COVID-19 leaves millennials concerned about food safety

Millennials – born between 1983 and 1996 – are concerned about how meat products are handled and packaged during the pre-purchase phase, according to a new poll that assessed the impacts of COVID-19 on consumer habits. What can poultry marketers do to reassure nervous shoppers?

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kadmy | bigstockphoto
kadmy | bigstockphoto

Millennials – born between 1983 and 1996 – are concerned about how meat products are handled and packaged during the pre-purchase phase, according to a new poll that assessed the impacts of COVID-19 on consumer habits. What can poultry marketers do to reassure nervous shoppers?

“As we continue through this pandemic, our industry needs to communicate more to consumers rather than less. Over communication will help position the industry as a trusted source of information and reassurance during this time when consumers really need it, and set the stage for better communication with consumers when we come out of the current situation,” explained Michael Uetz, Principal, Midan Marketing.

Millennials are reacting to the pandemic differently than other generations. Half of the millennials surveyed indicated they were more concerned about food safety because of COVID-19, compared to a third (35%) of the general population.

According to the poll, consumers worry about the ways the virus could be transmitted to meat products pre-purchase, especially given a growing number of processing plants that report COVID-19 infections in employees. Processors and retailers should use this as an opportunity to share what they are doing to help minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus while meat is packaged, transported and placed on shelves, the company said.

Other differences

During the pandemic, it’s clear that millennials think about meat purchases differently than other generations, the poll revealed. They were more likely to:

  • Purchase more meat overall (37% vs 20%)
  • Freeze meat more often (68% vs 48%)
  • Stock up on meat more (61% vs 32%)
  • Be concerned about limited meat sales in the future (84% vs 64%)

“Millennials are the largest living generation and most diverse. They are about to move into their prime spending years. They are the present and future meat buyer. This consumer segment engages with the meat department differently than older generations. They want transparency and during a time like we are currently experiencing, it is more critical than ever to communicate with them at the meat case,” Uetz added.

The poll surveyed 752 U.S. consumers on how they’ve adjusted their meat buying habits in response to COVID-19.

View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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