Today's students are purchasing 266% more avocados than their predecessors

Today’s students are more likely to fancy an avocado than a shot of Apple Sourz (Photographer: Meg Roussos/Bloomberg)

Millennials, or Generation Y, were known for their love of avocados, but their younger counterparts appear to be even more obsessed with the en vogue fruit.

According to a study by Barclays, Generation Z – the generation after Millennials – are buying and consuming 266% more avocados than their predecessors.

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The study, which compared the spending habits of Generation Y with Generation Z – those born in the 1970s, showed that a typical shopping basket for today’s students is radically different, with baked beans and beer being swapped for avocados, coconut oil (up 667%) and kale (up 80%).

Students are now more likely to go for a clean and healthy lifestyle with the study reporting a 33% fall in weekly drinking and 46% fall in smoking.

Generation Y are more likely to pound the pavement than their predecessors (Photo: Pixabay)

The student love affair with avocado does vary by region though. The smashable fruit is most beloved in Cambridge, where 42% of students pick it up on a weekly basis, ahead of Oxford (34%) and St Albans (33%). By contrast, less than one in five (18%) students in Peterborough snap one up each week.

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The clean-living of today’s students is reflected in how they spend their time away from their studies too according to the Barclays research. It found that Generation Z is more than twice as likely to hit the gym, while those enjoying a regular run is up by a third.

In addition, only 44% pop to the pub on a regular basis, compared to 66% of Generation X, while only a quarter are likely to spark up, in contrast to almost half of 90s students who were smokers.

CHANGES IN FOOD HABITS
Product		Gen X		Gen Z		Change
Avocado		6%		22%		266%
Baked Beans		63%		46%		-26%
Coconut Oil		3%		23%		667%
Dark Chocolate		13%		17%		30%
Fresh Artisan Bread		6%		12%		100%
Hummus		8%		19%		138%
Kale		5%		9%		80%
Tofu		7%		11%		57%
Quinoa		3%		8%		166%
Sushi		4%		9%		125%
Sweet Potato		9%		26%		189%
Whole Wheat Pasta		13%		23%		77%

Source: Barclays

The growing popularity of avocados has coincided with global supplies falling short. Last month Tesco announced it would be selling small, egg-sized avocados in order to meet demand, following poor harvests in key avocado-producing nations like Peru and South Africa.

Not everyone is a fan though. Australian real estate mogul Tim Gurner hit out at young people earlier this year for blowing their cash on avocado on toast rather than focusing on buying a first property.