Millennials Are Cooking At Home Less Because They're Too Busy Ruining Everything

They threaten our Costco and Applebee's, they've never had to watch advertising, and they spend all their excess cash on avocado toast! Is nothing sacred to this scruffy young generation that's scattered all over our lawn? It's no wonder that the millennials keep getting called out by marketing firms for gumming up the works with their eating and shopping habits that deviate from their Gen X and Boomer predecessors.

According to an article in New Hope Network, a sister publication to Supermarket News, a new study from the USDA's Economic Research Service states unequivocally that "The clear, overarching trend with millennials is that spending on groceries is down, and spending on food outside the home is up." Even with the groceries they do buy, twentysomethings tend to focus on sweets and processed food (things that don't take much effort to prepare) over white and red meat and grains. Overall, "Convenience is the clear takeaway: 62 percent of millennials reported purchasing prepared deli food, carry-out, delivery, or fast food within the last seven days, while only 47 percent of traditionalists and 56 percent of Gen X-ers did so."

Oddly, avocado toast did not receive its own separate section in the report. Still the millennials (fortunately) are more focused on fruits and vegetables, and continued to buy produce even as their incomes increase (along with more sweets). But a very interesting development—and future marketing opportunity for some genius out there—is that while the young people may not be eating at their own homes as much, they are more likely to eat as someone else's home than older generations are. Even the USDA points this out as an "opportunity to market food for entertaining purposes." So some Blue Apron or similar service should create a millennial-focused "dinner party in a box" offering barbecue chicken pizza or carne asada tacos to feed eight or more, along with appropriate IPA pairings. You can send us the residual check for this brilliant concept care of Onion. Inc., TIA.