Baby boomers’ lust for a healthy life is fuelling the
fortunes of foods and drinks with health benefits, even in the teeth of
recession, according to Julian Mellentin’s new report 10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition and Health 2010.
While consumers are willing to cut back in many areas –
consumer electronics, cars and luxuries – they see products that provide a
benefit that they need as good value-for-money, even when they are sold at
super-premium prices.
“From the age of 40, maintaining good digestive health;
from 50, looking after your heart; from 60, keeping your joints free from
discomfort are increasingly the top concerns of mature consumers around the
world,” says Mellentin, “and brands that address these issues have recorded
growth rates of 20% or more during the economic recession, despite premium
pricing.”
Consider the following growth figures for 2009:
Digestive health
In the US, General Mills’ Fiber One breakfast cereal brand
increased its sales by 20%, to over $225 million (€150 million).
In the US Yakult increased its sales by 44%.
In Italy, although the economy shrank by 6%, sales of
Danone’s premium-priced Activia digestive health brand actually grew by an
impressive 19.5%, to €222.5 million ($325 million), according to IRI.
In the UK, the economy shrank by 5.2% and the overall
yoghurt market was static (Nielsen), yet sales of the Activia brand grew 32% to
over €270 million ($314 million).
Cholesterol-lowering
Italians embrace food as a way of maintaining health,
even in the teeth of economic gales. Danone’s Danacol cholesterol-lowering
brand, which is based on plant sterols, earned €72.7 million ($106 million) in
retail sales in 2009, a 28.8% increase (IRI data). For a brand that sells at a
100%+ premium, to achieve this growth even while the Italian economy contracted
by 6% is quite some achievement. Pro rata Danacol’s performance to a market the
size of the US and it would be a $500 million brand.
Benecol cholesterol-lowering drink – the most expensive
dairy product in the UK supermarket – actually increased its sales in 2009 by
18.8% to £39.2 million ($61 million/€44.6 million).
Joint Health
In the US, Elations juice drinks with added glucosamine were
on track for sales of $55 million (€37 million) in 2009 and on a path to reach
$85 million (€57 million) in 2010. In 2008, Elations’ sales were just $15
million (€10 million).
“That these premium-priced brands have done well in the
recession seems counter-intuitive,” continues Mellentin. “But given that many
of today’s over-50s, and in particular over 65s, have little or no debt, have
often accumulated significant assets and have more disposable income to spend
on their health than any previous generation, we should not be surprised that
the boomers are now driving the growth of brands that address their main health
concerns.”
Benecol,
for example, is one brand that has already benefited from being able to say its
health claim has been “approved by the European Commission”. Sirco juice’s
claim that it helps “maintain a healthy blood flow and benefits circulation” is
another one of the few signed off by EU regulators. In test markets Sirco found
that its buyers were overwhelmingly aged over 60 and formed a loyal hardcore
with a high repeat purchase pattern.
Of Europe’s 500 million people 20% are over the age of 65
and the average age of the population is 41. By 2030 30% will be over the age
of 65. With figures like these in prospect, the market faces a new era of
growth.
About the report
Each year since 1995, industry expert Julian Mellentin
has forecast and analysed trends in food, nutrition and health. These are the
important trends which will shape the business of food and health not only in
the next 12 months but for many years beyond – trends every company must take
into account in developing a food and nutrition strategy. This 98-page report includes a
short bullet-point summary of each trend and of the key factors Mellentin
believes can contribute to enduring success. Analyses are supported by detailed
brand sales data, comparisons of product pricing and advertising messages and
claims, and more than 90 illustrations and charts.
Mellentin’s 10 Key Trends for 2010 are:
Digestive health
– a mega-trend moves beyond the tipping point
An intrinsic
health benefit that’s also convenient
Feel the benefit
– the most powerful marketing message
Energy – a
world of untapped opportunities
Fruit and
superfruit – the future of food and health
Antioxidants –
big in America, dead in Europe?
Weight management
Healthy snacking
Bones and movement
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