Introduction
The company is a manufacturer of healthy food that will meet the needs of several generations by improving well-being and helping them take care of themselves and their loved ones. The product is healthy bars that are convenient to take to school or work. This is a healthy snack with low calories and high vitamin content, positioned as an element of a proper, healthy diet. My research aims to identify the needs of – Tweens, Generation Y, Generation X – a product that would satisfy those needs.
Demographics
Tweens
Tweens are children under 10 who have reached the age of teens. This age corresponds to the end of primary school and precedes the onset of adolescence. Currently, the tweens generation includes children born between 2012 and 2014 (Khan et al., 2020). In psychology, this stage of growing up is the primary school age. This is a special period during which the child undergoes significant changes, including both physiological and mental processes.
Generation Y
Generation Y is also called millennials, as they were born on the eve of the millennium. As shown in the inclusion of people who were born in the time period from 1981 to 2000 (Coklar & Tatli, 2021, p. 435). At the moment, representatives of this generation are in early adulthood. It is distinguished by the attainment of the pinnacle of biological development, the optimism of young people, and their preparation for their personal and professional futures (Rahman & Gan, 2020). Generation Y is dealing with the transition to civic adulthood, shifting social roles, and, in many cases, separation from their parents.
Representatives of this generation are the children of the period of transition from the analog to the digital world. They use digital technology in their daily lives, but not from birth.
Generation X
At the moment, representatives of the X generation are in middle maturity. Representatives of this generation were born between 1964 and 1984. They are at the pinnacle of their creative and professional achievements, yet a significant proportion experience a decline in vital activity. This is a time to discuss Generation X as a generation of leaders (Coklar & Tatli, 2021). They have made progress in their careers and are already in significant positions.
Group Attitude
Tweens
Their intense interest unites the tween generation in self-education, which distinguishes them from other groups. Since the oldest representatives of this group have reached 11 years of age, there is very little accurate information about them (Khan et al., 2020). However, scholars can already discuss the significant information advancement of the generation (Khan et al., 2020). Many tweens learned how to install games on their own through the Play Store or App Store before talking (Khan et al., 2020). However, due to this advancement and increased information activity, these children are more likely than other generations to be exposed to the dangers of the Internet listed in Table 1 (Khan et al., 2020, p. 7). This is due to the psychological characteristics of the growing-up stage, which, for this generation, have been transferred from an offline to an online environment.
Table 1. Negative Internet phenomena that tweens face (Khan et al., 2020, p. 7)
Generation Y
For Generation Y, the feature that distinguishes it from other groups is the clear priority of career over family. These are people who, unlike all their predecessors, are in no hurry to get married and have children (Rahman & Gan, 2020). They have no desire to take on such responsibility or compromise and sacrifice their career in connection with family obligations (Rahman & Gan, 2020). At work, they are interested in high salaries; however, they also need individual conditions that suit their comfort.
Generation X
The difference between Generation X and other groups is that they strive for material prosperity not for themselves, but for their family members. They are characterized by increased work ability and, at the same time, do not care about their own comfort (Coklar & Tatli, 2021). They need to give their children the best, thus compensating for the lack of luxury items in their own childhood.
Disposable Income
Tweens
Tweens’ disposable income is relatively high: they do not have their own income, but they can use their parents’ income. Since tweens’ parents often belong to Generation X, they allocate a significant amount of funds to purchase luxury items for their children. Therefore, tweens’ annual spending power is relatively high (Khan et al., 2020). This is also because they receive large amounts of pocket money and gifts, and by appropriately managing them, they can make quite large purchases, such as a phone or a bicycle.
Generation Y
Generation Y is a generation for which financial success is highly valued. They are focused on building careers and often do not have families. In this regard, this generation, with high salaries and few other material obligations, has very high purchasing power (Rahman & Gan, 2020). These numbers vary by profession and field of employment (Rahman & Gan, 2020). However, most Generation Y representatives can afford to spend their entire salary on things they find attractive.
Generation X
Among the considered generations, this one has the least disposable income. With a high working capacity, they are not ready to buy luxury goods for themselves (Coklar & Tatli, 2021). The priority in their work is the stability of earnings rather than a high salary, and they need constant professional growth to remain in the workplace (Coklar & Tatli, 2021).
The primary focus for Generation X is family, not their own comfort (Coklar & Tatli, 2021). In this regard, the satisfaction of one’s own desires and needs is assigned a low priority by Generation X. At the same time, their disposable spending rate includes more spending on family members, and on children in particular.
Product Development
As a marketing to this demo, I would suggest healthy snacks. I would choose it because it is desirable for all three generations under consideration. Healthy eating is a trend widely covered on social networks. Excess weight can cause cyberbullying, and tweens will choose healthy snacks to prevent it (Khan et al., 2020).
Generation Y is concerned about their health and comfort and takes a long time to make purchase decisions, as reflected in Chart 1 (Rahman & Gan, 2020, p. 1027). Therefore, they will prefer a snack that does not take up much time at work and, at the same time, supports well-being. Generation X will choose this product because it is essential for them to remain able to work, and the benefits of a snack will help ensure they (Tatli, 2021). Office work, which representatives of the generation often choose, often requires bringing lunch from home, and the bar allows them to save time on its preparation and money on cafeteria lunches (Rahman & Gan, 2020). Thus, a healthy bar is of interest to both tweens and generations X and Y.
Marketing
To reach these groups, various social media platforms will be used. The most popular among tweens is TikTok, so one can run bar ads as short entertainment videos. Generation Y most often uses Instagram, so one can run targeted ads for aesthetic posts about the convenience of bars(Rahman & Gan, 2020). Representatives of Generation X prefer Facebook; therefore, ads can be run on the platform about the benefits of snacks.
Product & Service
Success
A successful product has become Nestle Fitness bar, which is associated with the company’s reputation for reliable, tasty products. Due to its fruit element, this fitness bar became popular with tweens, and Generations Y and X preferred it for its benefits and convenience (Coklar & Tatli, 2021). The bar’s convenient size allowed customers to take it to school, the office, or on a business trip. Thus, the product’s quality and the brand’s reputation ensured its success.
Failure
The Clif Bar, which was initially released as a health food bar, has not gained popularity with any of the bands. Tweens did not perceive the taste qualities because of the bar’s high protein content; it has a porridge-like flavor and seems bland (Khan et al., 2020). A high calorie count and the lack of well-designed, targeted advertising led to this product’s failure among Generations Y and X.
Conclusion
Thus, despite the differences between the generations of Y, X, and tweets, they have everyday needs. Of course, children who have not used mobile phones before age 12 and those who have learned to use them before speaking have different behavioral patterns. However, an interest in one’s own health, as well as that of loved ones, is a value that has been preserved across generations.
In the modern rhythm of life, with a busy work-and-study schedule, all three generations suffer from a lack of time. At the same time, under the influence of various factors, they have a desire for proper nutrition. Therefore, the findings indicate that a healthy snack will interest Generation Y, X, and Z. However, it is necessary to tailor marketing strategies to each generation, given the significant differences between generations.
References
Coklar, A. N., & Tatli, A. (2021). Examining the digital nativity levels of digital generations: From generation X to generation Z. International Journal of Education, 9(4), 433-444.
Khan, F., Limbana, T., Zahid, T., Eskander, N., & Jahan, N. (2020). Traits, trends, and trajectory of tween and teen cyberbullies. Cureus, 12(8), 1-11.
Rahman, M., & Gan, S. S. (2020). Generation Y investment decision: An analysis using behavioural factors. Managerial Finance, 46(8), 1023-1041.