Chef Chatter

Chef Chatter: A guide to captivating Gen Z

Chefs should do their parts to help their marketing teams combat brand fatigue.

David Young, executive chef of education dining services, American Dining Creations.

November 26, 2019

Editor's note: Chef Chatter is a series featuring chefs-authored blogs. If you'd like to write a Chef Chatter blog, send your idea to Cherryh Cansler at editor@fastcasual.com.

By David Young, executive chef of education dining services, American Dining Creations

While the foodservice industry was focused on marketing to millennials, Generation Z emerged, making up roughly 32% of the global population, according to Forbes. If maintaining the interest of millennials was difficult, captivating a generation that was raised with the ability to Yelp every restaurant in a 10-mile radius, book a table without speaking to anyone and order a cab to get there — all in less than 5 minutes — can seem like a daunting task to say the least.
When guests are overloaded by the same brands and culinary options repetitively, they become disinterested and disengaged. This phenomenon is even truer of the Gen Z population.

The convenience factor alone won't win over a generation that is not only tech savvy, but spends roughly 10 hours a day on electronics. These digital natives are even more prone to what we call brand fatigue and can find other dining options easily, resulting in a loss of guests and food sales. So, how can you combat brand fatigue once and for all?

Transport guests around the world
According to Business Insider, Gen Z travels on average 29 days a year and is far more exposed to different cultures and food experiences. Upon return from a trip, they expect to see dishes from their travels readily available. Offering guests expanded menu options with cultural favorites can keep engagement and interest high.
Having grown up in a globalized, modern world, Gen Z grew up being exposed to new and different cultural cuisines at an early age leaving them unsatisfied with the mundane mac and cheese and instead reaching for more adventurous menu items and ingredients.
Encourage your chefs to monitor industry trends and allow them enough creative space to implement new culinary concepts. This will captivate guests and keep them returning day in and day out.

Start with the Spices
Offering a truly authentic experience starts with the ingredients. If you're trying to emulate traditional cuisine, substituting spices is a surefire way to throw off the flavor profile, raising a red flag with Gen Z in a matter of bites. If you're serving up Indian, utilize cardamom, mustard seed and coriander. For a Japanese dish, stock up on the rice vinegar and mirin. Once you've got traditional recipes mastered, add your unique flare to the dish.

You can't buy authenticity
For Gen Z, how "Instagram-worthy" a meal is has become just as important as the taste of the meal itself. When it comes time to pick a restaurant, they're doing their research beforehand and expect the entire experience to be five-star from the wall décor to the serving wear. A bad atmosphere can ruin a great meal, so set the vibe and your spot will be trending in no time.

Instagram "likes" might seem trivial to the seasoned chef, but a good marketer understands how valuable a word of mouth endorsement truly is. Gen Z finds traditional advertisements to be disingenuous. Instead, they are looking at influencers for direction. If you can get the foodie stamp of approval, consider it a major win.

Keep the novelty alive
Now that you've attracted a solid guest base, encapsulated a truly authentic experience down to the décor and gained the influencer stamp of approval, you're going to want to preserve the novelty of it all.

Taking a proactive approach to eliminating brand fatigue isn't an industry standard, but it does keep guests on their toes. It could be as simple as adding an LTO on the menu, but if you're dedicated to kicking brand fatigue for good, a daily special alone won't cut it.

Rotating menus on a seasonal basis allows for guests to enjoy the first time experience at every single visit and captures the attention of this adventure-seeking generation. Knowing the menu is only available for a short time will prompt guests to return more regularly because it evokes a FOMO. If there's one thing Gen Z hates, it's knowing they missed the opportunity to try something truly unique.