Generation Z snubbing booze for juice and think drinks with food is 'retro'

15 October 2023 , 23:01

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Generation Z snubbing booze for juice and think drinks with food is 'retro'

Having alcohol with food, eating three meals a day and cooking to a recipe are all dwindling in popularity.

A survey reveals Generation Z – now aged 16 to 26 – often choose fruit juice and bubble tea over booze, prefer to eat when hungry instead of at set times and cook using instinct, not instructions. The research showed 35% of Zoomers think drinking wine or beer with meals is a “retro” thing to do.

Of those polled, 32% drank fruit juice at least once a week, with 16% drinking Taiwanese bubble tea, a cold drink that has become popular in recent years. Just 14% said they drank beer, wine or spirits weekly. The research also revealed 54% of Zoomers do not eat at set times.

Four in 10 follow recipes only loosely and 21% do not use cooking directions at all. The poll for food magazine Olive as it turns 20 also found that 61% of Gen Xs make certain meals because they will look good in online posts, and 52% order restaurant items for the same reason.

However, not all older people’s meal habits are unloved by Zoomers. Out of those polled, 44% said they appreciated how their parents and grandparents sat down to eat as a family, while 39% enjoyed cooking from scratch.

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Christine Hayes, of Olive publishers Immediate Media, said: “Every generation approaches food in a new way. It’s fascinating to see how Gen Z has embraced the idea that food should be enticing to look at. The results reveal a picture of a generation who think and care deeply about food and drink – and that is reason enough to celebrate.”

Natasha Wynarczyk