A Boom in Boomer Marketing

As the "Pepsi Generation" turns into the "Pepcid Generation," the boomer consumer continues to shape the food and beverage market. According to Matt Switzer, Slack Barshinger and Partners, Inc., the search for the fountain of youth for this segment is fueling new product development. Now, where'd I put that Joint Juice...?

   —Lynn A. Kuntz

Just as the baby boomer generation is opening their mailboxes to find AARP registration mailings (my mother was devastated when she received hers) the food and beverage industry has seen an explosion in products geared towards thinning, cutting, slimming and trimming the aging, yet seemingly health-focused population. Accompanying this invasion of products is an influx of marketing with health-conscious messages.  

The food and beverage industry faces a conundrum with the consumer stampede for healthy products. While one can draw some similarities between the two, health-focused messages for the general consumer population are not directly complimentary with those geared towards the aging boomers. Before entering or re-entering the market with new or reformulated products geared specifically towards boomers, the advantages and disadvantages to the current market demand must be considered:

Pros of marketing to Boomers

• One out of every four Americans is a boomer (Metlife Mature Market Institute)
• Boomers have been identified as being less healthy than their parents’ generation, and are thus becoming more conscious of their health
• Boomers are a wealthy audience with an estimated annual spending power of over $2 trillion (Spending Power of Baby Boomers, Mintel, February 2007) and are willing to spend a few extra bucks for a premium product
• The combination of healthy characteristics of these new products and the desire for control of health in the baby boomer generation appears to be a perfect match

Cons of marketing to Boomers

• Fierce competition―the market is flooded with products geared towards this audience
• There are some specific challenges that are exclusive to boomer-focused product development (e.g. health claims, use of nontraditional ingredients, potential interactions with medications that are frequently used by this segment, etc.)
• Reformulation is expensive and time-consuming

Marketers must create messages that convey how their products meet the nutritional needs for this particular life stage versus focusing on the decline of this segment’s health

Formulators must look at their product segments and ask themselves, “How much of the total market is comprised of boomers?” And even more importantly, “Does the potential for profit exceed the cost of development?”

Once you’ve decided to make the investment into releasing a new product geared towards baby boomers, you are going to need to devote the time and money necessary to make sure that the product you are putting out into the market has not only the flavor profile to achieve more than just an initial purchase but the health and wellness benefits to turn your first-time-buyer into a long-time customer. Consider focusing on some of the hot button issues in today’s food market like bone health, anti-aging and heart health, to name a few.

To sum it up—there is a huge opportunity for food and beverage manufacturers to take advantage of the public demand for better-for-you products, BUT it is not a win-win scenario. Invest the time and efforts in making your products they best they can be—combine that with an aggressive public relations and marketing campaign and voila!

   —Matt Switzer