Generation ZA Guide To MarketingYour School Cafeteria To The Newest Generation

Part 1: Who Are Generation Z?

Part 2: Digital Natives

Part 3: Building Your Digital Community

Part 4: Millennial Parents

ContentContent

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Generation Z (commonly called Gen Z or the iGeneration) are the latest generation following Millennials. Generally, Gen Z’s are described as being born between the mid-1990s to present. In other words, Gen Z are the youngest generation that make up school-aged children.

What Defines Gen Z?

After age, what defines the iGeneration? Growing up in the wake of September 11th and the Great Recession, Gen Z have an entrepreneurial spirit and tend to be more independent than Millennials.

In Generation Z Goes to College, Corey Seemiller found that Gen Z desire practical learning in place of things they can easily find online, and prefer to work independently compared to group learning. For schools, this could mean rethinking how they structure their cafeteria. Due to their independent nature, Gen Z are more likely to reject a cafeteria with little to offer in terms of choice or customization.

Gen Z is the most diverse of any generation in the U.S.”“

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Part 1: Who AreGeneration Z?Part 1: Who AreGeneration Z?

The Choosy Generation

Being accustomed to choice and preferring independence, school cafeterias need to consider offering Gen Z more than just the predetermined lunch meal. Schools that offer students a choice – either through build-your-own salad bars or smoothie stations – see an increase in participation.

Healthy Is In

Along with choice, Gen Z – and Millennial parents – value health and nutrition. There’s a reason more and more restaurants are focusing on healthier food options. In this day and age, it’s almost a requirement for restaurants to share the calorie information of their foods. School cafeterias should think no differently.

With Gen Z students and Millennial parents both accustomed to instant knowledge via the Internet, school cafeterias should consider sharing their meals’ nutritional information or risk losing students to home-packed meals, or eating lunch off campus.

The Gen ZThe Gen ZCafeteriaCafeteriaStudents crave healthy choices

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Natives vs Immigrants

First coined by Marc Prensky in his book “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” in 2001, the name describes students who have grown up with digital technology since birth. These are kids who have never used a payphone or read a physical map. For them, pre-Internet might as well mean pre-electricity.

At the opposite end you have ‘Digital Immigrants’: older generations who have seen the rise of modern technology and adapted accordingly.

Plugged In From Birth

Prensky argues that Digital Natives have brains that are literally wired differently - a result of growing up with the Internet, tablets, cell phones, and computer games. How often do you hear how students have shortened attention spans or struggle at focusing on a single task?

Kids are normally distracted, but constant stimulation has made it almost impossible for Gen Z to sit and focus on a single task. Growing up with access to instant gratification has changed the way Generation Z interacts with the world.

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Part 2: Digital NativesPart 2: Digital Natives

The Language Barrier 33 common mistakes made by cafeterias

Not adopting new serving techniques or options

Communicating mostly through posters, flyers, or annoucements

Resisting social media as a way to reach out to students and parents

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The fatal mistake made by Digital Immigrants comes from their outdated approach to interacting and teaching Gen Z students. It’s almost as if Digital Natives speak a different language, creating a language barrier between their generation and older generations.

If Gen Z is constantly connected with technology, either through the Internet or their phones, then schools need to use these mediums to advertise their cafeteria services. Speak to Gen Z through their language - schools only have a few seconds to grab their students’ attention, so use images over words and digital communication over flyers or signs.

The Language Barrier

Speak Their Language

Make menus mobile-friendly

Share lunch photos on social media

Use eye-catching images over lengthy descriptions

Use technology to speak with Gen Z

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Start Tweeting, Pinning, & Sharing

Anyone working in a school knows students are constantly checking their phones. What are they checking, you ask? Surprise; surprise: it’s Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Rather than fight against the current, schools can capitalize on this medium as a way to communicate with students and parents.

Instagram or Facebook?

Serving a lunch with beautiful and fresh fruits and veggies? Share a photo on Instagram. Need to share locations for your Summer Food Service Program? Post location information on Facebook. Be it weekly menus or special lunch events, social media should be a go-to tool for schools to advertise their nutrition program.

Social media as a powerful yet free tool

Number of active users (in BILLIONS)

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Part 3: Building YourDigital CommunityPart 3: Building YourDigital Community

Go MobileGo MobilePut Your Cafeteria In The Palm Of Your Hand

Make It Easy

Let students easily access your cafeteria through their phones. Mobile menus, quick balance reminders, and nutritional information should only be an app away.

Mobile IDs Make It Simple

Mobile pay features, like student IDs on phones, make it that much more convenient for students to stay and eat in the cafeteria.

When students can check their balances on their phone or see what’s being served that day, it makes eating in the cafeteria the most convenient option.

Get Students Involved

Use technology, such as mobile apps or social media, to get students active in the cafeteria. Why not have students review meals or see the most popular food items? Companies like Yelp are incredibly popular because people like to review and see what others are saying about particular items.

For students, this means easily seeing what’s the most popular food item other kids are eating. Districts, however, get valuable insight into what meal items students are more likely choose - a great tool for curbing waste.

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Polls Encourage Engagement

Try online polls to gauge interest in upcoming meal items or even have students decide what should be served on special occasions, like Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Giving students more of a voice encourages more engagement, which in turn increases participation in your nutrition department.

The DigitalCafeteriaThe DigitalCafeteriaUse technology to make your cafeteria accessible

Schools must make their cafeterias – from menus to ingredients – easily accessible online.

So what options do schools have available?

Start with adopting cafeteria apps like SchoolCafé. Mobile tools like SchoolCafe bring the school cafeteria into the modern age by allowing you to post menus, display nutritional information, and let students share their meals online.

Gen Z students want to interact instead of passively receive. If students can “plug in” to their cafeteria, check out upcoming menus, and see how other students are rating certain menu items, schools can boost participation in their nutrition programs.

Keep in mind that Millennial parents demand more access and convenience than previous generations. They are more nutrition-focused than ever before and many have their kids on specific diets. Letting parents have a convenient app to check ingredient lists and allergens convinces them that the cafeteria is a great place for their children to eat. Start building your digital cafeteria.

Part 4: Millennial ParentsPlugged-in & health-conscious

Not Your Typical Parents

To no real surprise, Millennials differ drastically from Generation X or Baby Boomers when it comes to parenting.

For starters, Millennials place a greater value on their children’s nutrition than previous generations. The generation that has caused the rise of Chipotle and Panera Bread is applying this same love for freshness and nutrition to their children’s meals.

Health-Minded

A Barkley study, Millennials as New Parents, found 52% of millennial parents closely monitor their children’s diet. It’s not a large leap of faith to assume the generation that values locally farmed, organic, and healthy foods will want the same for their kids. If schools want to stay competitive and cater to more health-conscious parents, they need to focus more heavily on fresh menus.

Farm to School

A trend gaining popularity with cafeterias and students is farm to school programs. Using locally sourced produced, as opposed to national food manufacturers, farm to school stresses the importance of keeping food in the community. Millennials have shown they are willing to pay more and are loyal to brands that embrace this communal attitude.

Schools should use farm to school programs to not only support their local community, but to say to Millennial parents, “We understand and share your values for nutritious food.”

Births attributedto Millennials

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Part 4: Millennial Parents

The Digital ParentThe Digital Parent

Social Media Buffs

It’s no surprise Millennials are constantly connected to technology, and that doesn’t change once they become parents. According to that same Barkley study, 35% of parents posted on Facebook within the last day. More than ever, parents are going to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to share recipes, review foods, and investigate the foods and companies that feed their kids.

There’s An App For That

Parents expect easy access to information that affects their kids – especially if it involves their health. What does this mean for schools? Cafeterias, and the meals they serve, must be transparent and easily accessible. Menus, ingredients, and even calories should only be an app away. Why? Because practically every restaurant and fast food chain provides that same service. Why would health conscious parents choose their school cafeteria if they know more about the meals being served at the local Panera?

School nutrition departments must embrace apps like SchoolCafé that allow parents to see cafeteria menus, check allergens, and know the caloric information of specific items.

Millennial parents use technology to review food and stay connected

Popular Social Media Platforms For Millennials

1. Facebook 2. Twitter 3. Instagram

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AboutAboutStephen Vinson is a Content Specialist at PrimeroEdge. As part of his role in the marketing department, he researches and writes educational content related to K-12 school nutrition. Along with this eBook, Stephen has authored the 4 part blog series, The New Kids In Class, which looks at Generation Z in school nutrition.

Find out more at primeroedge.com.

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SourcesSources

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1. Dill, K. 7 Things Employers Should Know About The Gen Z Workforce (2015). Retrieved at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryndill/2015/11/06/7-things-employers-should-know-about-the-gen-z-workforce/#39e0d9e52188

2. Seemiller, C. Generation Z Goes to College (2015). Retrieved at http://genzgoestocol-lege.com/

3. Wethington, H, Maynard, L, Heidi B. Use of calorie information at fast food and chain restaurants among US youth aged 9-18 years (2010). Journal of Public Health. Retrieved at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23697388

4. Prensky, M. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (2001). Retrieved at http://www.marc-prensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

5. Ofcom. Adults media use and attitudes (2016). Retrieved at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/adults-literacy-2016/2016-Adults-media-use-and-attitudes.pdf

6. Smith, K. 96 Amazing Social Media Statistics and Facts for 2016 (2016). Retrieved at https://www.brandwatch.com/2016/03/96-amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts-for-2016/

7. Fromm, J. New Research: “The Millennial Generation Becomes Parents” (2013). Re-trieved at http://www.millennialmarketing.com/2013/07/new-research-the-millennial-gen-eration-becomes-parents/