Folgers instant coffee is making a comeback, thanks to Millennials. Yes, you read that correctly. During Covd-19 Millennials who have traditionally sought out higher-end coffee brands, Starbucks and Keurig, are opting to make coffee at home. (Meisenzahl, 2020)
But one has to wonder why instant coffee and why Folgers? Convenience? Cost? A celebrity endorser? I'm joking about that last one. As far as I know they don't have a celebrity endorser. But given Nathan Apodaca's new fame as an Ocean Spray Cranberry juice spokesperson thanks to his skateboard video on Tik Tok, it's entirely possible I missed something. (Allyn, 2020)
So,
what do you think? Why are Millennials
drinking Folgers now? And will they
continue to do so after the pandemic ends?
Or will they go back to Starbucks? What about you?
Meisenzahl, M. (2020, October 9) Millennials are fueling a comeback for Folgers coffee. businessinsider.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/folgers-is-making-a-comeback-with-millennials-during-the-pandemic-2020-10
Allyn, B. (2020, October 11) TikTok Sensation: Meet The Idaho Potato Worker Who Sent Fleetwood Mac Sales Soaring. npr.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2020/10/11/922554253/tiktok-sensation-meet-the-idaho-potato-worker-who-sent-fleetwood-mac-sales-soari
6 comments:
I think Self Sufficiency and Stockpiling are probably the reasons Millennials started using Folgers Instant Coffee. Both of those habits were developed during the Covid19 lockdown. And many Millennials are parents who are having to deal with homeschooling children and working from home. That leads to a 14 hour work day! So they definitely need more coffee. Perhaps value and price is part of the equation, but I think self sufficiency is really the main reason. Sorry Starbucks. T e r e s a
I think that sometimes, people do not need to purchase a product because of how well it has been endorsed, sometimes all that matters is quality and convenience. I would argue that millennials are drinking Folgers coffee now maybe because it is easy and convenient to use, or it goes for a relatively affordable price. Additionally, the pandemic pushed people deeper into their pockets and reduced their comfortable and luxurious expenses. I think that most people will stick to the brand even after the pandemic. There is something about using a particular brand of coffee that gets someone stuck on it, and it becomes a routine. Personally, I did not switch my brads, and I intend to remain as so.
In my opinion, Folgers is an exceptionally mediocre brand of coffee, and I tried it once I really regretted it. However, it is arguable that most Millenials during this COVID period are the biggest consumers of Folgers because they do not understand the different qualities and tastes of coffee, to the coffee is just coffee. Maybe if a celebrity-endorsed a different brand they would switch to it immediately, and just the same way, they are likely to switch yet again when the pandemic ends. I do not think that millenials really care genuinely about coffee brands, and most of them are influenced by their peers. So, they are consumers through association and peer pressure, and it is not easy to determine why the rate increased.
I think there are two reasons why Millennials are drinking Folgers now. The first one is that the pandemic is financially cutting everyone’s coffee budget, especially for the Millennials that have a relatively lower income. Besides, the pandemic is also forcing coffee stores to close. Thus, these younger people start to drink cheap and convenient Folgers instant coffee now. The second reason is that Millennials tend to take other people’s opinions, especially influencers, very seriously. As an influencer on one of the most popular social media apps TikTok, Nathan Apodaca totally has the power to persuade his young fans to drink Folgers instant coffee instead of other brands.
In terms of whether they will continue to drink Folgers coffee, I think it depends on whether Nathan Apodaca will keep persuading his young fans to do so. If he loses his influence, they will probably go back to their own preferences or another popular opinion on coffee brands. For me, I don’t really buy into the influencers’ opinions, I prefer the better consumer experience and environment since they are important to a coffee store/brand in my opinion.
I personally think that COVID had made many changes to our lives and basic behavior change is one of them. The reason could be various, for example able to save money or limited access of having other famous coffee brands like Starbucks, Dunkin etc.
However, after reading Business insider I noticed that the ground and instant coffee brand known for the tagline dating back to the 1980s calling it "the best part of waking up," could be a major reason of Millennials buying the product because everyone would love to go back to 80's to find out how dating would look like back then and Folgers Instant Coffee definitely can bring the taste as well as the vibe.
Personally, I believe that the insecurity that we are each facing due to COVID-19 is about adaptability. We as, not only millennials but as people have to adapt to our surroundings in order to grow or acclimate to our new normal. In an article I read about “Job Insecurity” it seems as though all generations have had to adjust in order to normalize their new working atmosphere at home in addition to the flexibility of workspaces. The matter of Folgers, versus Starbucks, is interesting to me. Particularly because my grandparents and parents drank Folgers and when I started drinking coffee about two years ago, I talked a lot about Starbucks and mostly, in part because it was accessible. At the workplace, it was even more accepted to go for a Starbucks run as a group which encouraged that normalcy of it must be Starbucks coffee. I think this new normal for Folgers might stick, especially if I can save money. Buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks is pricey when you think about how much you spend for a freshly packaged container of Folgers.
References:
Filipovic, J. (2020, August 21). Job insecurity, low pay, working from home: We're all Millennials now | Jill Filipovic. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/21/working-from-home-covid-19-tech-loneliness
Jonathan Antoshka
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