Knowing that attitudes about food quality and the importance of food origin have evolved with time, MindSwarms wanted to explore the topic with the newest generation of grocery purchasers: the Millennials. This latest study revealed that Millennials consider themselves to be much more conscientious food purchasers than their parents’ generation.

1. The Power of Local Food
!
How Millennial attitudes on food origin
impact buying behaviors
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Q1 2014

2. Purpose
MindSwarms wanted to discover how often Millennials
consider food origin when shopping and how it might
affect their purchasing behaviors

3. Research Objective
•
Understand the role food origin plays in Millennials’ attitudes
about food quality
•
Uncover how Millennials feel their attitudes and behaviors about
food differ from their parents’

4. Target Audience
• National US sample
• 14 states/22 cities
• Ages 18 - 32
• Involved in food purchasing decisions
• Even male/female ratio
• Mix of ethnicities and socio-economic
backgrounds

5. MindSwarms Insights

6. Millennials feel that their “buy local”
behaviors have many important
implications
1. Origin not only impacts the freshness/
quality of the food, but also the “health” of it
2. Local food purchases can impact local
economy
3. Buying local will ultimately help the
environment

7. The majority of Millennials are proud to say
they have a very different set of food
purchasing priorities versus their parents
My Purchasing Priorities
My Parents’ Purchasing Priorities
•
Acquire what is “on the list” with
food origin as low priority
•
Acquire local produce and meats
that are “good for my body”
•
Traditional grocery store chains are
of a “good enough” standard
•
•
Keep food expenditures low; get
the “biggest bang for the buck”
The majority of grocery stores =
inferior standards versus farmer’s
markets, Whole Foods, and Trader
Joe’s
•
Purchase from wherever is the
most convenient
•
Support the local farmers and
economy through local purchases
•
Purchase locally for the most
minimal impact on the environment

8. Millennials feel “buy local” behaviors
have many important implications
“I try to buy from roadside fruit stands
and vegetables stands or organic
markets. My parents don’t share the
same values. They buy whatever is the
most convenient when they want it and I
personally don’t feel that’s the best way
to go about it.”
- Jessica, 29, FL

9. Millennials feel “buy local” behaviors
have many important implications
“I’m definitely different from my parents.
My parents go by cost. That’s their
primary concern. They just go by what is
cheapest. My veggies come from
farmer’s markets and my meats come
from Sprouts, Whole Foods and Trader
Joe’s. I always do the research to check
where they are from and to make sure
they are healthy for my body.”
- Amanda, 28, CA

10. Millennials feel “buy local” behaviors
have many important implications
“The way I eat is very different [from my
parents]. I grew up in rural Indiana and
ate a lot of Baby Boomer factory food. A
lot of processed food. A lot of the food
that we bought at the grocery store was
this type of factory processed food.”
- Shawna, 29, IL

11. Local is important to their health,
but the definition of “local” and its
specific impact on health varies
• For some Millennials, “local” means local farmers/farm
stands, but for others it is defined as U.S. versus foreign
production
• A subset of Millennials felt it is very important to
purchase food from areas that “specialize” in producing
that food, even if that is outside of their region

12. Local is important to their health,
but the definition of “local” and its
specific impact on health varies
“I like buying food that is as local as
possible. If I have the option, I would
rather buy fruit from Florida than, say,
Mexico or somewhere else. I feel like the
closer you are to your home, the fresher
it's going to be, the less preservatives
needed to keep the food fresh and ready
to eat.”
- Mari, 24, TN

13. Local is important to their health,
but the definition of “local” and its
specific impact on health varies
“I don’t like buying stuff that is from too
far away or from somewhere that
doesn’t specialize in what they’re
making.”
- Krista, 28, MA

14. Local is important to their health,
but the definition of “local” and its
specific impact on health varies
“I’m not necessarily a health guru. I eat
junk food mainly, but origins do impact
my behavior. I don’t eat food coming
from overseas because it’s been linked
with disease.”
- Douglas, 20, NC

15. Millennials feel good that their
individual purchases help their local
economy but recognize there is a cost
• Some Millennials see “big food brands” and ”big
box” retailers as the enemy of “the local”
• Millennials recognize that buying local comes at a
premium, but are willing to pay it, up to a point
• Even those in higher household income brackets
displayed price sensitivity

16. Millennials feel good that their
individual purchases help their local
economy but recognize there is a cost
“I try to always support the local
community to help them rise up. My
parents try to, too, but they will
honestly eat anything!”
- Kayla, 25, OR

17. Millennials feel good that their
individual purchases help their local
economy but recognize there is a cost
“If I see something is local, I find that
to be a good thing, but I would not
pay more money for that to be the
case.”
- Evan, 25, NY

18. Millennials feel good that their
individual purchases help their local
economy but recognize there is a cost
“I generally, wouldn't buy something
that's overpriced at a farmer’s
market, either. But, if it costs not too
much more then I wouldn't mind
spending a little extra money on it.”
- Simon, 25, CA

19. Buying local allows Millennials to feel
they are helping the environment
• Millennials express they are more concerned
about their “eco-footprint” than their parents
• Emphasize that eating local food helps the
environment; it requires less energy to produce
and is usually sustainably grown

20. Buying local allows Millennials to feel
they are helping the environment
“The origins of food have a very large
impact on my purchasing decisions.
I am very focused on trying to keep a
small ecological footprint.”
- Daniel, 23, MT

21. Buying local allows Millennials to feel
they are helping the environment
“I like to go to local producers, farmers
markets for my fruit and I wouldn't mind
getting organic meats as well like
chicken and beef. I feel like it will help
the environment. There's a lot of
damaging aspects to the big corporate
game when you consider what's
happening to our environment, like mass
production of methane and too much
corn being produced.”
- Simon, 25, CA

22. Although “local” is often defined
differently among Millennials, it
impacts their buying behavior

23. Local purchases enable Millennials
to feel they are having a positive
impact on their health, their local
economy, and the environment

24. “Buying local” enables Millennials to
feel a strong positive impact on
health, local economy, and environment
“I believe that purchasing items that are
more local from Whole Foods and
Trader Joe’s are a bit healthier because
I know where [the food] traces back to
and I also know that there aren’t going
to be any kind of by-products or
chemicals that I wouldn’t want to have
as my daily intake.”
- Ashley, 25, GA

25. “Buying local” enables Millennials to
feel a strong positive impact on
health, local economy, and environment
“I like to support the local farmers in
the area…I feel like the farmers have
a higher standard than the stores do
because the grocery stores
sometimes put out food that is not
acceptable.”
- Heather, 28, NY

26. “Buying local” enables Millennials to
feel a strong positive impact on
health, local economy, and environment
“I think it’s important that we know
where our food comes from. So
much of the food that we buy in the
grocery stores, we have no idea
where it was manufactured,
processed or anything.”
- Zachary, 24, CA

27. Conclusions & Implications
Millennials feel they are carving out their own approach to
selecting and purchasing foods in a very different manner
than their parents’ generation
Although the definition of “local foods” is not consistent
across the segment, Millennials feel their consistent “buying
local” behaviors have far-reaching impacts
These impacts go beyond just their individual health;
Millennials feel their purchases ultimately affect their local
economies and the environment
Their comments reveal an anti-big-brand/anti-big-box
sentiment of which traditional retailers should be keenly
aware

28. Conclusions & Implications
While Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s were often mentioned as
preferred, trusted sources, Walmart’s 2013 advertised local
farmers program had no traction with the Millennials included
in this study
Traditional food retailers have the opportunity to improve on
the implementation and execution of local sourcing for a
more relevant relationship with Millennials
Given Millennials’ economic realities, retailers must be aware
of price sensitivities when it comes to the premium pricing of
locally sourced foods

29. About MindSwarms
MindSwarms gathers video feedback from consumers via
smartphone/tablet (and webcam) all over the world. Fast.
Consumers are screened first, then qualified respondents are
invited to record their responses (asynchronously).
Consumers are paid for participating.
Responses to the study questions are viewable and shareable
online, and can be downloaded in Quicktime format for
inclusion in presentations or to create curated videos.
Learn more at MindSwarms.com or blog.mindswarms.com.

30. About MindSwarms
Click here to watch
“The Power of Local Food” video.

31. Thank You

32. Photo Attribution
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Healthy Red Tomatoes are Wet and Organic by epSos .de
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Tasty Food Abundance in Healthy Europe by epSos .de
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Millennials Jam Workshop: Youth and ICTs beyond 2015 by itupictures
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo FOOD by Wolfgang Wildner by Wolfgang Wildner
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Food by NatalieMaynor
CC-licensed Flickr Photo Fall Line Farms; cooperative, co-op; Richmond, VA. by USDAgov
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo farmer’s market by ** RCB **
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Dining on Marietta Square by City of Marietta, GA
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Boston Local Food Festival by cherrylet
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Boy "Axel" and Girl "Tyra" Exhibit by mikebaird
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Green World by kudumomo
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo Produce by hyku
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CC-licensed Flickr Photo It's about time to help others... by theleticiabertin
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