Hipsters are often the butt of a joke, but right now they’re also an economic force. Sales of “hipster” products have been soaring, with revenue of organic foods doubling between 2003 and 2014, specialty coffee shops tripling since 2002, and craft beer becoming 19% of the overall U.S. market. Big food brands have been attempting to keep up by creating more Millennial-friendly products and acquiring independent brands who already do just that—but they risk a backlash. As Kellogg’s learned when they acquired Kashi and experienced a sales decline, capturing this market based on “authenticity” is not easy: “…they don’t want others to copy them, so they keep up by changing their tastes, by moving on to the next things.” (Financial Times)
