Condé Nast, New York, and Goldman Sachs, New York, released the 2017 Love List: Food study.

What is said to be the first of its kind study identified three key trends:

• Millennials want healthy snacks. 40% of brands that made the Love List are traditional snack brands, of those, 75% have a health focus. Top attributes for all brand favorites include “convenient,” “easy to find” and “good tasting.”
• Millennials are one-stop-shoppers. Focused on convenience, they are more likely to shop at retailers that offer a variety of options outside the food category. Notably, Wal-Mart ranked as their No. 1 shopping destination and they are nearly twice as likely to shop at Target, a probable result of their new small-format stores and redesigned layout with grocery front and center.
• When price and quality are consistent, brand ethos is paramount. When it comes to the brands they buy, consumers are focused on authenticity, transparency and connectivity—successful brands are clear about what they stand for.

“Our Love List Brand Affinity Index is a strong indicator of next-generation consumers’ attitudes toward the retail experience, and among Millennial food enthusiasts, we’re seeing similar trends that surfaced in our fashion study – namely that brands shouldn’t underestimate the powerful combination of convenience and authenticity,” says Pamela Drucker Mann, chief marketing officer of Condé Nast. “Millennial consumers are looking for good value, convenience and consistency, which is why we’re seeing retailers like Wal-Mart and Target rise to the top of the list. However, when it comes to the brands they’re choosing to purchase, Millennials are looking to brands that connect with them and fit into their lifestyles.”

Additional micro findings include:

• Yogurt brands are on the rise. Yogurt brands took three of the Millennial Love List spots (Yoplait, Noosa and Fage) and four of the Next List spots (Oikos, Fage, Noosa and Chobani)

The 2017 Food Love List was conducted as an aided brand affinity study among a national sample of 7,555 U.S. consumers, with a subset of 564 Condé Nast Millennial food-enthusiast consumers who expressed a high interest in cooking, dining and entertaining. The study prompted respondents with 35 attributes that were used to describe brands they purchased from a master list of 172 brands and 58 retailers. The following research reflects brand preferences and shopping behaviors ranked by percentage.

THE 2017 LOVE LIST: FOOD
MILLENNIAL FOOD ENTHUSIASTS:
1.    San Pellegrino                             81%
2.    Angie’s                                         77%
3.    Haribo                                          71%
4.    Duncan Hines                             70%
5.    Bertolli Frozen                            67%
6.    Nespresso                                   67%
7.    Poland Spring                             67%
8.    Starbucks                                    67%
9.    Yoplait                                         67%
10.  Noosa                                         64%
11.  Ferrero Rocher                         60%
12.  Justin’s Nut Butters                 59%
13.  Coca-Cola                                  59%
14.  International Delight               57%
15.  Kashi                                           57%
16.  Dove Chocolate                        56%
17.  Pillsbury                                     55%
18.  Clif                                              55%
19.  Cheez-It                                     53%
20.  Fage                                            52%

NATIONAL SAMPLE:
1.     Nespresso                                   68%
2.     San Pellegrino                            59%
3.     Starbucks                                    57%
4.     Ben & Jerry’s                              55%
5.     Coca-Cola                                   55%
6.     Noosa                                          55%
7.     Angie’s                                        54%
8.     Folgers                                        53%
9.     Fage                                            51%
10.   Peet’s Coffee                             51%
11.   Boar’s Head                               51%
12.   Stouffer’s                                   51%
13.   Simply Orange                          51%
14.   Ghirardelli                                 50%
15.   Cracker Barrel Cheese            50%
16.   Hershey’s Chocolate               50%
17.   Special K                                   50%
18.   Tates                                          50%
19.   Yoplait                                       49%
20.   Haagen-Dazs                            48%

THE 2017 NEXT LIST: FOOD
MILLENNIAL FOOD ENTHUSIASTS:
1.     Oikos                                            100%
2.     Clif                                                100%
3.     Udi’s                                             100%
4.     Bear Naked                                 96%
5.     Kashi                                            95%
6.     Smartfood                                   94%
7.     Birds Eye                                      93%
8.     Ghirardelli                                   92%
9.     Honest Tea                                  91%
10.   Fage                                             91%
11.   Justin’s Nut Butters                   91%
12.   Angie’s                                        91%
13.   Yoplait                                         91%
14.   Silk                                               90%
15.   Noosa                                          90%
16.   Chobani                                      89%
17.   Amy’s                                          90%
18.   Sabra                                           89%
19.   Nature Valley                             88%
20.   V8                                                88%

NATIONAL SAMPLE:
1.     Siggi’s                                          98%
2.     Tates                                            98%
3.     Sahale Snacks                             95%
4.     Odwalla                                       94%
5.     Fage                                             92%
6.     Justin’s Nut Butters                   91%
7.     Bear Naked                                 90%
8.     Sabra                                            89%
9.     Kashi                                             89%
10.   Naked Juice                                 89%
11.   Simply Orange                            89%
12.   Kind Snacks                                 88%
13.   Oikos                                            87%
14.   Popcorn, Indiana                       87%
15.   Noosa                                          87%
16.   Weight Watchers                       86%
17.   SkinnyPop                                   86%
18.   V8                                                 86%
19.   Cape Cod                                    86%
20.   Chobani                                      86%

TOP RETAILERS:
MILLENNIAL FOOD ENTHUSIASTS:
1.         Wal-Mart                                43%
2.         Target                                      42%
3.         Whole Foods                         39%
4.         Trader Joe’s                           34%
5.         Costco                                    30%
6.         Kroger                                    21%
7.         Amazon                                 17%
8.         CVS                                         17%
9.         Aldi                                         14%
10.      Walgreens                              13%
11.      Safeway                                  13%
12.      Sam’s Club                             11%
13.      Publix                                       9%
14.      SuperTarget                            9%
15.      7-Eleven                                  9%
16.      Sprouts                                    9%
17.      Dollar General                        8%
18.      Albertsons                              7%
19.      Stop & Shop                           7%
20.      Wegmans                               6%

NATIONAL SAMPLE:
1.         Wal-Mart                              35%
2.         Costco                                   34%
3.         Trader Joe’s                          33%
4.         Whole Foods                        32%
5.         Target                                     25%
6.         Kroger                                    19%
7.         Safeway                                 16%
8.         Aldi                                         15%
9.         Sam’s Club                             13%
10.      Amazon                                  12%
11.      CVS                                          11%
12.      Publix                                      10%
13.      Walgreens                              9%
14.      Albertsons                              8%
15.      Sprouts                                    8%
16.      Stop & Shop                            8%
17.      The Fresh Market                   7%
18.      SuperTarget                             7%
19.      Dollar General                         7%
20.      ShopRite                                   6%