Today’s food and drink brands are obsessed with the ‘cult of youth’, and are relentlessly pursuing Gen Z shoppers. But, as our population ages, there is a huge opportunity for brands to target mature consumers with products.
The Mintel Global New Product Database (GNPD) shows just 1% of global food and drink launches overtly target the over-55s. This is despite older consumers being responsible for over half of all UK household spending, according to the Centre for Ageing Better.
And the UK has one of the oldest age profiles in the world – by 2035, over-65s will account for almost a quarter of our population, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Here are three ways Mintel believes food and drink brands can target older consumers.
As the UK’s retirement age shifts ever older, mature workers need convenient food and drink products that help them stay mentally sharper, for longer. Unlike their younger counterparts, mature consumers are suspicious of artificially fortified products.
Therefore, companies should focus on intrinsically brain-boosting food and drink. Whitworths Think Sharp Wonder Mix, for example, contains nuts and dark chocolate with naturally occurring zinc “for normal cognitive function”.
Secondly, Mintel’s data shows over-55s prioritise buying fruit and vegetables more than any other category. However, just 35% of those aged 65-plus achieve the 5 a day recommendation, according to the Association of UK Dieticians. It highlights a need for a much better range of enticing products formulated with a variety of fruit and vegetables.
Thirdly, companies should be prepared for mature consumers to carefully scrutinise nutrition labels for salt, sugar and fat. Currently, few brands make ‘minus’ claims: Mintel GNPD shows only 6% of total UK food launches in the past five years made a low, no or reduced salt claim. To cater for older shoppers, brands should highlight these claims more clearly on-pack, with larger fonts.
Food and drink brands are too quick to write off mature consumers as irrelevant and part of the past, not the future. Yet, people are living longer than ever, and enjoying fuller lives.
These older consumers have even spent the past decade running the world’s most powerful country. As Donald Trump prepares to move back into the White House, isn’t it time for brands to embrace their own MAGA movement – and vow to Make the Aged Great Again?
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