Our endurance for drama is being tested by global events, but Adolescence – Netflix’s sensation about the fictional 13-year-old Jamie Miller arrested for murder – has unlocked a rare national, emotional reaction.
Food won’t be what most viewers remember from the show, but it has an important cameo role. References to getting a Chinese takeaway or a ‘Coke and chips’ offer realism, heighten impact and highlight how deeply food is tied to emotions and identity. From Jamie’s father urging him to “eat your Cornies” at the police station, to the psychologist’s cling-filmed sandwich offering, these moments underscore how food anchors us in times of uncertainty.
Connecting with younger generations
Adolescence provides a valuable perspective on connecting with a younger generation craving stability and belonging, particularly boys.
Andrew Tate, the spiritual leader of toxic online ‘man culture’, tells his 10 million X followers that he hates eating. He preaches the virtue of diets consisting entirely of red meat, fat, dairy and lots of eggs. The goal is to transform physiques into raw, unfettered muscle and maintain sky-high testosterone levels.
It speaks to the radicalisation of male dietary trends, born from the toxicity Gareth Southgate discussed in his recent and powerful ‘lost boys’ speech at the BBC’s annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture. Food has a role here: cooking provides an oasis of offline harmony, and young people know it. According to Mintel, 67% of adults view cooking for loved ones as an expression of love, rising to 74% of 16 to 24-year-old men and 82% of 18 to 24-year-old women.
Positive role models
Southgate also highlighted how young men urgently need positive role models, and food and drink brands should be alert to this. Given the recent explosion of gym-bro culture – and food and drink products supporting this – it is easy to see how some young men can feel marginalised when they do not conform to the bulging muscles and honed six-packs increasingly portrayed as the norm.
Strength often masks insecurity. Mintel research shows 72% of 16-34-year-olds turn to comfort food during stress, but the manosphere prioritises protein shakes over pizza.
Amid the almost farcical level of global uncertainty, everyone needs a hero to gain strength from, not least young males. As Prime Hydration knows, it’s hard to build lasting emotional relations with lost boys. People should have the edge there. But that love of eating and drinking can surely inspire something that’s not toxic or dull, and make them feel normal when they are alone.
Right now, consumers want brands to help them feel happiness and resilience—we all need to feel the familiarity and control that comes from ‘eating our cornies’ —but the lost boys should be first in line.
Alex Beckett, Mintel senior director of food & drink research
No comments yet