A green protein smoothie for breakfast, a mobile app-ordered quinoa bowl for lunch, and ready-to-cook salmon with brussels sprouts meal for dinner. If this sounds like a typical twenty-something’s menu plan, think again — today’s Baby Boomers are a formidable force in reshaping how meal services are conceptualized and delivered. This often-misunderstood population segment holds over 80% of the wealth in the U.S. and is responsible for the majority of spending in food and beverage.
The generation that brought us fast food and TV dinners is now 60+ years old and proudly defying the stereotypes that precede them. According to Age of Majority, a market research firm, 75% of this growing population segment is categorized as “Active Agers” who are physically, mentally, socially, and digitally active. It all adds up to new opportunities to capture some of $8.3 trillion in annual economic activity with dining experiences that meet the expectations of the Longevity Economy.
Baby Boomers are not just financially formidable but also remarkably tech-savvy and worldly. “The dining expectations of Baby Boomers have been significantly influenced by technology,” explains Richard Schenkel, CEO of Phoenix3 Holdings, a strategic growth company focused on lifestyle and distributive service companies. “The demand for quality, convenience and variety impacts everything from supermarkets to senior living.”
Convenience is Expected
Covid-19 created a new frontier for instant gratification with online ordering and delivery of everything from diapers to dinner, dramatically fast-tracking Boomers’ adoption of ecommerce. In fact, a recent survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics found that over 50% of Boomers have Amazon Prime memberships and 40% intended to shop on Amazon Prime Day in July.
Interestingly, many Boomers have become unintended power users of subscription meal kit services. The pre-portioned ingredients save time on meal planning and grocery shopping while and allowing for culinary experimentation. On-demand food delivery of kits, groceries and restaurant take out via Uber Eats and Door Dash also fuels the Active Agers’ desire to “age in place” which further amplifies the importance of catering to the needs of this growing population.
In the future, industry experts predict that smart food delivery services might use voice-activated assistants that integrate with health monitoring tools and machine learning to know what you like to eat and then build your basket to support your overall health.
A Healthy Understanding
Baby Boomers grew up in an era when frozen and processed foods dominated the market, and little was known about the connection between diet and health outcomes. As children, they likely ate mystery meat in their school cafeterias and got most of their vegetables from a can. Today, however, we have armies of aged 60+ culinarians boasting about air-fried Brussels sprouts and veggie burgers, while they diligently read nutrition labels, visit farmer’s markets and loath processed food.
Boomers are relishing their Third Act careers and Second Middle Age as life expectancy rises in parallel with the evolved understanding of the connection between food and health. Companies like MyFitnessPal, Nutrigenomix and Smart Plate measure nutrients, portions, and build personalized nutrition plans to help them optimize health. And nutraceuticals, which combine nutrition and pharmaceuticals, are the latest developments on the horizon.
“We see tremendous value in leveraging technology to create dining experiences that are uniquely tailored to each individual’s tastes, health profile and lifestyle,” noted Schenkel.
Craving a Variety of Experiences
Immersive experiences have become standard fare for shopping, dining, travel, and entertainment and Boomers have enjoyed the ride as they travel the world seeking cultural and educational enrichment. Consider the experiential transformation of dining at airports where cafeteria style has been replaced by a diverse array of regionalized culinary offerings with technology-enabled quick service and elaborate design features.
Despite the aging population’s buying power, one area of dining that seemingly has not fully adapted to meet expectations is the $100 billion senior living industry. According to the Age of Majority’s research with the International Council on Active Aging, there is a disconnect between what active agers believe they want in a long-term living strategy and what they think they can get from a senior living setting. The two most important senior living community amenities cited are “essential shopping” (65%) and “restaurants and dining” (43%), yet the quality and variety of food served was the second lowest rated attribute (affordability was the lowest).
Jeff Weiss, CEO at The Age of Majority, explained, “There’s a big opportunity here. The senior living industry is not currently conveying the lifestyle that Active Agers have become accustomed to. Would you want to eat at the same restaurant 3 times a day, 7 days a week?”
Like other mealtime solutions, technology and personalization can greatly enhance these experiences with interactive menus, personalized recommendations, take-out options, and ever-changing designs that transform dining spaces into destinations.
According to the World Health Organization, by 2030 the United States population of people over 65 will reach 73 million, up from 56 million in 2020. The intersection of technology, nutrition science and flexible dining solutions may well be the key driver of the Longevity Economy – and it may lead us right to that proverbial Fountain of Youth.
