Eating Habits of Teens
The July/August issue of Quirk’s Marketing Research Review magazine published results of a Teen Health & Nutrition study by BuzzBack Market Research (p. 8, content not available online). Over 500 U.S. teens were surveyed and here is some of what they said:
Favorite fast-food restaurant:
Subway (64%)
McDonald’s (48%)
Top five snacks:
Potato/tortilla chips (63%)
Cookies (55%)
Chewing gum (47%)
Fresh fruit (47%)
Ice cream (47%)
Top five snack brands:
Oreo (22%)
Ritz (21%)
Doritos (20%)
Coca-Cola (19%)
Snickers (18%)
Motivators for trying new food products:
Curious about it (71%)
Offered a new flavor (67%)
Looked appetizing (63%)
Convenient to prepare/eat (54%)
My observations – 1) I’m very surprised that Subway beat McDonald’s by 16%, 2) Combine that with fresh fruit tying for the third place in the top snacks category and it looks like many teens are making good eating choices (though “good” is certainly subjective), 3) I’m not sure gum can really be classified as a snack, 4) I find it interesting how the top five snack brands do not follow suit with the rankings of the top five snacks.
