Holiday entertaining is about bringing family and friends together to share meals, but there is often some pressure on the host to impress their guests. As the holiday season approaches, retailers have an opportunity to build trust and loyalty with consumers by serving as a helpful assistant for their holiday shopping.

Now that the older side of Gen Zers are in their mid-late 20s, they should be considered in marketing strategies for shoppers either hosting a gathering or bringing cheese trays to someone else’s home, along with Millennials and older generations.

At the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show, Andrea Hernandez, founder of “product oracle” Snaxshot, presented a session on Gen Z and Millennial shopping behavior, and one main takeaway was that both generations use the foods they buy as social signalers. Hernandez said Millennials started the trend with Gen Z following in their footsteps.

Hernandez said Millennials “like to signal with everything, down to what we cook with,” and the most popular home remodeling trend for Millennials is open cabinet shelves to display their pantry items. On social media, Millennials post photos and videos of the inside of their refrigerators and pantries, and “restocking” videos are especially popular on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Hernandez called this the “pretty pantry paradigm.”

This means that younger generations are more likely to feel the pressure to impress their family and friends with the foods they buy this holiday season. When marketing to them, companies should consider what younger shoppers will think the product says about their personality if they present it to their guests.

Hernandez said Millennials have begun doing what she referred to as “Trojan horsing” with packaging, which is buying an expensive product once, saving the packaging, and refilling it with a cheaper, similar product. Hernandez said Gen Z has a habit of taking photos and videos with luxury products in a grocery store and then putting them back if they cannot afford to buy them.

Retailers can appeal to Millennials and Gen Z by offering ways to make their holiday cheese trays look fancier and more expensive within their budget. They love the words “hack” and “dupe.”

Cheeses to impress

To appeal to younger consumers using holiday cheese trays as social signalers, retailers may put a spotlight on the 2024 American Cheese Society award-winning cheeses they offer.

• Murray’s Cheese – New York-based Murray’s Cheese’s first-place winners were Cave Aged Original Buttermilk Basque in the sheep’s milk cheese aged 31-60 days category, Murray’s Cave Aged Limited Double Doe in washed cheeses made from mixed or other milk, and Cave Aged Original Stockinghall Cheddar in Clothbound Cheddar aged up to 12 months.

• Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin – Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Upland’s Cheese in Dodgeville, Wis., was one of the top 10 cheeses. Klondike Cheese Company of Monroe, Wis., received 15 awards for its labneh, various feta varieties, smoked gouda, tzatziki dip, brick and muenster. BelGioioso, of Green Bay, Wis., earned a total of 14 awards.

• V&V Supremo Foods – Chicago-based V&V Supremo Foods received five awards at this year’s ACS competition. The company’s Sierra Cotija, a unique option for a holiday tray, received third place in the ripened, aged over 90 days category.

• Real California Milk – California cow’s milk cheeses earned 31 total awards. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Point Reyes, Calif., received a first-place award for its Toma Truffle.  Bellwether Farmers, Petaluma, Calif., won first-place for its Crème Fraîche.

• Cabot Creamery – Waitsfield, Vt.-based Cabot Creamery’s White Oak Cheddar, Extra Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Salted Butter all received first-place awards.

• Schuman Cheese – Fairfield, N.J.-based Schuman Cheese’s Cello Extra Aged Copper Kettle won a first-place award in Italian type cheeses. Its Fontal, Romano and Asiago cheeses all received second-place awards in the category, as well. Cello earned a second-place award for its Mascarpone in fresh unripened.

Multi-generational interest

In a May snacking trend study from Cincinnati-based 84.51°, consumers shared their snacking preferences. The results can be useful for retailers merchandising and promoting products for holiday entertainment, as 85% of consumers purchase their snacks from grocery stores.

The study found that for 70% of consumers, cheese is their top snack, with fruits close behind at 68%. When broken down by generations, 71% of consumers in both the 35-54 (older Millennials-Gen X) and 55-74 (Gen X-Baby Boomers) age groups picked cheese as their top snack. The 35-54 age group also had fruits tying with cheese at 71%, followed by potato chips (68%), crackers (64%), and tortilla chips (60%). The 55-75 age group’s snack choices after cheese were potato chips at 63%, and crackers, cookies and chocolate at 59%.

For Gen Z, cheeses did not make their top five. Fruits were their top snack category at 67%, followed by crackers (65%), popcorn and pretzels (63%), and potato chips (61%). 84.51° noted that pita chips were consistently the least favorite snack across generations, so that might be a pairing to avoid.

The study also divided the snacking trends into occasions, with potato chips, cheese and crackers as the top three picks for parties.

Using this data, pairing cheeses with the other top snack categories may appeal to all age groups shopping for holiday cheese trays. Instore signage with suggested flavor pairings for different cheeses, fruits and crackers can be useful for younger shoppers looking for guidance. If they see a variety of products they already like to snack on, they may be more likely to trust their retailer’s suggestions for products they have not yet tried, as well.

Flavor combinations to prioritize are sweet/salty and savory/spicy, according to what consumers said they want to see more of.

84.51° also broke down what is most important to consumers. For 75% of them, taste/flavor is the top factor in choosing a snack. When asked about value, consumers said the top three things they consider are price (32%), quality (15%) and flavor (13%).