The food industry spends an estimated $13 billion a year marketing to children, says Marion Nestle, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University (New York). Food product ads make up about half of all commercials aimed at kids. Overall, the American Academy of Pediatrics (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) estimates the typical American child sees 20,000 ads a year.
While this may seem overwhelming, it also helps make the Millennials (those born somewhere between 1986 and 2001) a more-discerning group, believes consumer analyst Marcia Mogelonsky (Utica, N.Y.). “Having so many product choices and media choices makes them more aware of foods and snacks and the great availability of stuff out there. The current generation wants the latest, newest, best. The RPM of food development is so much faster than it was in past generations that there is a constant desire for something new.”