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How younger consumers are redefining ingredient choices and rejecting brand loyalty

Gen Z and millennial consumers’ preferences for transparency, functionality, and purpose are “redefining the very nature of consumption itself”, says SPINS.

Clean labels and transparency are non-negotiable elements that younger consumers are scrutinising before purchasing a product.

Specialty diets, such as those high in protein and fibre, are also gaining momentum, while the growing nutricosmetics market is driving demand for products that promote “inside-out beauty” and “outside-in” wellness.

For its analysis The Next Generation of Consumers, SPINS drew on US shopper surveys, retail sales, household spending, and price dynamics to uncover young consumer trends and explore how their preferences are shaping the future of food and wellness.

Ingredient transparency and clean label: The new norm

For brands, ingredient transparency is becoming a necessity rather than a choice, and the movement toward clean labels has evolved from a passing trend into “the new standard”, says SPINS.

Millennial and gen Z are conscious consumers, reading ingredient labels and undertaking their own research before making a purchase, meaning quality, transparency, and integrity are increasingly valued over convenience and even brand loyalty.

Across categories such as beverages, snacks, confectionery, and vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS), commonly avoided ingredients include artificial sweeteners, artificial colours, and sugar alcohols, SPINS data suggests.

Nutrient density, protein, and fibre-forward products

Younger consumers are tailoring their diets around specific macro- and micronutrients. As SPINS puts it, “nutrient density has moved into the spotlight”. This intentional focus is leading to an increase in products with protein and fibre-forward formulations and claims.

Almost three in five (59%) gen Z and more than half (53%) of millennial consumers report following a high-protein diet. Their focus transcends the plant-based vs animal-based debate, and instead emphasises the importance of increasing overall protein intake from a variety of sources.

Animal protein as a functional ingredient has experienced 12.6% growth, followed closely by plant protein at 11.3%, and formats like ready-to-eat packaged chicken breasts are emerging as convenient protein alternatives.

Fibre is also experiencing a major resurgence, driven by social media trends like “fibremaxxing”, which is all about building meals around fibre, and intentionally meeting or exceeding the daily recommendations.

SPINS points to the inclusion of fibre in unexpected categories, including cookies and sodas, reflecting its growing appeal among health-conscious consumers.

Nutricosmetics and the blurring boundaries between food and beauty

Nutricosmetics, or beauty from within, is all about nourishing from the inside out, and it is a growing category, especially popular among younger consumers.

As beauty, wellness, and nutrition collide, SPINS believes the trend will swing in both directions: “inside-out beauty”, which involves seeking skin and hair benefits through supplements and functional food, and “outside-in” wellness, which includes stress-relieving and mood-boosting body care products.

Younger consumers are actively seeking out specific aesthetic results, such as skin benefits, directly through supplements.

This appearance-based approach aligns with their health priorities. Unlike older generations who are more focused on joint support and products for anti-ageing, gen Z and millennial consumers are placing skin and hair care as one of their top priorities, alongside reproductive health and stress management.

VMS are key part of this “inside-out” trend. Millennial households, for example, are adopting VMS at double the growth rate of total households.

When it comes to “outside-in” wellness, younger consumers' interest in body care products that deliver mood-boosting or stress-relieving effects is growing.

SPINS points to Unilever’s vitamin and mineral brand OLLY as an example of one company blurring the line between beauty and nutrition with its OLLY Body line of vitamin-infused body care products.

Its Renew Mood + Skin body serum, “developed by neuroscientists”, includes vitamin D and botanicals, and claims to relax the mind and renew the skin overnight.