Food as social currency
2026 Report by Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services
Eve Turow-Paul's data on Gen Z got me thinking…
She points to three shifts in food trends:
Gen Z is experiencing more loneliness and seeking belonging
Interest is moving toward whole, minimally processed foods
Food is increasingly seen as part of mental health, energy and wellbeing
This has big implications for food brands. And I agree.
I’ve always believed brand building is about more than creating a product and telling people why they should buy it. It’s about understanding who you want to build with, what they care about, and creating something they want to belong to.
In hindsight, one of my biggest mistakes while leading Creative at Wetaca was not thinking hard enough about the community we could have built around the brand.
A community isn’t a WhatsApp group or loyalty programme. It’s something people genuinely want to participate in.
The product becomes the excuse to gather.
When that happens, customers stop just buying from you. They become part of something with you.
Feels like there’s a lot of interesting territory to explore here.