With the global population ageing, a new era of opportunities is opening up for products that help combat the ageing process and make people feel young and healthy.

When seeking out new trends, the spotlight often falls on young or emerging consumers. But with the proportion of the world’s population aged 60 and over growing larger – at a rate of 3% a year according to UN research – senior or so-called ‘silver’ consumers are becoming a key target for many industries, particularly when it comes to products addressing age concerns.

In the beauty and wellness industry, silver consumers have long been the leading demographic for anti-ageing and personal care products. And, according to Mintel, preparing for a longer, healthier life is now a growing opportunity for food and beverage producers – creating food and drink products that help people look and feel young.

Long-life products

In 2017, according to the UN, there were an estimated 962 million people aged 60 or over. This number is set to become 1.4 billion by 2030, 2.1 billion by 2050, and could potentially rise to 3.1 billion by 2100. As the world’s ageing population continues to grow, it’s clear that senior consumers have an increasing need for more health-driven food and drinks.

This emerging healthy ageing trend presents a unique opportunity for producers to develop products that meet a range of age-related health concerns. According to Mintel, more formulations can be developed to help people efficiently consume vitamins, minerals and other ingredients that are potentially beneficial for healthy brains, bones, joints and immune systems.

But it’s not just older consumers that are seeking healthy ageing products. As seen in the beauty and personal care industry, products can be targeted towards consumers of all ages who want to prepare their bodies for a longer life. And communication is key to achieving this, says Mintel, by using positive language that rejects terms like ‘anti-ageing’, celebrates different life stages, and addresses longevity-related health concerns.

Adding more value

To help producers create products with more healthy, natural and fortifying ingredients, SIG offers an innovative solution called drinksplus. It enables beverage products to contain real food pieces, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts or cereal grains. This means producers can open up new product categories that answer the need for healthy ageing and nutritionally-rich products.

From vegetable wellness drinks with pieces of antioxidant-dense aloe vera, and protein-packed whey drinks with whole fruit pieces, to drinking yoghurts enriched with seeds, the possibilities of drinksplus are almost limitless.