Drinks firms ignore sober Millennials at their peril

Moreover, the 18-34-year-olds who do drink pose a challenge to alcohol marketeers due to their openness to a wide range of beverage choices, a Nielsen study found.

Those Millennials who do drink rate beer as their favourite tipple, with 26% having consumed it in the past month—slightly less than the 34% of Gen X-ers and 33% of Boomers. 

Compared to all other consumers of a legal drinking age, Millennials are: 

• 33% more likely to have consumed cider—16% said they had in the past month.

• 55% more likely to have consumed vodka. One in 10 have done so recently.

• 18% more likely to have consumed premixed drinks—half of whom have done so in the past four weeks.

Alcohol-consuming-Millennials are more likely to see themselves as trendsetters among their friends, and are willing to pay a premium for products that are consistent with the image they want to portray.

They look for value, however, and also rate health factors like low-carb, low-calorie, vitamin-fortified and organic as important. 

As nearly two thirds of Millennial drinkers are willing to reject brands, products or services based on concerns about their impact on the environment, marketeers targeting this market need to consider more than product.

Millennials are out and about more than their elders, with 52% visiting a bar or pub in any given week. 

While they may drink less overall, they are still an important group, according to Nielsen: in the past month, Millennials who bought alcohol on premises were more likely to have spent more than both Gen X-ers and Boomers. 

More from Down Under…​

Maggie Beer facing losses in the millions​

Aussie kitchen icon Maggie Beer might have cashed out at the right time. A year after Primary Option acquired almost half her business, the premium food company is facing an annual loss of up to A$2.6m (US$2m).​

Ahead of its annual results, Primary Option warned of lasses of up to A$600,000 on top of an impairment of up to A$2m.

The 48% shareholder will also be forced to write down the value of its investment in Maggie Beer, from A$15m to A$5m-6m. 

“We remain confident in the outlook for Maggie Beer and know that this has been a year of significant change for the business​,” chairman Tony Robinson said. 

“We have now appointed a capable managing director to grow the activities of Primary Opinion and work with the [Maggie Beer] team. We are confident that we are now consequently well placed to create significant shareholder value going forward​.” 

Having recently arrived from infant formula manufacturer Bellamy’s, new MD Laura McBain will have her work cut out. 

“I am looking forward to working with the Maggie Beer team to explore its opportunities for growth, and working to build other opportunities for Primary Opinion​,” she said. 

Remote Australians way off meeting veggie requirements​

Vegetable consumption among children in remote Western Australian communities has been found to be critically low.​

A paltry 13.4% of mostly aboriginal kids aged 9-13 get sufficient vegetables in their daily diets, an Edith Cowan University-led study has found.

While many might point to picky eating and a lack of cooking skills, only 11.8% of their guardians indicated that their children didn’t like the taste of vegetables. 

A majority also reported knowing how to incorporate vegetables into meals, the study, which was published​ in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, revealed. 

Nutrition lecturer and lead author Stephanie Godrich said other factors are at play. 

“Over half of the respondents indicated they would eat healthier food if their food outlets stocked healthier options​,” Dr Godrich said. 

More positively, researchers found healthy eating messaging had a positive effect on habits. The ability of guardians to recall messages relating to vegetables was linked to adequate vegetable intake among their children. 

They recommended implementing a promotional campaign to focus on vegetable consumption. Future messaging might remind families they have options beyond the fresh produce section. 

“Frozen and no added salt tinned offerings provide more opportunities for children to consume adequate quantities of vegetables, at a more affordable cost and with fewer quality issues than fresh vegetables​” Dr Godrich said. 

“These are convenient, and they are usually more readily available when their fresh counterparts are out of season​.”

Yet she stressed the need for regional and remote food supplies to be improved, saying: “Town planning that facilitates multiple options for families to purchase vegetables and greater support for regional-level food supply could be useful strategies​.”