Students of today are eating 266 per cent more avocados than they did in the 90s, new research from Barclays has claimed.
Generation Z has shunned the traditional 90s stereotype of drinking, smoking and partying, Barclays said, and has instead has embraced the trends for superfoods, health and wellbeing.
Cambridge students eat the most avocados in the UK, according to the research, followed by Oxford, St Albans, Gloucester and London.
As well as avocados, students are eating more kale (up 80 per cent) and sweet potatoes (up 189 per cent), as well as coconut oil (up 667 per cent).
In contrast, Barclays said student shopping baskets have 28 per cent less beer and 26 per cent less beans, compared to the 90s.
Other student trends include non-dairy milks as the highest rising beverage, as well as smoothies and herbal teas, while coffee has seen a decline of 27 per cent in shopping baskets, suggesting students increasingly get the caffeine hits from cafes, Barclays said.
The new research was released alongside news that Barclays is installing a ‘pay by tweet’ vending machine on Birmingham City University’s campus, stocked with free health foods and lifestyle items.
Managing director of personal banking at Barclays, Sue Hayes, said: “It’s great to see today’s students taking more care with their diet and exercise, as our research reveals an increasing trend towards a healthy, more clean-living lifestyle.
“However, we’ve also seen that money worries have overtaken exam stress as the number one concern for today’s students. Managing your money has never been more important, so we hope our vending machine of free essentials will give Birmingham students a little boost during Fresher’s Fortnight.”
