Popping Plants and Why Gen Z and Alpha Are the Perfect Consumers of Tomorrow

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Forget the veggie awkwardness of the ’90s, 2025 is all about popping plants, thrilling textures and future food flexing its way beyond the plate. Meet Gen Z and Alpha, socially savvy, eco-educated, and hungry for food serving a purpose and a personality.

Plant-based is no longer a dietary niche. It’s the direction everything’s pointing. Gen Z leads the charge, with over 60% identifying as flexitarian or actively reducing meat. But they’re not here for sad soy sausages or ultra-processed meat clones. If it doesn’t taste like a real plant and look good doing it, thry’re out. Lentils, fava, pistachio, kimchi… these aren’t sides anymore. They’re centre-stage. And don’t even think about hiding behind a 20-ingredient label. Short, clean, recognisable, otherwise, scroll on.

That’s not speculation, it’s pulled straight from the SPATE 2025 Food Foresight Report, which tracks millions of online consumer signals across TikTok, search, shopping data and more. It’s a snapshot of what people are really hungry for and it’s plants, ferments, function and fun.

Source: FlavourChem - If its not Tik Tokable it's not edible.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha aren’t a lumped-together audience. Gen Z (born mid-90s to 2010) are your climate-conscious snack hackers. They’re mood-first, function-forward and label literate. They’ll grab a gut-boosting, adaptogen-loaded, fermented oat drink faster than you can say “kombucha.” Gen Alpha (2010 onwards) are younger, but don’t underestimate their power. They influence grocery carts and dinner plates and they’re growing up with pistachio milk, seaweed snacks, and miso mash as normal.

What really moves both groups is functional flavour. It’s not just about plant-based, it’s about plant-smart. The SPATE report puts fermented ingredients like kimchi, natto, and miso high on the radar for 2025. These foods do more than taste good, they deliver gut health, mood support, and a sense of global cool that TikTok can’t get enough of.

Texture matters. Crunch is king. Crispy chickpeas, freeze-dried fruits, yoghurt with a snap—all of it makes food more fun and more shareable. These generations don’t just eat with their eyes; they eat for their feeds. If it’s not got an angle or a snap, it’s not worth a mention.

Then there’s the packaging. Sustainability isn’t a bonus, it’s expected. Compostable, recyclable, refillable, regenerative. If your brand hasn’t caught up, you’re already behind. Gen Z and Alpha are tracking carbon footprints the way their parents tracked fat grams. They want food that’s clean on the inside and the outside.

So what does this all mean for the brands trying to stay relevant?

Celebrate the plant by building products around whole, recognisable foods, not mimicry. Keep labels short and clear. Add function without fakery. Layer in texture. Get ahead of the snack curve for schools and families, because Gen Alpha is forming habits now. And always, always remember the social layer. If it’s not camera-ready, it’s not culture-ready.

These two generations aren’t just buying food. They’re shaping the future of what food means. And they’re doing it in real time, with taste, conscience and curiosity. Ignore them, and your product’s not just old-fashioned, it’s invisible.

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