Millennials are undeniably changing their eating habits, and the market is rapidly evolving to keep up with 75 million of these millennials. Not only are the types of foods changing, but the way in which people shop for food is evolving. What does this mean for women, who were once (and may still be!) viewed as the gardeners, personal chefs, meal preparers of households?
According to a recent report by the US Department of Agriculture, millennial households are buying more unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables rather than buying processed foods like pasta and potato chips. In essence, younger generations prefer foods which are quick and easy to consume, but also fresh and organic.
To millennials, health must be joined by convenience. In fact, 55% of millennials say that convenience is one of the most critical factors when they are shopping or deciding what foods to buy and prepare. Thus, in order to accommodate such a demand, meal-kit delivery systems and business are rising in popularity. Millennials’ dynamically changing food preferences have opened the market up to companies like Blue Apron and HelloFresh and grocery delivery services like Amazon Fresh and Instacart. Overall, millennials spend more money than any other generation on ready-to-eat foods with just one caveat: these foods are organic, healthy, and revitalizing.
Let’s face it: people are busy. From taking work-related calls at 7 A.M to dragging business conversations to the dinner table, the once fine line drawn between personal and professional life has begun to blur. With hectic lifestyles, people do not always have time to cook or even pick up something that satisfies our hunger. Ready-to-go packages sitting at the doorstep, boxes which have fresh ingredients and nutritious benefits are welcomed into households.
It isn’t just buying groceries and figuring out meals that have changed over the past few years. The physical act of feeding and nourishing your body has also changed in fundamental ways. For most of American history, dinner didn’t have a place in the home to become an event. “Rooms and tables had multiple uses, and families would eat in shifts,” says the dining historians Mackensie Griffin.
Now, women—the people traditionally forced into meal management and preparation—have been given the opportunity to enter the workforce with more time being spent away from the kitchen and fewer expectations that the mother is responsible for cooking.
Meal-kit delivery systems or other food delivery services have made it easier for any member of the family to whip up a meal by following the simple instructions that a meal-kit often comes with. While this sort of food trend largely stems from a necessity to fit meals into a hectic schedule, millennial food trends have proved to be helpful in deconstructing gender stereotypes surrounding food.
In the span of a few short years, more than 100 companies have jumped into this meal-kit game. Millions of cardboard boxes loaded with rice wine vinegar, panko bread crumbs, and fresh herbs are delivered to rural doorsteps. Ingredients are packaged in exact proportions, ready to be chopped or sauteed according to illustrated recipe cards. Home cooking is changing—no longer are women seen as the designated grocery shopper and cook of the household. As it should’ve been decades ago, men, women, and children alike come together to cook meals.
