Gen Zers want food and restaurant brands to be on social media, especially if they have interesting celebrity partnerships or entertaining, absurd content. When it comes to snacking, they crave variety. And despite being a tech-savvy generation, they still like to grocery shop in person.

These are among the insights shared with Ad Age by three Gen Z marketers during a recent roundtable in which they discussed all things food, from snacking habits to the fast food they crave late at night.

We heard from Jack Hailey, social media manager for Chili’s Grill & Bar; Zach Poczekaj, senior social media manager at Dentsu Creative who works on Nutter Butter; and Jess Xu, associate strategy director at Edelman and an ambassador for Edelman’s Gen Z lab.

Below are five takeaways from our conversation focused on Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012).

Snack variety and collaborations

When it comes to snacking, variety rules. “Snacking for me is really like anything that makes me feel good in the moment and it’s just so random based off of what I’m craving at that specific time of the day,” said Xu. She said she might crave a cookie from a specific bakery or make do with what’s in her fridge.

“I love a bag of Chex Mix,” said Poczekaj. “Or even Sour Patch Kids. Even if I don’t love the green all the time I still like the variety.”

Hailey also said he likes variety and is a fan of 100-calorie snack packs.

All three agreed that they like to see collaborations in the snacking space.

“The more unexpected, the more absurd or bizarre, the better,” said Xu. She is a fan of food and beauty crossovers and recalled high-end grocery story Erewhon making a sunscreen-flavored smoothie with Vacation Sunscreen.

“I think it makes more of an impression on me if I haven’t seen the brand or snack in a while,” said Hailey. “You just have to get creative in how you do it and have that insight to understand if your audience will like it before you start.”

The brands they are eating

All three panelists said that they are fast food fans and are especially fond of Taco Bell for a late-night meal. Poczekaj enjoys his Taco Bell while watching “The Real Housewives.”

Hailey noted that fast food has gotten more expensive.

“I grew up with the dollar menu, which I think we’ve seen slowly trickle away,” he said. “The rising cost is concerning a bit because the quality is a bit less than what you would get at a sit-down restaurant.”

And while Gen Z appreciates brands’ social media efforts, they don’t always sway their eating decisions.

“I do appreciate when restaurants or brands are entertaining on my feed,” Poczekaj said. “I know these restaurants aren’t my friends, but if they’re going to care about the same things that I do, if they tap into the same fandoms that I’m a part of, I might show up and love them even more for it.”

The power of social media

Taco Bell, Dunkin’ and Dr Pepper are among the brands that stand out on social media, the panelists said.

“Taco Bell does these real-life experiences to generate cultural currency that then gains more momentum back online,” Xu said, pointing to Taco Bell’s partnership with Doja Cat to bring back the Mexican pizza menu item.

Hailey praised Dunkin’s organic content for looking effortless. “They always have a brand truth or audience insight that they work into a scrappy meme but it comes together so beautifully.”

Poczekaj called out KFC Portugal’s TikTok account for its “fun, surreal content” and Dr Pepper’s Instagram for its excellent use of memes.

“It does kind of feel like a meme you could see on your own personal explore page or like you would share with your friends,” he said.

Xu said she uses social media as a search tool for local restaurants and recipes.

Authentic merch resonates

Merch such as hoodies, hats and cups has become a fairly regular part of new campaigns for brands. Panelists said that items that are particular to the brands are more interesting.

“The ones that come from fan insights are so clever,” said Poczekaj. “I think of how Chipotle leaned into the fact that people steal their napkins and so they made a napkin holder for your car.”

Hailey pointed to a Halloween costume Chili’s made—a two-person fried mozzarella costume that pulls apart, a nod to the viral TikToks of people doing cheese pulls with Chili’s triple dippers.

Gen Z still likes in-person grocery shopping, but only once a week

For being a social media-heavy generation, Gen Zers still like a trip to the grocery store, rather than ordering groceries via apps. 

“I still do love to strut down a grocery store aisle,” said Poczekaj. “I think that it’s very fun. Sometimes you just want to pick up the necessities but sometimes you really want to go all out on a charcuterie board.”

But Xu and Hailey also noted that they do one trip for the week, and if it doesn’t happen, they opt for ordering takeout.

“I’ve tried to get into this habit of making Sunday nights my grocery shopping nights because otherwise I literally won’t have any time to go during the week or I won’t prioritize it in my week,” Xu said. She added that she turns to Uber Eats for delivery when she doesn’t make it to the grocery store.

Hailey agreed. “I only go once for necessities I can make during the week, but I’m not going back for anything else,” he said.

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