetic Millennials currently have the lowest beef consumption. Nevertheless, these latter groups cannot be completely ignored because over a quarter still consume beef at home three times or more per week. If the industry chooses to focus on Casually Food and Health Engaged and Foodies, future research might examine their media consumption habits to determine how to reach them most effectively with messaging. 19. As FHI millennials mirror the Foodies segment in many ways, they remain a strong target for the beef industry. They tend to cook beef at home more and order beef more in restaurants, feel particularly positive about beef and cite more positive attributes of beef. An area of concentration for the industry with this group is trying to overcome their concerns about beef. They are the segment with the largest number concerned about how cattle are raised, the fat in beef and eating beef too frequently for health reasons. 4

7 Executive Summary 5

8 Executive Summary Millennial Attitudes about Beef Millennials typically eat beef about twice a week. When they cook beef at home, it is usually ground beef put into recipes like tacos, chili or spaghetti sauce as well as burgers. After burgers, millennials most often cook steaks at home. Millennials included in the survey mostly say the positives of beef strongly or somewhat outweigh the negatives. Few say the negatives somewhat outweigh the positives. However, those saying the negatives strongly outweigh the positives were terminated from the survey. When deciding what to eat, five factors are most important to millennials: great taste, good value, feeling comfortable and confident preparing the dish, being a food they feel good about and having an ideal balance of taste and nutrition. Of these factors, beef scores high on two of them: great taste (the leading attribute of beef to millennials) and confident in preparation. Beef only scores moderately as a food they feel good about, having an ideal balance of taste and nutrition and being a good value. The largest gap between importance and beef's performance is on value. Somewhat important factors in what millennials eat are good source of protein, quick and easy to prepare, smart choice, provides energy for the body and an excellent package of nutrients. Beef scores only moderately in each case. Factors least important to millennials in what they choose to eat are being easy to know what cuts to prepare for a recipe, fits well with a health conscious diet, important part of a children's diet, many lean cuts available and comes from animals that are humanely raised. While not major drivers in choice of food, beef scores moderately on two, easy to know what cuts to prepare and many lean cuts available. It scores poorly on being an important part of a child's diet, fits well with a health conscious diet and comes from animals that are humanely raised. Note that concern about animals that are humanely raised is not a dominant attribute for millennials, but represents a significant minority. Only about a third are concerned about how cattle are raised and treated and about four in ten say it impacts what they serve at home. 6

9 Executive Summary The following are other concerns about beef from a minority of millennials. Around a quarter are concerned about the fat in beef and eating beef too frequently for health reasons. Fewer (around one in five) are concerned about cholesterol in beef or the safety of eating beef. Perhaps because of these issues millennials sometimes substitute chicken or turkey in a recipe for beef. Millennials are cost conscious when shopping for beef. Price is an important factor in what cut they purchase. While they are split on whether beef is a good value, few use the word expensive to describe beef. Only a small number say beef is not worth the price. Only moderate numbers of millennials say they pay particular attention to the nutritional value of food, read food labels and try to eat the healthiest foods they can buy. But they are interested in eating more healthy and have begun to change their diets primarily by improving how they cook foods (less deep frying) and choosing healthier foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats). A smaller number are eating more nutrients (fiber, protein, vitamins), taking vitamins/supplements, eating less junk food, planning meals ahead to avoid bingeing on snack foods, reading labels more closely, eating fewer calories, limiting how much they eat at one time and limiting foods high in less healthy nutrients (sodium, fats, sugars, caffeine). Words most often associated with beef by millennials are great taste, good for any day of the week, classic, reliable and muscle builder. It is less often considered bold, special, smart, healthy, expensive, contemporary, trendy or arrogant. The largest numbers of millennials say the right amount of red meat for adults and kids 12 and under is 1-2 times a week. For teens they are more split between 1-2 times and 3-4 times. In menu planning for kids, the most important factors millennials consider are taste, nutrition, cost and amount of preparation time. In purchasing a steak, millennials first look that fat is trimmed from the outer edges. But they still want some marbling for flavor. Fewer look for steak that is all red, but enough to suggest the red may indicate freshness to them, not the least amount of fat. Few millennials consider themselves gourmet chefs. They are split between describing their cooking skills as very good and average. But a significant number are interested in learning to become better cooks. 7

10 Executive Summary While this is declining as an influence, millennials still typically learned about cooking from parents. The numbers learning from cooking shows and online sources, while increasing, is still very low. They primarily get cooking ideas from websites, friends and family, Pinterest and cookbooks. Millennials typically look for meal ideas that are easy to prepare, try to get more than one meal out of many things they cook and tend to plan menus ahead of time. When grocery shopping, millennials usually make shopping lists so they know what they will buy before they go to the store. They find it exciting to try new foods. While they look for the lowest priced items, they less often buy in bulk or say that what they cook depends on what's on sale (perhaps because they tend to eat the same kinds of foods). There are no significant trends that the majority of millennials agree upon when it comes to eating out. About four in ten say eating out is a social experience and they like to seek out new restaurants and cuisines. Concerning restaurants, they tend not to say that: they eat out to avoid cooking and cleaning, they like to share their restaurant experiences with others online or they would eat out less if they had more time to cook at home. When dining out, they mainly eat at casual restaurants and less frequently at fast food restaurants. They like eating at steakhouses but do not frequently go to sit down restaurants. Attitudinally, millennials tend to say they want to live their life to the fullest and have high expectations for themselves. Moderate numbers (around four in ten) say being physically fit is important to them and they think about a food's effect on their body. Moderate numbers also say they believe an adventurous life is important, they feel overwhelmed by financial burdens and their lifestyle is very busy. Similar numbers of millennials consider themselves "foodies," think they have more self-confidence than most people or plan their social life around food. Few millennials say they would buy beef more if they better knew how to cook it, don t feel confident cooking beef, eat beef mainly for special occasions, eat beef mainly at restaurants and have kids who don't like beef. About half of millennials are food and health involved and just over a fifth are food and health involved influencers. 8

11 Executive Summary Ways Millennials Are Similar to Non-Millennials Millennials and non-millennials eat beef at similar frequencies (typically twice a week with about a third saying more often and nearly a third saying less). Millennials and non-millennials: o o o Cook beef at home at similar frequencies. Order beef dishes just as frequently when dining at restaurants. When carrying out, both tend to order chicken more than beef. Millennials (mean=4.75) and non-millennials (mean=4.83) cook dinner at home about the same number of days a week and bring in carry out about once or twice a week. The same five factors are most important to millennials and non-millennials in what they serve for dinner: taste, value, something they feel confident preparing at home, is a food they feel good about and ideal balance of taste and nutrition. In menu planning for children, both millennials and non-millennials say three factors are most important: taste, nutrition and cost. Millennials and non-millennials have many similar attitudes about beef. Millennials and non-millennials say at similar levels that the positives of beef strongly outweigh the negatives. Millennials and non-millennials generally agree about what the positive attributes of beef are: great tasting, great source of protein, has quick and easy to prepare options, is a food they feel comfortable and confident preparing and provides energy and fuel for the body. They also agree on what attributes do not describe beef particularly well: is a good value, is a smart choice, has an excellent package of nutrients, is important in children s diets, fits well with a health conscious diet and comes from animals that are treated humanely. 9

12 Executive Summary They are both likely to say everyone in their household enjoys the taste of beef and they are willing to try new beef cuts and recipes. Words most often associated with beef by both millennials and non-millennials are great taste, good for any day of the week, classic, reliable and muscle builder. Millennials and non-millennials tend to say beef is a good source of protein and iron. It is less often believed of be a source of B vitamins and zinc. When selecting a steak, both millennials and non-millennials look first for fat trimmed from the outer edges. Millennials and non-millennials have similar concerns about the safety of beef. Modest numbers (from a quarter to a third) are concerned about how cattle are raised, about the amount of fat in beef and about eating beef too frequently for health reasons. Fewer (around one in five) are concerned about cholesterol in beef or about the safety of eating beef. Similar numbers sometimes substitute chicken or turkey in a recipe for beef. 10

13 Executive Summary Ways Millennials Differ from Non-Millennials Slightly more millennials avoid beef than non-millennials. Although on average they cook dinner at home with the same frequency, millennials are more likely to cook at home three or fewer days a week and more likely to eat out two or more times than non-millennials. Millennials are more likely than non-millennials to be food and health involved and food and health involved influencers. Specifically, they are more likely to have cooked a meal on the barbecue in the last month, to have cooked a meal just for the fun of it and to exercise. Millennials are price sensitive when buying beef: they are more likely to say price and value are important when purchasing a cut of beef than non-millennials. Millennials are more likely to buy in bulk than non-millennials, although the number doing so is small. Millennials are less likely to purchase beef at a conventional supermarket than non-millennials and more likely to purchase at a mass merchandiser like Walmart or Target. However, both groups buy their beef most often at a conventional supermarket. Millennial purchases at mass merchandisers are a regional issue: high in the Southeast and Midwest but low in the Northeast and West. More frequent beef eaters are also slightly more likely to purchase at mass merchandisers. There are no differences in purchasing at mass merchandisers by millennial s age (younger millennial, older millennial) or FHI vs. non-fhi. While they mostly say the same factors influence what they serve for dinner, non-millennials more often say including a source of protein, serving lean cuts and choosing food coming from humanely raised animals are important than millennials. In addition to wanting to include a source of protein in their diet, non-millennials particularly recognize that beef is a good source of that protein. Non-millennials are also more likely to say beef has many lean cuts. While millennials and non-millennials use similar words to describe beef, non-millennials do describe beef more often with the words great taste, good for any day of the week, classic, reliable, special, healthy and expensive. In getting recipes and cooking ideas, millennials use various digital media more than non-millennials including websites, Pinterest, Facebook and blogs. But they also rely more on friends and family. 11

14 Executive Summary Millennials tend to think the right amount of beef for children and teens is slightly lower than non-millennials. Millennials are less likely to say they learned to cook from their parents, although this is still the biggest influence on them. While the number saying this is small, there are more millennials than non-millennials learning to cook from cooking shows. 12

15 Executive Summary FHI Profile FHI millennials are more likely than non-fhi to say the positives of beef strongly outweigh the negatives. Further, FHI millennials are much more likely to agree that beef has a wide range of positive attributes. Non-FHI millennials only tend to recognize that beef is great tasting, has easy to prepare options, is a great source of protein and is a food they feel confident preparing. In addition to these, FHI say beef provides energy, is a food they feel good about, has many lean cuts, has a good balance of taste and nutrition, has an excellent package of nutrients, is easy to know the cut to select for a recipe, is a good value and is a smart choice. FHI appear less price sensitive when purchasing beef, although price is an important factor in their decision. FHI millennials differ from non-fhi in many ways when it comes to meal planning and preparation. They are much more likely to say they are interested in becoming a better cook (even though they already are better cooks than non-fhi), try to get more than one meal out of what they cook, pay attention to the nutritional value of food, plan meals ahead and seek out advice about food. Like other segments, FHI look first for fat trimmed from edges when shopping for beef. While FHI millennials and non-fhi eat ground beef in recipes and burgers most often, FHI are more likely than non-fhi to eat steak, roasts and cubes/strips. They are also more willing to try new beef cuts and recipes. FHI millennials shop at the same types of food stores as non-fhi. However, when shopping, they are much more likely to find it exciting to try new foods, read nutrition labels, try to find the healthiest foods they can buy at the store and buy in bulk. Of course, deriving from how FHI are defined, they are more open than non-fhi to hearing about healthy eating, say they've improved how healthy they prepare foods, choose healthier foods than they used to, eat more nutrients than they used to, eat less junk food and are more likely to take vitamins and supplements. 13

16 Executive Summary About four in ten FHI millennials are concerned about how cattle are raised versus about a quarter of non-fhi. While only about a quarter of FHI millennials worry about the fat, cholesterol, health concerns or safety concerns of beef, this is about double the number of non-fhi millennials. Perhaps this is a reason FHI are more likely to sometimes substitute chicken or turkey in a recipe that calls for beef. FHI millennials are slightly less likely to eat at home, even though they consider themselves better cooks than non-fhi, and somewhat more likely to eat out or bring in prepared foods. When eating out, they are much more likely to say it is a social experience, they like to seek out new restaurants and cuisines and they like to share their experiences online. Parents were the most influential source in how FHI millennials learned to cook, the same as for non-fhi. FHI millennials rank many more factors as important in what they serve at home. Ten factors are rated very important by 60 percent or more (taste, value, a food they feel comfortable preparing, a food they feel good about, has a balance of taste and nutrition, great source of protein, smart choice, food that provides energy, excellent package of nutrients, has easy to prepare options). Non-FHI decisions are all about taste and value for the money: they are the only factors rated very important by 60 percent or more. Taste, cost and preparation time are important to FHI millennials and non-fhi when deciding what to serve children. But FHI also site nutrition and where the food comes from as being very important. FHI millennials primarily get cooking ideas from websites, friends and family, cookbooks, Pinterest and TV cooking shows. These are the same top factors for non-fhi. FHI millennials are very different than non-fhi in views on a large number of lifestyle attributes including wanting to live every day to the fullest, having high expectations for themselves, saying being physically fit is important and thinking about food's effect on their body. 14

17 Executive Summary Segmentation The segmentation analysis identified four types of millennials: o o o o Health and Nutrition Avoiders (18% of millennials) - This segment has little desire to improve their health and nutrition habits. They are the least likely to be FHI or FHII. This segment is skeptical of beef s nutritional value, though they like the taste of beef. This skepticism may be driven by a lack of knowledge as they are the most likely to indicate they don t know if beef is a good source of certain nutrients. Additionally, this group has the lowest socio-economic status and is most likely to have children. Apathetic Millennials (22% of millennials) - Apathetic Millennials have the most negative image of beef and eat beef the least of any segment. They are the least engaged with meal planning, food shopping, health and nutrition and life in general. Casually Food and Health Engaged (43% of millennials) - This group represents most millennials. They have generally positive perceptions of beef, eat a moderate amount of beef and are moderately food and health engaged. Foodies (17% of millennials) - Foodies eat the most beef and have the most positive views of beef. They are almost all FHI and largely FHII. Food plays a very important part in their lives as they plan their social life around food, share dining experiences online and consider themselves excellent cooks. 15

18 Methodology 16

19 Detailed Quantitative Methodology Shugoll Research conducted a 15-minute online survey among 1,250 beef eating consumers. The study was conducted January 6-9, Interviews were conducted among the following age groups: 20 to 33 years old n= to 48 year olds n= to 67 year olds n=125 This group is referred to as millennials throughout the quantitative section of this report This group is referred to as nonmillennials throughout the quantitative section of this report Subgroup Analysis Results for millennials are compared to those for non-millennials and results for food and health involved millennials are compared to nonfood and health involved millennials throughout this report. Also, the data are examined for younger millennials (20-24) vs. older millennials (25-33). 17

20 Detailed Quantitative Methodology (Cont'd) Respondent Specifications: Must eat beef at least once a month Cannot feel that the negatives of beef strongly outweigh the positives Must be the primary food shopper or share the responsibility equally with another HH member Respondents or members of their HH cannot be a vegetarian, or not be a meat eater because of religious or personal reasons Cannot strongly avoid eating beef Must be the primary meal preparer or share the responsibility equally with another HH member Respondents or members of their HH cannot be diagnosed by a physician as having heart disease Must be between the ages of 20 and 67 Seventeen percent of millennials and 12 percent of non-millennials were screened out of the study for not eating beef or having strong negative views of beef. A detailed profile of study respondents is shown in Appendix A. 18

21 Segmentation Methodology The research included an analysis to segment the millennial audience and identify the most promising target segments for beef in terms of their attitudes/values/lifestyles/ motivations. A number of questions were included in the survey for this purpose: Q10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16. These questions cover a wide range attributes on cooking behavior, grocery shopping behavior, health and nutrition, eating out behavior, lifestyle/personality/values and perceptions of beef. Latent Class Analysis was used to segment survey respondents based on these questions. See Appendix C for a detailed description of the segmentation methodology. 19

22 Quantitative Research Objectives Understand Millennials Beef Consumption Explore Millennials Dining Habits Assess Millennials Image Of Beef Identify What Millennials Look For In Beef At Point Of Sale Understand Millennials Health And Lifestyle Characteristics Profile Millennial Segments 20