Restaurants, say hello to Generation Alpha (sometimes called Gen C or Glass Generation). Whatever you want to call them, this new generation born after the early 2010s wants more from their kids’ meals: more variety, more flavors, more values, more convenience.
While still too soon to predict where Gen Alpha will take their dining dollars (or their parents' dining dollars), it seems the kids’ menus of previous generations won’t cut it for kids of today and the future.
New Nuggets
According to Datassential, chicken appears on 77% of kids menus. But despite this ubiquity, it’s typically prepared just one of two ways: as nuggets or as tenders with a side of ketchup. Instead of serving chicken the same old way, restaurants can use chicken’s familiarity to introduce young patrons to new flavors.
Let’s start with the dipping sauce. Don’t be afraid to include a hint of spice. Sriracha and honey BBQ sauce are among the top growing sauces on kids menus and happen to go great with chicken. Children are also more attuned to environmental concerns, making plant-based chicken an appealing option to today’s youth.
Young Globe-Trotters
Generation Alpha is shaping up to be the most diverse generation in U.S. history, and their food preferences show it. Some of Datassential’s top growing kids’ menu items over the past four years includes:
Beef fajitas (156% growth)
Mini quesadillas (114% growth)
Pho (83% growth)
Some international dishes are particularly well-suited for children. With Japanese bento boxes, restaurants can serve balanced meals with whimsically shaped rice balls and sandwiches. Orange chicken’s distinctive color and sweet flavor make it a kid-approved entree. Top off tostadas or street tacos with colorful veggies and cheese for a child-sized meal.
Kidults’ Menu?
When creating kids’ menu offerings, chefs should look to their regular menus as inspiration rather than recycle kids’ menus of the past. After all, most of what we’ve covered on our blog—”swicy” ingredients, global flavors, comfort food with a twist—are just as appealing to children as adults.
This approach also reduces waste by repurposing ingredients. To start off, check if any regular menu offerings could be suitable to kids in a smaller portion. Then, see if there are any items that only need a few tweaks—maybe a milder sauce for chicken wings or a more playful way to present vegetables.
Your Sourcing Solution
When the parents of today’s kids were children, they likely had a diet of chicken nuggets and grilled cheese. Don’t get us wrong—these items haven’t left, but today’s kids need more options to reflect their diverse backgrounds and tastes.
Let Dot Foods help with sampling and sourcing for reimagined kids’ menus. From plant-based chicken nuggets to international sauces, we have Gen Alpha’s tastes covered.
Dot has thousands of products for a new generation—no kidding.