Gen Alpha, or children younger than 16 years, may not pay for groceries yet, but they hold significant sway over what goes into the cart now, and their emerging preferences could lay the foundation for what they buy later – and ultimately the future of snacking, according to research from NielsenIQ.
“The things you grow up with have a huge impact on the things that you buy in the future,” said Chris Costagli, vice president of food insights at NIQ. For example, he explained, “I always have milk in the refrigerator. I don’t always drink milk … but whenever I go to the store, I buy milk every single time, because I grew up always having milk in the refrigerator.”
That means what Gen Alpha snacks on today – and why – could hold the key to which brands, products and marketing messages win in the future.
So, what is Gen Alpha eating?
According to NIQ, children’s snacks increasingly center on better nutrition, higher quality ingredients, functional benefits and information that goes beyond basic packaging.
Emerging preferences for better-for-you options come in part from caregivers steering children towards healthier versions of familiar snacks and teaching them how to make more nutritious choices, according to Costagli.
But, he adds, Gen Alpha also is driving the conversation with its own questions and concerns about ingredients, nutrition and health based on information from social media, AI and health trackers that let them connect the dots between what they eat, how they feel and their bodies’ performance.
Gen Alpha balance nutritious and delicious in their snack selection
Like Gen Z, the next generation is growing up on exponentially healthier snacks than those that Gen X and Baby Boomers consumed – but that doesn’t mean they are giving up on fun or flavor.
For this generation, small – and sometimes stealth – swaps in ingredients allow them to enjoy more nutritious options that still feel indulgent and playful, said Costagli.
“Around 16% of Gen Alpha parents say they are choosing snacks for their children that appear indulgent, but they are actually healthier. They have got better ingredients. They have higher nutrition,” he said.
“You’ve also got Gen Alpha parents who, depending on how you want to say it, are getting creative or being sneaky to get their children to eat healthier snacks,” such as hiding vegetables in otherwise sweet, fruity smoothies or frozen pops or buying “better versions” of candy bars with less sugar, more fiber or more protein, he explained.
“Parents also are picking healthy snacks that have really attractive packaging and colors that draw their kids’ attention, but actually have a pretty good ingredient profile,” he added.
Gen Alpha caregivers also are increasingly sophisticated in how they evaluate snacks. Rather than relying on front of pack claims or even the Nutrition Facts panel, Gen Alpha’s parents are two times more likely to use scanning apps when they buy snacks for their kids and they are leaning towards products with composite scores in those apps that are 70 or above, said Costagli.
“If you walk the snack aisle, the candy aisle, and you scan chips or confections, you are going to see a lot of numbers that are significantly lower than 70. So, these parents are actively seeking out better products and they are using this technology to get rid of some of that friction and make it easier for them,” he explained.
Caregivers aren’t just making choices for children – they also are educating them, added Costagli.
“Around 28% say they are actively teaching their children about ingredients and nutrition, so that they can make healthier decisions for themselves as they get older. Because they have that foundational understanding of this is healthy, this is not healthy,” they also have a better sense of the foods they can eat daily versus as an occasional treat, he said.
Gen Alpha wants benefits, not just ingredients
But caregivers are not the only ones paying attention to ingredients and nutrition. Gen Alpha is already participating in the conversation around what makes a snack a good choice.
“Around 17% of Gen Alpha parents say that their children are actually bringing up ingredients and nutrition when they’re at the store with their parents buying snacks. So you have a generation that is already thinking about this,” Costagli said.
He explained that some children repeat what their parents teach them, but about 7% are bringing up with they learned on social media as it relates to ingredients and nutrition. In addition, about 13% of parents say Gen Alpha “very often” bring up health and ingredients and nutrition when discussing snacks.
Like adults, Gen Alpha wants more protein and less sugar in their snacks. About 19% of Gen Alpha ask for snacks with protein and 14% ask for snacks with natural or organic ingredients and 14% also ask for lower or less sugar snacks, Costagli said.
Notably, Gen Alpha’s interest goes beyond basic ingredient claims – they also are beginning to connect a snack’s nutrition profile with the benefits they want.
According to NIQ data, 19% of Gen Alpha want energy for sports or after-school activities, 17% what ingredients that support the development of their body and mind, 10% want hydration and 3% are looking for mood and cognitive support.
“They are already tying those things to the outcomes they are looking for, and I think that is going to dramatically change the way that this industry looks when this consumer comes into their formative spending years,” he added.
That growing nutritional awareness could also raise the bar for how brands market to them. Gen Alpha is growing up with more information at its fingertips, meaning simple “better-for-you” claims may not be enough to win over consumers who increasingly want to understand both what a product offers and what it leaves out.
AI influences Gen Alpha’s snack selection
Gen Alpha is also the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence as a normal part of everyday life, Costagli said. As personal technology and AI become increasingly integrated into how consumers track, evaluate and optimize their lives, he said he expects Gen Alpha to have even more tools for scrutinizing what they consume.
“Whether you are a manufacturer or a retailer, you’ve got to start getting ready for Gen Alpha, which is a generation that is going to expect a lot more not just from the snack industry, but the fast-moving consumer goods industry as a whole,” advises Costagli.
He added: “There are going to be brands and segments of the industry that really struggle, but if we look at what Gen Alpha is growing up with, what they are already telling us they prioritize, they are giving you the roadmap. They are telling you what they want, so it is up to the industry now to take that information and go and build it for them.”
