Loyalty is broken: How food brands can win Gen Z loyalty in 2026
How does Gen Z loyalty work in 2026? WEBINAR: 25th FEBRUARY 2026, 11AM EST.
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Loyalty is broken: How food brands can win Gen Z loyalty in 2026
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Food brands understand the problem: Gen Z loyalty doesn’t work the way it used to.
New data from our PION100 Food & Drink Report shows that food and drink is Gen Z’s most loved category, yet nearly half actively seek discounts before every purchase, and 74% describe themselves as careful budgeters. Loyalty is high, but conditional.
This leads to an unavoidable question:
What are food brands actually doing about it?
In this live session, Richard Jackson hosts a practical discussion with a global food brand and a panel of U.S. students to explore how loyalty strategies are being redesigned in real time – where brands are adapting successfully, where they’re struggling, and the trade-offs they’re making between value, data, and emotional connection.
Why attend?
From Insight to Action
- What the latest PION100 Food & Drink data reveals about Gen Z loyalty
- Which long held loyalty assumptions no longer hold
Where Strategy Meets Reality
- Students react to real brand loyalty tactics in a ‘careful budgeter’ mindset
- What feels like smart value vs lazy discounting
- Why some loyalty changes resonate with students, and others get ignored
The New Loyalty Playbook
- What loyalty looks like when food is both Gen Z’s most-loved and most deal-driven category
- How brands are balancing value, margins, and brand equity
- What food brands should stop, start, and rethink in 2026
