• by Steve Ellwanger , December 1, 2022

Although they can be as much as three decades apart in age, Millennial and Gen Z consumers have plenty in common when it comes to snacking.

According to a survey of 696 respondents across both age cohorts by online research platform Knit, they spend slightly more each week on snacks—$107.50—than they do on breakfast ($102.10).

Chalk it up to frequency, as just over 50% of millennials (born 1981-96) and Gen-Zers (1997-2012) snack two to three times daily.

Other commonalities include flavor preferences, with roughly 75% of both groups favoring sweet and salty snacks, with sour edibles at the bottom end of the spectrum.

“Gen Zers have a slightly larger lean towards sweets, whereas millennials flipped their preference towards salty snacks,” Knit CEO Aneesh Dhawan tells Marketing Daily.

Nonetheless, chips, cookies and chocolate are the top three snack choices across the board.

The bottom three, in descending order: jerky, snack mixes and hard candy.

The top method for both groups to discover new snack items is seeing them in-store.

But ecommerce also plays a big role.

“Both Gen Z and Millennials place major online retailers like Amazon and Walmart as a go-to source for snack discovery—at 75% and 53.8%, respectively,” adds Dhawan.

Ingredients have the most impact on both Gen Z and Millennials’ snacking decisions—with 83.5% and 84.6% attributing them some or significant influence.

“This selection outranks both the amount of calories and the macronutrient breakdown of snacks for each generation,” says Dhawan.

Differences in generational choices emerge regarding in-store selection of new snack choices.

Gen Z is more likely to choose a cheaper option, with 42.9% of the generation strongly agreeing compared to just 22.2% of Millennials.

Moreover, Gen Z is more likely to be strongly influenced by sustainable packaging—at 38.1% compared to 23.2%.