Thanks to social media and the internet, Gen Z fast food trends are breaking out around the globe like wildfire. Do you remember how dalgona coffee went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic? There’s also the more recent trending vegan McDonald’s orders on TikTok. That’s just a snapshot of social media food influence. Guess who’s behind most of these trends—Gen Z!
The influence of pop culture on fast food innovation is so significant that restaurants are tailoring menus to Gen Z eating habits. These individuals, born between 1997 and 2012, are generally health-conscious and frequently dine out. So, it follows that food chains are courting their patronage.
Let’s see what youth consumer behavior has been like in recent times, and how fast food chains have been adapting, or losing market share.
Who Is Gen Z and Why They Matter to Fast Food
In the past few years, millions of Gen Zs have joined the workforce and have launched out on their own. No more pining for weekly allowances from dad, or groundings for late nights out. Those still staying with their parents contribute something to household expenses. Along with their financial independence comes significant spending power and digital influence.
Unlike Boomers, who are usually cautious about digital services and online payments, Gen Z finds it easy to embrace such new systems. Consequently, Gen Zs warm up to the idea of frequently using delivery services. According to a 2018 Roy Morgan report, they are also the largest patrons of Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs).
For a generation of young adults, Gen Z restaurant trends can be sophisticated. The plant-based menu trends serve as a good illustration, as some health-conscious Gen Zs managed to pull it off. Once they catch on to a new ideology, the generation in question easily transforms it into a social movement.
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Key Trends Driving Menu Changes
One of the Gen Z fast food trends revolutionizing the food chain is their demand for culinary accountability. These young people are value-driven and choose fast food brands to patronize based on things like ethical sourcing of ingredients. Indeed, most modern fast food menus are trying to satisfy the needs of flexitarians. Flexitarians are people who actively avoid meat and use plant-based alternatives in meals.
Understanding this influence would make it easy to see why our regular chicken-and-chips fast food outlets would agree to offer healthy options on their menus.
Beyond the international exposure to foreign cultures that Gen Z enjoy on the internet, many of them are embracing the digital nomad life. They scrape together some money and vacation in other parts of the world while working remotely. These cultural adventures have piqued the interest of many young adults in fusion cuisines.
Fast food customization has also become a thing. Big Food is warming up to allowing customers to have more control over portion sizes, sauces and ingredients. So, it’s no longer business as usual in the food hospitality sector.
Tech and Transparency
In this new era, restaurants ignore social media food influence and digital integration at their peril. Imagine a restaurant with offerings that everyone agrees are superb, but lacking a digital order integration. Such a lapse will force tech-savvy potential patrons to seek out other digitally compliant vendors. This digitally driven youth consumer behavior is forcing many restaurants to set up digital apps or kiosks.
The selling point of some restaurants is making digital ordering and delivery as seamless and short as possible. To further align with Gen Z fast food trends, some restaurants use organic ingredients and source from local farmers. Some restaurants even operate a greenhouse to join the farm-to-table movement. Overall, young people easily warm up to modern fast food menus that are not just healthy, but also exude transparency and sustainability.
Case Studies: Fast Food Chains That Are Adapting
A couple of big names are already resonating with the Gen Z restaurant trends in unique ways. So, let’s see how Gen Z fast food trends may affect restaurants.
- Chipotle’s Digital-Only Menu Items
Chipotle took food customization to new heights in 2021 after launching in-app orders for quesadillas. The menu item had gone viral on TikTok, and the Mexican grill giant decided to exploit its popularity.
- McDonald’s Plant-Based McPlant Trials
Also in 2021, McDonald’s decided to mirror the health-conscious innovations of modern fast food menus. So, the fast food chain started a consumer trial of what they call McDonald’s McPlant. Data collected from the trial since then reveals that selling plant-based burgers under the Golden Arches did not catch on in the US. However, the menu item was successful in Europe.
- Wendy’s Testing New Flavor-Forward Breakfast Menus
In 2019, Wendy’s got adventurous and introduced breakfast menus. This was another example of a fast-food chain adapting to the needs and perceived agitation of its young customers.
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Challenges for the Industry
Anyone familiar with the operation of assembly lines knows that it is easy to cut down production time when design is consistent. The same applies to the kitchens of quick service restaurants. When food customizations are frequent, it becomes difficult for kitchen staff to keep up with orders. This is a bottleneck that most restaurants need to master while providing modern fast food menus.
There’s also the problem of identity. If a fast food restaurant gets swayed by all Gen Z fast food trends on the internet, it may lose its brand niche altogether. So, each food chain should carefully pick its battle for market share.
Finally, the young diners that restaurants are trying to make their loyal clientele are not robots. Brands should avoid trying too hard to win over customers, say, through “fake woke” campaigns. Gen Zs will see right through the smoke screen.
Away with the perception that Gen Z are killing the originality of fast food. No, they are only helping us go beyond the norm, to try out new culinary possibilities. Brands that monitor the heartbeat of Gen Z fast food trends will find it easy to adapt, innovate and thrive.
To win the loyalty of Gen Z, fast food needs to be fast, flavorful, and forward-thinking.
