Generation Z's perception of food healthiness: The case of Kellogg's cereals – A qualitative study in Germany and Ireland

One way to prevent diseases caused by unhealthy diets is to help consumers make better dietary choices. Knowledge about the consumer perception of food healthiness can help to understand which indicators are important for consumers to make healthy food choices. Generation Z members are young consumers who can influence the market supply in the next few years. To better understand Generation Z's perception of healthy food, sample products from Kellogg's brand were used to conduct focus group discussions in Germany and Ireland. Eight young consumers, aged between 18 and 25 years, participated in each focus group discussion. Both focus group discussions were summarized and analyzed according to Mayring. Essentially, what emerged was that both focus groups use the same indicators to evaluate the health value of a product. The indicators included the ingredient list, nutritional value table, packaging design, and additional information on the package. Noticeable differences in the subtopics were that young German consumers discussed the ingredient list in general and discussed the understanding and order of ingredients, whereas young Irish consumers discussed specific ingredients in more detail. In addition, German participants perceived the colours green, blue, and purple of product packaging as indicators of product healthiness, whereas Irish participants generally perceived darker colours as indicators. German participants generally perceived the ingredients of a product as the most important indicator, whereas Irish participants also considered the nutritional value information to be very important. Furthermore, a variety of foods was generally important in the German focus group, and origin and price were indicators in the Irish focus group. The study also shows that Generation Z consumers in Germany and Ireland are uncertain when evaluating a product, and thus, better consumer education is desired to improve the level of knowledge.