College Student’s Snack Choice Reveals 2020 Sustainable Snack Trend

Dailycsr.com – 08 January 2020 – Snacking is a common trend amid college students whether it is “Midnight Munchies or Grab & Go between classes”. Sodexo serves over “12 million meals” to “students and staff” on a monthly basis across seven hundred North American universities and colleges, whereby the company informs the “socially-minded lives” of the young consumers which is reflected in their demands for snacks.
 
Sodexo terms it as the driving factor for the “newest snack products” in 2020. In the words of the director of “Retail for North America” at Sodexo, Nadia Jackson:
“Snack trends premiering in 2020 focus on meeting the needs of college students, who want food that is diverse, ethically sourced and, of course, convenient to their busy schedule”.
 
Here are some the trends in college students’ snacking as categorised by Sodexo:

 
 
One of the important factors for the young to choose snacking is its convenience. As per a survey, 81% of Gen Z customers revealed that they wanted healthy and convenient snacks which they could grab on the go at any time of the night or day. Sodexo thus informs that new technology could be introduced in 2020 for delivering snacks at a pace “faster than ever before”. This attempt will involve “more automation” for faster fresh food production besides “sophisticated apps” whereby eliminating the need to wait in the line for placing an order.
 
Today, kids grow up with “sophisticated palate” tasting “ethnically diverse” dishes which means in the days to come students will want “foods from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe all in one place”. Therefore, international “snack trends” in 2020 will feature “roasted seaweed sheets from Korea, rice and soy sauce crackers from Japan, goat milk whey cheese from Norway, gluten-free baked cheese balls from Brazil and dried beef sticks from South Africa”.
 
Furthermore, the survey also revealed that 67% of the younger customers preferred paying for snacks with “an ethical pedigree”. The story behind a product is equally important to these customers; as a result they ask for more information for example if the yogurt was sourced from a dairy wherein the cows are treated well, whether the farm ingredients form part of “sustainable practices” or the manufacturing units embrace the “workers’ rights”, all these questions are asked before they narrow down on the products they wish to purchase.
 
Moreover, Sodexo also sees a “clear trend” in the youngsters for “protein alternatives in snacks”. At present, the choice of plant-based snacks options have gone beyond “soy and nut proteins to pea, mung bean, watermelon seed and hempseed flours”. The expansion of plant protein continues adding “an ever-more diverse and delicious array of products”.
 
In fact, Sodexo also adds in its press release:
“Sustainable packing is an important part of reducing waste and tomorrow’s students want their to-go items in sustainable packaging. Compostable craft paper is replacing commonly used packaging such as Styrofoam and plastic.  The ultimate goal is to eliminate the use of plastic packaging and use less disposable packing altogether”.
 
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com