Read the Label, Then Buy the Vibe: Gen Z’s Food & Beverage Paradox

Gen Z will read the back of a “sugar-free” energy drink, list the ingredients they can’t pronounce, and call out the brand for marketing spin. Then they’ll buy a pink gummy supplement from a creator on TikTok Shop because the packaging is cute and the flavor sounds fun.

That isn’t a contradiction to them. New research from Prodege and First & First Consulting shows a generation that is deeply skeptical of food marketing, comfortable letting creators sell to them, and inclined to treat water, electrolytes and the gym as a way to balance everything else they eat and drink.

They question every label

Gen Z’s default setting is to ask what’s real and what’s marketing. A general distrust of brands and government means wellness claims get scrutinized rather than taken at face value. When asked about their food concerns, 9% of Gen Z pointed specifically to confusion about what’s healthy versus processed, and to the role marketing, the FDA and wider society play in promoting unhealthy options.

Their own words are pointed. “Sugar-free varieties still have too much sodium in them,” one Gen Z man said. “Not to mention erythritol, inositol, benzoic acid, and a whole bunch of other ingredients I can’t pronounce.” Another put it more simply: “What people see as healthy and unhealthy has been manipulated by marketing.”

Two patterns stand out. Gen Z separates function from nutrition, judging something like an energy drink on how well it performs rather than whether it belongs in a healthy diet. And while slightly older Zillennials are more likely to let cues like “zero sugar” legitimize a product, younger Gen Z are more inclined to ask whether that claim matters at all.

Yet TikTok Shop is selling to them anyway

That skepticism hasn’t slowed social commerce. According to TikTok Shop sales data analyzed via KaloData, the platform drives more than $15 million in monthly revenue for the beverage industry. What sells is a pairing of fun and function: playful, unexpected flavors grab attention, while perks like hydration, energy and low sugar give shoppers a reason to come back after the novelty fades. Flavor-forward drink pouches have been a standout format.

Snacks follow a similar formula. The winners reimagine familiar formats like candy and brownies with better-for-you ingredients, so they still feel indulgent, while meat snacks compete on extreme spice and bold flavor. Creators are the engine: 70% of TikTok Shop snack revenue is driven by affiliate creators rather than brand accounts.

The lesson is that distrust of marketing isn’t the same as distrust of recommendations. Gen Z will tune out a brand’s health claim and still buy from a creator whose taste they trust.

Stress eating, but not for comfort

Gen Z stress eats at roughly the same rate as Millennials: 37% of Gen Z women and 28% of Gen Z men say they do, versus 35% of Millennial women and 22% of Millennial men. The difference is in how they relate to it. Only about half of Gen Z stress eaters say they eat for comfort (51% of both women and men), compared with 67% of Millennial women and 59% of Millennial men.

Gen Z also treats stress eating as something to manage. Compared with Gen Z who don’t stress eat, Gen Z stress eaters are:

• 46% more likely to try to keep indulgences in moderation
• 32% more likely to believe healthy habits can offset unhealthy ones
• 42% more likely to seek health information from doctors
• 29% more likely to pursue wellness to improve their mental health

Among Millennials, stress eaters and non-stress eaters show no meaningful difference on most of these. The gap is starkest among men. Gen Z men who stress eat see it as a habit to correct, while Millennial men who stress eat are the most likely to say a perfectly healthy lifestyle is unrealistic. As one Gen Z man described the tension: “Desire for discipline vs. pull of comfort and distraction.”

Three kinds of functional beverage drinker

Functional drinks play very different roles depending on who’s holding the can. The study identified three personas.

The Buzz Drinker regularly drinks CBD, kratom, THC, adaptogen, kava or nootropic beverages. They skew male (69%), and 36% say their alcohol consumption has gone up, even as 25% call themselves sober curious. They’re also struggling: 54% report loneliness, 51% sleep under seven hours, and 52% say social media hurts their mental health. They’re the most cynical about performative wellness and the most honest that the vice often wins. “I think as long as people look healthy they’ll let their mental health go,” said one 25-year-old.

The Social Sophisticate reaches for non-alcoholic spirits, N/A beer and wine, and mocktails. They’re also 69% male, and 40% live in urban areas. They’re the happiest of the three, with 66% satisfied with their social life and a high net mental health score of +66. But the report suggests they’ve mastered the look of moderation more than the practice: the alt-beverage and the “cutting back” language are real, and so is the drinking underneath.

The Earnest Optimizer drinks prebiotic sodas and kombucha. This group is younger (mean age 25.5), mostly single (63%), and the most optimistic, with 58% describing a positive outlook. They lean into self-improvement culture: 40% use influencers for health information and 43% use fitness wearables. They also report the fewest vices of the three, averaging 2.19. Their contradiction is a quiet one, the report notes: the discipline that protects them from vice doesn’t fully protect them from being alone.

Their barriers are about trust, not time

When the two generations describe what gets in the way of eating well, they describe different problems. Millennials talk about practical limits: affordability (14% vs. 9% of Gen Z), being tired or short on time (8% vs. 6%), and treating healthy eating as a matter of moderation (23% vs. 14%).

Gen Z’s barriers are about uncertainty: what to buy, what to trust and what tastes good. They’re nearly twice as likely as Millennials to mention chemicals and toxins (11% vs. 6%), and twice as likely to cite taste and cravings (6% vs. 3%), food as fuel (6% vs. 3%) and social media trends (6% vs. 2%).

Water as the great offset

Hydration has become Gen Z’s balancing tool. Many treat water, electrolytes and exercise as a way to cancel out other habits. “I drink a lot of water, water will flush everything out,” said one respondent. Another: “I feel comfortable balancing drinking because I drink lots of water and work out.”

The line between hydration and energy is blurring, too. “When you drink energy drinks you feel hydrated,” one Gen Z respondent said, while another explained that electrolytes “convert to energy.” Whether or not the science holds, the belief shapes what ends up in their cart.

What this means for food and beverage brands

Gen Z’s skepticism doesn’t make them hard to sell to. It just changes what earns their trust. A few takeaways:

• Show, don’t claim. Buzzwords like “zero sugar” carry less weight with younger Gen Z. Clear ingredient lists and honest performance claims will hold up better under their scrutiny.
• Lead with flavor, back it with function. On TikTok Shop, novelty gets the first purchase and a real functional benefit earns the second.
• Let creators carry the message. With 70% of snack revenue on the platform coming through affiliates, peer recommendation is doing the persuading that brand messaging can’t.
• Make room for indulgence. Better-for-you products that still feel like a treat fit how Gen Z actually eats: balanced, not pure.
• Know which persona you’re serving. A Buzz Drinker, a Social Sophisticate and an Earnest Optimizer want very different things from the same shelf.

Most of all, the research points to variety. Gen Z isn’t loyal to one category or brand; they’re loyal to the rotation. Brands that keep giving them something new to try, and something worth sharing, have the best shot at staying in it.

Want to find out more about the Gen Z health paradox?

Download the full report, The Gen Z Health Paradox: Green Juice in One Hand, A Vape in the Other, from Prodege and First & First Consulting here!

About the research

The Gen Z Health Paradox is a joint study by First & First Consulting and Prodege. It surveyed 3,000 US adults aged 21 to 80 through Prodege’s proprietary panel in June 2026: 1,000 Gen Z, 1,000 Millennials, 500 Gen X and 500 Baby Boomers. Because respondents were 21+, findings may not reflect younger Gen Z. The survey was paired with social listening across 78,000 public, English-language posts, plus TikTok Shop sales data from KaloData.