Though teens are an enigma to many adults, they are the consumers of tomorrow — heads of households and holders of the family purse who will make the decisions and shape the habits and attitudes of yet another, even newer generation. With enormous potential buying power and influence, we may believe we don’t understand this group, but what we do know about them offers great potential to vegetarian food businesses.

School’s back in session and around the country, kids are brown-bagging it or choosing lunch items in the school cafeteria. So what are our children eating while they’re hitting the books in the classroom? According to the School Nutrition Association’s 2009 report on school lunch programs around the country, more and more children have a choice between vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.

Today’s youth (under age 18) are a new breed of consumers who are also coming of age in terms of buying power. They learn quickly, they respond quickly, they are tech savvy, and most importantly to veg companies, they know the issues. In fact, the upcoming generation of consumers expects information almost instantly from digital sources including Twitter, smart phones, and other sources, and what they don’t know, they can find out — with just a few clicks of a button.