According to Nestle Health Sciences Institute Global Head of Product Technology and Development Rania Abou Samra, healthy ageing can start as early as in a person’s forties, particularly in Asia where this usually is seen to be around 40 to 45.
“The key triggers to ageing at this point usually are the first signs which are linked to appearance, and the focus tends to be on maintaining physical appearance and performance,” Samra told the floor at our recent Growth Asia Summit 2024.
“At this life stage, usually the consumer is part of a maturing family and sandwiched between their children and parents with the former becoming self-reliant but the latter experiencing health issues, which can also be a trigger point.
“At this stage, the consumers needs are usually centred around general health, vitality, mobility, disease management, appearance and for women, menopause.”
This life stage is usually from the forties to early sixties, after which the consumer becomes an ‘active retirement embracer’ that is ‘living their second life’ until their mid-seventies or so, usually preparing for or enjoying retirement.
“The trigger points at this stage are usually retirement, the full independence of their children, their first chronic health issues and starting medications,” Samra said.
“They do need to start managing minor health issues as cardiovascular health and mobility become bigger issues, [and] want to play with their grandkids and stay fully engaged in life but do have less energy so at this stage things like vitality, mental health and mobility become even more important.
“Moving on, those consumers in our mapping which are 70+ years old are usually considered seniors, and this is usually when managing health issues becomes a reality – the triggers can be quite a bit different such as potentially losing a partner and friends.
“In terms of needs, priorities move to areas such as malnutrition and need for protein increases, as well as cognitive health, fall concerns and diseases states like Osteoporosis.”
Samra stressed that at each of these different life stages, the consumption of vitamins, minerals, herbals and supplements (VMHS) has now become not only the norm but also the number one action consumers take to age well and stay in good health.
“This is basically just a very good opportunity for all businesses in this area – we have found that about 63% of all adults take VMHS to stay healthy, and this increases to 78% just looking at the number of adults aged 65 and above,” she said.
“This percentage has become higher than even the medicinal approach (59% and 76%) or healthy eating (49% and 49%) so we see the consumer behaviour is there for VMHS and we are well ahead of F&B in this space.
“Over time, the general main priorities usually shift to cognitive issues and mobility for both men and women – this was seen in a cohort of over 14,000 men and women of which 57% highlighted keeping a good memory and mental acuity as the top priority, and 46% highlighted maintaining joint flexibility as well.
“The important thing to remember is that there is a need to personalise the VMHS products for consumers at each life stage, based on their needs and triggers – which should be done using differentiated ingredients, science and technology and transversal platforms.
“Whether the need is to preserve overall health, recover, look and feel good, stay active and strong, keep mentally healthy or others, there are assets and products that can help.”
Double click on women
Samra also highlighted a strong need to focus on women’s health and specialised needs during their ageing process, given the additional hormonal imbalances that tend to come into play.
“The needs of women are different and we need to double click on women’s needs,” she said.
“Our studies have shown that stress and sleep issues basically affect women of all ages, and hormonal issues from menstrual cramps to hot flashes remain amongst their top five most impactful pain points from adolescence to post-menopause.
“This is not to mention issues such as a lack of energy as well as weight management – and all of this clearly shows that women’s health needs and deserves specialised help and products to deal with these challenges.”
