Ageing populations: is the food industry ready on ready meals?

The world is getting older. By 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over and by 2050 the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years old will be 22%, nearly double its 2015 levels, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Our lives are shaped by age through changing physiologies and habits, so naturally through the years the needs and wants of consumers change, too.

One area that potentially offers low-hanging fruit for the food industry as it develops and markets products for the ageing population is ready meals. As the age of the general population has increased, so, too, has demand for ready meals. according to data from Just Food‘s parent company GlobalData.

In the UK this year, the volume of ready meals consumed will be 603.8 million kgs, up significantly from 505.93 kg a decade earlier. In terms of value, sales are forecast to reach £5bn ($6.77bn) in 2025, up from £3.2bn in 2015. GlobalData expects that growth to continue. In 2029, it forecasts volumes consumed to be 628m kgs, equivalent to £5.8bn in value.

So, how are consumer preferences likely to evolve in the coming decades and is the food industry ready and willing to adapt?

Cyrille Filott, global strategist for consumer foods, packaging and logistics at Dutch financial-services group Rabobank, sets out the business case. “The success of ready meals comes on the back of households getting smaller, busier lifestyles and convenience for the consumer,” he says.

Consumers aged 60-plus hold particular promise for ready-meal manufacturers, Filott adds. “For this group, there are two opportunities: Sheer volume of this part of the population, and value, in terms of the ingredients or composition of the meals and the channel, whether retail, catering, foodservice or delivery.”

Are older consumers engaged enough about nutrition?

The 60-plus age cohort offers fertile ground for specialised, targeted products. Talking to Just Food, Myriam Snaet, head of market intelligence and consumer insights at ingredients producer Beneo, points to some of the concerns and physiological characteristics unique to the demographic. “Ageing consumers have distinct nutritional needs due to physiological changes and age-related issues. Consumers aged 55 and over have specific health concerns: healthy ageing tops the list (44%), followed by bone or joint health (39%), heart health (38%), weight management (37%) and digestive/gut health (33%).”

But, Snaet adds, despite the needs of the 60-plus segment, its members do a bad job seeking out the right food products. “Baby Boomers have greater physiological needs for health-supporting ingredients due to age-related conditions, but they show lower engagement. Our research demonstrates that younger generations are better informed and more health aware than other generations: 57% of Gen Z seek out information on nutrition and healthy eating versus just 35% for Baby Boomers, while 61% of Gen Z research food, beverages and ingredients that can help boost their health, compared to 40% of Baby Boomers,” she explains.

“This highlights a clear generational disparity in proactive health and nutrition engagement, particularly between Gen Z and Baby Boomers. The figures indicate that Boomers may be less inclined to research themselves on healthy nutrition and might have less exposure to modern wellness trends or functional ingredients.”

Everyone is aware about what makes a healthy diet but we don’t update our choices as we grow older

Lorena Savani, EIT Food

At the EU-funded research organisation EIT Food, Begoña Pérez Villareal and Lorena Savani are working to improve nutrition and eating habits in Europe. Savani says in some cases older consumers are not purchasing the food products that are in their best interest. “Consumer behaviour is an issue. Everyone is aware about what makes a healthy diet but we don’t update our choices as we grow older. It’s only when we have a health issue that we actually change our behaviour and choices,” she says.

Is the food industry doing enough?

But, Pérez contends, it is the food industry that is failing to deliver the right products to ageing populations. “I think food industry is still not convinced that there is a clear opportunity here. There is not a clear strategy… But ignorance is not a valid excuse since the industry is very reactive to and centred towards younger consumers,” she says.

A walk around the supermarket can be an illustrative experience, Pérez adds. “When you go to a supermarket you can find the corner for young consumers and children and the rest is all together. There is not much segmenting in the offer for older consumers. It’s something that the market is not distinguishing well.”

Filott identifies the same problem but sympathises more with marketeers. “We see that most companies, especially retailers, do not play into the value opportunity. It is difficult to cater to older consumers because who wants to be confronted that they are 60-plus? However adding certain ingredient and marketing the content of the meal is an opportunity,” he says.

It is difficult to cater to older consumers because who wants to be confronted that they are 60-plus?

Cyrille Filott, Rabobank

Despite the opportunity, there is a financial incentive to focus on younger consumers, says Hamish Renton, CEO of UK-based food and drink consultancy HRA Global. “If you capture a Gen Z consumer with your brand, you’re going to get 60 years of purchase loyalty, but if you capture someone who’s 65 or 70 years old, in reality you’re going to get fewer years of purchase loyalty. From an customer acquisition perspective, you’re better off focusing on the young consumers.”

That said, the segment can be better reached with well tailored products, targeted marketing and appropriate distribution channels. Renton points to upmarket UK grocers Waitrose and Marks & Spencer as retailers adapting more quickly to the demands of the 60-plus segment for their attractive ready meal offerings, and specialist online services for wine, cheese and seafood that have been able to buck the pattern of online shopping decreasing with age.

For Savani, providing well targeted, nutritious ready meals is an urgent matter. “We need nutrient dense and minimally processed foods to be marketed better: accessible, with clear labelling and with portion sizes for people at all stages of life.”

She adds ready meals have a role to play in sustenance. “They are a necessity due to the very busy life people lead. Ready meals can and need to be convenient and healthy.”

At the charity AgeUK, Head of Health Influencing Lesley Carter says the convenience factor of ready meals can have a drastically positive impact for elderly members of the ageing consumer cohort. “There are some people who can’t cook any other way, so it’s a positive thing… We’re very sociable when we eat but, if your life has started to come in a bit, your appetite and want to eat deteriorate. Ready meals are really good. If you get ready meals which have more protein in, that’s a really cost effective to get good nutrition.”

But still, more can be done, Carter says, to offer clearly advertised, specialised products for the unique attributes of the ageing consumer cohort. “They need to advertise for exactly what it is. A soft-to-eat meal, an easy-to-chew-and-swallow meal, a high-protein meal. If they were clear who a meal is for, that would be really helpful. For example, for people who can’t chew it’s one range, for others who need high calorie it’s this other range.”

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