“Flavor. Sweetness. Uniqueness. Story. These are all big draws for Gen Z, and honey has them.”
—Dave Woolley, Director of Deliciousness, Buffalo Wild Wings

Honey is offered at more than seven in ten college cafeterias—a 63% incidence growth in the C&U foodservice segment over the last seven years, finds Datassential. With the oldest Gen Zers turning 26, honey’s penetration here is clearly being driven by this demographic, demonstrating their recognition of the key values that honey brings to the table.

“The way bees extract flavor from a flower—it’s an extraordinary story. People like to hear stories about food—and I think Gen Z finds these particularly appealing,” says Dave Woolley, Director of Deliciousness, Buffalo Wild Wings. “There is so much variety in honey origins: countries, regions of the U.S., the flowers and plants that produce so many different notes and flavors.” Indeed, the vast number of unique varietals help chefs differentiate their menus.

“Operators can do more to tell the honey bee story,” Woolley advises, suggesting menu mentions, QR codes, social media posts and service staff anecdotes. “Even the snippet of the story of the reciprocal relationship we have with bees helps to raise awareness. As we continue to tell this story, I think we’ll see more Gen Z diners choosing honey and taking a position of ‘I’m not eating it just for the sake of its taste. I’m doing it for the bees.’”

BUZZ BOARD

A honey-centric board that the whole hive will love! Think honey-studded favorites like cheesy grits with a soft egg and honey gravy, honey bourbon bacon slabs, honeycomb ham with habanero-honey butter glaze and sweet honey cheese fritters. Serve with elevated condiments like a burnt honey-strawberry jam and bee pollen mustard.

“What excites me about working with honey in modern menu development? In one word: versatility. Honey has the ability to create a nuanced flavor out of nearly anything that it touches. It’s so complementary to anything that’s savory, sweet and salty. How far it can go is literally as far as your imagination can take it.”
—Dave Woolley, Director of Deliciousness, Buffalo Wild Wings

KOREAN HONEY GOCHUJANG WINGS

Gen Z likes to dine out more than other generations, and it is the demographic most likely to eat out with friends. They’re also price conscious, making them great candidates for trend-forward shareables.

Sweet and spicy come together in this dish. Fried and tossed with the popular Korean sauce, wings are rolled in crisped rice, then topped with chile threads and cilantro. They’re served with a creamy ginger, lime and scallion dipping sauce.

HONEY & APPLE COBBLER MILKSHAKE

An indulgent drink featuring vanilla custard, honey and cobbler, topped with whipped cream, apple chips, oat streusel and honeycomb. Over-the-top indulgence plays well with Gen Z, especially with desserts. Datassential research identifies big wins for items like Cinnabon’s Cookie BonBites (a bite-size cinnamon roll stuffed inside a warm chocolate chip cookie) and Friendly’s Hunka Chunka PB Fudge Lava Cake (peanut butter-filled chocolate cake topped with chunky ice cream, more peanut butter, chocolate chips and a peanut butter cup), both scoring “superstar” ratings with Gen Z patrons.

TAKE THE PLEDGE

If your menu could help ensure the sustainable production of one-third of the world’s foods, you would do your part, right? Of course, you would. You’re already taking steps when you buy and use real, delicious, natural honey. This supports honey bee health, allowing those essential pollinators to do their work, keeping our global food supply—and your restaurant menus—diverse and readily available. Find out how you can help support honey bees by taking the Honey Saves Hives pledge on honeysaveshives.com.

To get these recipes and learn more about the valuable role honey can play on your menu, visit honey.com/foodservice