By Deepika Sethi
The market for vegan products around the world is being driven by a rising inclination towards a healthy lifestyle. The millennials are on the prowl, for hunting down the best on offer. They are the clean brigade with a vengeance. They are more likely to integrate vegetarian options into their diets without making a decision to go fully vegan or even vegetarian. They see vegan options as just another choice on the menu. Every generation is better (read) than the last. Today’s resourceful and informed consumers increasingly scrutinize the brands they patronize. They dig deeper to find answers to every iota of doubt they have. It may begin with a Google search, but it often lands up on a website of a flour brand or a restaurant that rides the farm-to-fork wave. Farm-to-fork dining is a new concept.
The restaurants are riding this wave and have upped this experience in India by using ingredients that are plucked fresh from the farm. Millennials feel a sense of responsibility and trepidation for our planet that compel them to research and select brands that honor humanity and the environment. Brands that make this information easily accessible will be rewarded. For instance, they know a lot about the coffee estate from which their coffee was freshly ground at their favorite café, and they make changes in their home kitchen to break consumption patterns of unhealthy sugar, oil and butter. Even on a busy schedule, they are absolutely okay to order in, but they will scout for the clean food makers, and their order depends on it. They have the tech, but now they are using it like never before.
They are the superficial generation that wants to show off their lifestyle on social media, and they have no qualms about it. It is a big way in which the forest fire of healthy eating has spread, and rightfully so. Their plates should have taste, style, and a pop of colors that makes it the delectable Instagram post. There have been cases where chefs and influencers put up posts of food they are eating, or cooking and customers follow the lead and try it at home or make it to their restaurants to try it.
FMCG product makers are also going back to the lab tests and ensuring they are printing facts (not fictional of tall claims). The millennials are on the prowl, for hunting down the best on offer. They are the clean brigade with a vengeance. It is a great time for chefs to ride this wave, too. Sometimes, knowing what the customer wants is half the job done. The only remaining job is to bloody well deliver. The motto of this generation is ‘You are what you eat.’ They have picked up clean habits from their family and also the red flags on controlling their junk intake. They are the indulgent lot that will make amends through work-outs and mindful choices. They are looking for a reliable story that they can bank on, and this new generation is loyal too.
If your avocado shake is made from the freshest produce and is packed with antioxidants and nutrients, they will adopt it into their lifestyle. They will go the extra mile and pay the extra buck to ensure every bite is accounted for. Be it food in a bowl, exploring veganism and tracing organic labels on food items, they are going backwards into original flours and being the change that revives the millets. Preservation is literally passé. If you’re storing it, it is not going on their table. The new-age aggrotech entrepreneurs are making these demands possible. They are narrating environment-friendly stories of sustainability, ethical sourcing and fair trade (which is a noteworthy addition). There is a shift happening for sure. The millennial eaters want to be wooed, not by discounts and happy hours, but food and drinks that genuinely uplift their energy levels. It is the beautiful gut feeling they are after. They care more about where their food is coming from, and that’s a good thing on so many levels.
