From Chicken Nuggets to Metaverse, Fast Food Chains Court Gen Z Customers

As major quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains look to secure a following among younger generations, they are being forced to rewrite the playbook to meet the needs of these customers. From their different food preferences to their openness to new technologies, these consumers call upon brands to work harder to earn their loyalty.

QSR giant KFC, for one, began testing chicken nuggets Monday (July 18) in a bid to attract gen Z consumers.

“So many of younger consumers are not interested in eating chicken on the bone, for whatever reason they choose,” KFC’s head chef Christopher Scott said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “It’s a completely different flavor profile than what everybody else has on the market … Bringing that to the boneless avenue is just such a huge place that opened up for us.”

Similarly, Gen Z and millennial consumers are more likely to opt for plant-based options, and in recent years, major restaurant brands have been trying out a wide range of alternative proteins.

Menus aren’t the only thing getting a rethink for younger generations’ preferences. Major quick-service and fast-casual brands have been making moves into the metaverse to woo these consumers. Research from the latest edition of PYMNTS’ Restaurant Readiness Index, created in collaboration with Paytronix, which draws from a survey of more than 500 managers of QSRs and full-service restaurants (FSRs) across the country, finds that this is restaurants’ main reason for investing in metaverse initiatives.

Related news: More Than Half of Restaurants Depend on Digital Sales, Despite Uptick in On-Premises Orders

Specifically, 56% of managers who are interested in using the metaverse in the next three years reported being motivated by the technology’s potential to bring in new, younger customers.

Data shows younger consumers are more metaverse-engaged and metaverse-curious, according to research from the July edition of PYMNTS’ Digital Divide study, The Digital Divide: The Move To The Metaverse, also created in collaboration with Paytronix, which draws from a survey of roughly 2,700 U.S. adults who regularly purchase food from restaurants.

Read more: Study Shows Restaurants See Metaverse as New Loyalty Play

The study finds that 40% of Gen Z and millennial restaurant customers report a high level of interest in the metaverse, well above the population-wide average of 24%. Additionally, 54% of metaverse participants and metaverse-curious consumers are interested in integrating restaurant purchases into their metaverse experiences.

QSR chain Wendy’s, for one, has been launching a series of branded experiences in Meta’s Horizon Worlds in recent months. Back in February, it was reported that McDonald’s had filed at least 10 trademarks for its name, logo, McCafe and the rights to various goods in the virtual world, and around the same time, it was observed that Panera Bread had submitted a trademark application for a virtual cafe chain called Paneraverse.

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Chicago-based Asian-style restaurant brand Wow Bao, which has hundreds of virtual locations in addition to a handful of brick-and-mortar stores, is also soon to announce a new metaverse play, as the company’s CEO Geoff Alexander hinted in a recent interview with PYMNTS.

“There’s a great way to create community; there’s a great way to create loyalty; there’s a great way to create rewards; there’s a great way to create engagement,” Alexander said, “and when we make our announcement for the metaverse, I think we’re going to be able to deliver on all of these different points and do something that has not been done before.”

See also: Wow Bao Leverages Vending Machines as Restaurants Rethink Self-Service