Business and Marketing

Nutrition is the main concern among millennial mothers when preparing their child's lunch—more so than price and convenience.

Mobile may assume a bigger role this year, but another player in the back-to-school game has emerged: healthy foods. Indeed, marketers should take note that millennial mothers hold nutrition in a higher regard than even price and convenience.

According to a survey from Influenster, nine out of 10 millennial moms prepare healthy lunches for their children. Of this group, nutrition (88%) is the main concern—more so than price (65%) and convenience (52%)—when shopping for lunch food. In addition, gluten-free (8%) is the lowest concern; well-balanced (74%), tastiness (69%), low sugar (43%), and low fat (19%) are other concerns.

The survey—which polled more than 5,000 millennial moms—shows that six out of 10 millennial moms prepare their children's lunches differently than their mothers prepared theirs. On the other hand, millennial moms share a bond with the “old-fashioned” way in that despite the demographic being the most digitally connected generation of mothers, they still prefer to shop in supermarkets (88%) as opposed to online (7%). Big-box retailers (81%), farmer's markets (42%), local delis (23%), and convenience stores (13%) are their preferred places to do business. However, 57% do all their researching on the Internet before they head to the store.

Not much of a surprise as word of mouth (79%) is the top influencer for millennial moms trying to make a shopping decision. Online reviews (59%), social media (57%), brand websites (43%), television (37%), news websites (16%), and newspapers (15%) are the other influencers.

Top foods
Millennial moms rank the following packaged foods as healthy lunch box additions:

1. Yogurt (87%)
2. Cheese (82%)
3. Cereal/granola (72%)
4. Juice boxes (70%)
5. Peanut butter (67%)
6. Dried fruits (54%)
7. Milk (51%)
8. Nuts (49%)

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