We present an overview of this growing category and what consumers want to see on store shelves.

By Allison Tannis, BSc MSc RHN

More than half of consumer spending comes from one group – the baby boomers. The youngest of the baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) turn 50 this year. It is now the largest generational group, consisting of about 9.6 million Canadians or about one third of our population, according to the 2011 Census.

According to a population projection by Statistics Canada, in 2036, the population of Canadians aged 65 years or over would represent between 23 to 25 per cent of the population, surpassing the number of children aged 14 and under, which is the first time that has happened in the history of the Canadian population. Boomers are also the population group with the largest consumer spending, making it important to keep a check on the pulse of this group to achieve success at retail level.

The pulse of the 50+ category

Potentially the most widely varied population segment, 50+ consumers include those who are active healthy individuals wanting to maintain youth and vitality, independently living seniors, and those in assisted living situations. Each of these groups has different nutritional requirements, purchasing influences and eating habits. As well, many 50+ consumers have at least one chronic condition with more than a quarter being affected by a combination of chronic conditions. According to a 2010 National Marketing Institute report, the main health concerns of 50+ consumers include arthritis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, vision and cognition.

An opportunity to increase sales at retail exists by offering products that address key health concerns of the 50+ category. This not only includes addressing the main health concerns highlighted in the report, however also products that address joint and bone health, digestive regularity, immunity, pain relief, beauty, anti-aging and energy.

Successful retailers have noted their 50+ consumers’ health concerns and catered to them. “The number one issue for women is insomnia…primarily stress and menopause related. Many of our male 50+ clients are looking for prostate and libido supplements,” reports Sharon Kite, supplements manager at Rainbow Foods in Ottawa. Solutions to male menopause, also called andropause, are also coming up more frequently in consumer requests.

In Calgary, Community Natural Foods reports their most popular supplements among 50+ consumers include those for bone health (calcium-magnesium-vitamin D formulas, vitamin K, strontium), ocular health (bilberry, lutein), heart health (CoQ10, hawthorne) and cognitive function.

Boomers don’t want to age 

This category’s desire to restore their health includes defying aging. The past decade has seen a significant increase in the number of products among all categories that boast anti-aging claims. Even hair colourants, the only sub-category in hair care to see growth in 2012, accounts for 15 per cent of new hair care product, according to Mintel’s Anti-Aging Skincare Report from February 2014. According to a report by Global Industry Analysts Inc., anti-aging products that include natural or organic ingredients such as vitamin E or botanical herbs are rising in popularity.

The anti-aging category is only expected to grow. The global market for anti-aging products for appearance enhancement is expected to grow to $5 billion U.S. by 2015. Consumers that make up the 50+ category today are going to be consumers for a long time yet: estimates from Statistics Canada say the population will continue to live longer with more than 17,000 Canadians expected to be centenarians (over 100 years of age) by 2031.

Teach me

According to a 2014 study reported in Nutrition Journal, awareness and knowledge were identified as the factors that would cause the greatest increase in functional food consumption among older adults. Many products sold at health food retail locations are functional foods. In a 2013 study reported in the Journal of Nutrition Gerontology and Geriatrics, 93 per cent of older adults were consumers of functional foods, and over 85 per cent indicated that they would consume more functional foods if they were to learn more about them.

The 50+ consumer wants more information, and will buy more if they can become more informed. Increasing access to information and awareness of both functional foods and supplements has been the formula of success for some health food retailers. Rainbow Foods has put effort in their reputation as a trustworthy information source by educating staff, offering a selection of high-quality supplements and foods, and engaging customers in conversations about their needs.

Keri-Lyn Butts, assistant manager at Community Natural Foods says, “it’s even part of our motto to have the most educated customers and staff in the industry. Education is a huge portion of what we do. We offer public seminars…once we even offered bone density testing and had a practitioner there to answer questions.”

Other retailers are using electronic education to increase their appeal to 50+ consumers. Organic Garage’s Vitamin Information Kiosk, or VIK, an information centre of the store’s design, allows customers to research vitamins and supplements based on the product or brand, while Shopper’s Drug Mart has created an online resource called Vitamin Finder to help consumers find information about vitamins, minerals and other supplements. “More and more people are finding their health information online, so it’s important to get it from a trusted source,” reports Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacist Christine Yu. “The Life Brand Vitamin Finder makes information about vitamins, minerals, supplements and natural health products easily accessible, and this is a great complement to speaking with a pharmacist in store or on the phone.”

Some statistics suggest the fastest growing demographic on Twitter is 55 to 64 years of age and 45 to 54 years on Facebook, retailers could be leveraging social media to capture customers’ interest. Social media is most effective if communications are frequent, high quality and engaging. Consultants specializing in nutritional marketing and communications can help retailers produce high quality educational content for social media. Then, retailers can easily sprinkle in a few posts about in-store promotions, sales or events. Successfully engaging the 50+ consumer group online can enticed them to shop at your retail location.

Hot and trendy in the lab

Over the past few decades, there have not been new health concerns in this age group, leaving trends in this category to emerge from the laboratories instead. What’s happening in research labs around the world? Alison Duncan, Professor of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph notes there are four areas of nutritional science worth watching with regards to the 50+ category: dietary fiber, omega-3s and vitamin D.

“Dietary fiber is already accepted as a healthy food by older adults thanks to well-documented proof of its role in digestive health and prevention of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer,” says Duncan. Fiber has the potential to be quickly accepted by consumers, resulting in rapid movement of products in the marketplace.

Omega-3s are famous for their cognitive benefits with new research is still emerging. EPA and DHA present high health potential at a low intake.

Most seniors are at risk of vitamin D deficiency as there are not a lot of sources of vitamin D and we tend to avoid the sun. “You don’t see a lot of people ordering milk in restaurants. There is more than skeletal health benefits to vitamin D. New research is finding links between vitamin D consumption and diabetes risk,” she says.

At retail, “PQQ [pyrroloquinoline quinone] is an exciting, up and coming product,” according to Butts. The excitement stems from research studies, suggesting pyrroloquinoline quinone could help prevent cognitive decline and other age-related problems. Pyrroloquinoline quinone’s anti-aging benefits could be due to its ability to beneficially affect mitochondria, decreases markers of inflammation and acts as an antioxidant in humans according to a 2013 study in Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

Catering to older consumers

Is your retail location meeting the needs of this aging category? Older consumers have special nutritional needs, dexterity limitations and desire small-sized food portions. They want products with easy-to-read labels, clearly marked for dietary restrictions and easy to open. According to Nielsen, 45 per cent of consumers believe most retail locations are not catering to the needs of older consumers.

Consider aisles dedicated to aging-need products, handicap checkout lanes, electrical shopping carts and offering assistance with grocery bags. Such needs may be seen more drastically in urban areas, as Statistics Canada research shows a general population movement from rural to urban areas.

Maximizing retail success

Successful merchandizing of any product includes clean lines, clear signage and effective cross promoting. Creating a 50+ section in your retail location could help communicate to this powerful group of consumers that you have their needs in mind. To do this, create a clean, professional sign to help customers find your 50+ section. Within the category, use smaller signs to highlight sections of the shelf that contain products for the top health concerns of aging Canadians. Consider merchandizing products in combinations such as: greens powders, chia and probiotics for anti-aging smoothies; melatonin and essential oils for stress or insomnia; or oil of oregano, probiotics, natural hand soap and pure organic juices for immunity.

Not ready to take that leap yet? Start by creating a smaller feature on an end aisle, near the store entrance, or by the cash register and highlight key products of interest to the 50+ consumer.

Retailers report an upward trend in purchases of insomnia and stress related products, whole food multivitamins, functional foods (greens, maca, chia), probiotics, iron and silica by 50+ consumers. Maximize your sales to this powerful consumer group by cross-promoting products, creating effective displays and educating your staff.

Look outside your store’s doors to community groups, festivals, clubs and recreational organizations that cater to the 50+ demographic. Engaging with them can attract more of this lucrative category to your store.

With strong purchasing power and an average household income over $60,000, the 50+ category is an important market. “Customers are recognizing that taking a proactive approach to maintain their health is better,” says Butts.

Both manufacturers and retailers can successfully capture this market by keeping in touch with the pulse of this category, educating their consumer and watching emerging trends.

GMO can be found everywhere, though many consumers are not aware of the negative effects. We explore the possibility of making a profit with GMO-free goods.  

By Kavita Sabharwal

The results of a 2012 Mellman Group poll showed 91 per cent of American consumers want to know whether GMO are present in their products, and 53 per cent of consumers said they would not purchase food with genetically modified ingredients, according to a recent CBS and New York Times poll. Consumers in both Canada and the United States have expressed an interest in finding out whether their foods are genetically engineered and wish to learn more, although unfortunately they do not always have an opportunity to because these products do not subscribe to mandatory labeling requirements.

Genetically engineered products accrue approximately $400 billion in global sales annually and that number is expected to double by 2017 to 18 per cent of the total food products available. The Non-GMO Project states that up to 80 per cent of conventional processed foods contain GMO in the United States, including many household staples such as cereals, snack bars, cookies, lunchmeats and crackers.

GMO-free product consumption is growing as well. Natural specialty foods have grown by 9.4 per cent, while non-genetically engineered foods make up 15.8 per cent of total food in North America. Non-GMO is the fastest growing category in the natural channel. Currently, these products represent $5 billion in annual sales of over 15,000 verified products in North America. Consumers trust verified products with the Non-GMO Project seal and products that carry the seal tend to have higher sales than their non-verified counterparts.

Graham Clarke, grocery merchandiser at Pomme Natural Market, believes there is a huge market for non-GMO foods. “With the vast amount of information available to consumers nowadays that wasn’t necessarily readily available in the past, they are becoming more and more educated on healthy eating choices and in this case, on the impacts of GMO foods,” he says. “It’s very difficult for manufacturers to find organic, non-GMO ingredients. If these crops were more available, manufacturers would use them as the consumer demand is growing faster than the crops are available.”

What’s wrong with GMO?

According to Michael Internicola, senior vice president of sales at Andalou Naturals, consumers are moving away from genetically engineered foods. Although North American countries do not have a ban on these products, 64 countries across the world have some sort of restriction or outright ban on GMO.

“Genetically engineered foods have been sprayed by the herbicide Roundup by definition,” says scientist and non-GMO expert Thierry Vrain. “If you want to avoid the very toxic residues, then you have to avoid GMO altogether.”

According to Vrain, Roundup is now starting to fail due to weed resistance; now, farmers who wish to genetically engineer their crops are turning to 2,4-D, a stronger herbicide and an ingredient in Agent Orange. While Vrain says 2,4-D is not responsible for the birth defects experienced in Vietnam decades after the widespread use of the herbicide during the war, this chemical is far from harmless.

“Dioxins are some of the chemicals that are the most toxic that we’ve ever known. They were quite widespread in Agent Orange and they are responsible for the birth defects. Hopefully the 2,4-D formulation will not contain dioxin, although it is a contaminant in the manufacturing process,” he says.

Identifying GMO in your store

It seems that most stores prefer to integrate non-GMO with standard fare, as Randee Glassman, director of marketing, public relations and communications at Organic Garage, says her store does. For those customers who wish to avoid GMO and aren’t able to find the right information on the packaging, Glassman suggests choosing organic foods instead.

Organic products prohibit the use of pesticides and herbicides; therefore these crops cannot be genetically engineered to resist the effects of these toxins. Most large grocery stores carry organic products, however they are usually placed separately from conventional items and are priced at a premium. However, larger chain grocery stores cannot carry exclusively organic products since that could alienate a large number of their shoppers.

Clarke says that since several shoppers in natural and organic stores are what he calls “cross-over shoppers,” the store merchandises both natural (which may contain GMO) and organic goods side by side to reduce the “sticker shock” of healthier choices. Clarke says he has not seen a negative impact by merchandising these products this way since it offers a choice for consumers on whether or not they choose to pay extra money for the organic version.

“Although our preference would be to sell only non-GMO, it’s an unrealistic model at this point as many of the natural product manufacturers out there simply can’t find a steady supply of non-GMO ingredients,” he says.

Whole Foods Market also chooses to integrate non-GMO products with conventional products, as long as they fall within the same category. Kate Lowery, a spokesperson for Whole Foods, says that since all Non-GMO Project-verified goods are labeled, customers who are looking for those products can easily find them. The retailer has come out with a mandate that by 2018, every product in the store that contains GMO will be labeled as such.

“This is one of those times where doing the right thing benefits the retailer and the manufacturer. I think as consumers become more aware they will look for products that are verified and that will give them an assurance,” says Internicola. “A good natural food retailer is a gatekeeper and they should be looking to put products in their stores that they’ve signed their name to.”

Creating a balance

The issue with GMO is that the demand for non-genetically engineered products is there; what is lacking is the awareness. As a retailer, looking for ways to educate your clients on GMO can increase the popularity of these choices in your store.

Independent retailers can use this to their advantage, according to Internicola. “I think there’s a lot of movement around the right to know what is inside your products. It’s one of the core attributes of the natural food industry,” he says. “Most customers that come into a natural food store believe that the retailer has verified that the products in that store are good and clean. Retailers and manufacturers need to work together. They need to take that message into the store using their point of sale and saying these products are non-GMO and communicating to their customers why they have these products in their stores.”

Merchandising to create interest in non-GMO products can be difficult, because although most consumers would avoid GMO if these products were clearly labeled, putting special emphasis on non-GMO merchandise can hurt sales of other foods.

Lowery says Whole Foods does not make an effort to separately market non-GMO products. She says they have experienced a huge amount of growth due to rising demand for natural, healthier foods. However, she does not believe that encouraging non-GMO would hurt sales of more conventional products.

“We’re not about necessarily pushing non-GMOs. What we do is give customers a choice and let them decide,” she says.

Clarke believes placing an emphasis on buying non-GMO would not impact sales of conventional products since price is often a factor for shoppers. “This comes back to the whole idea of buying organic versus conventional. In some families, it’s just not affordable,” he says. “The good thing is that as more people buy organic, the cheaper it costs to produce, so hopefully in the future the price of conventional versus organic will be more in line, at which point there will be a drop in conventional food consumption.”

For discerning shoppers, the Non-GMO Shopping Guide is an online resource that lists non-GMO brands of grocery products in every category. A conventional retailer may not want to carry exclusively these products since that might transition them into a health retailer, alienating mainstream customers. However, carrying a balance of conventional and GMO-free products is a smart way to appeal to every consumer. If your store is larger, consider creating a separate section solely for natural foods where you can include non-GMO selections. That way, shoppers can choose which section to shop in without negatively impacting the sales of more mainstream products.

Since sales of organic and non-GMO products are only growing, consider only carrying labeled products as a first step. Get informed on GMO and pass that information along to consumers, keeping them informed on what is contained within those crops and what it means for their health. Keeping GMO out of stores and out of the hands of knowledgeable consumers will ensure the popularity of non-GMO products and the retailers that carry them will only grow.

Rytalo helps companies get into digital marketing by using its expertise to rocket retailers to success.

By Kavita Sabharwal

Rytalo started out four years ago as a small firm that focused on digital marketing activities from a technological perspective. It uses its expertise while working with new companies, grants and organizations using mobile technologies and assisting companies with using them within their operations.

Moody Hashem, a digital marketing consultant for the company, explains that at its start, Rytalo worked on building mobile applications and using them to assist companies. It experienced a growing demand for not only the technology involved, yet for its services as well.

“It’s getting more complicated, not only from a technology perspective but also to help those brands utilize the different channels of marketing on the digital side to promote and to engage their clients. That’s why we started building different services to help those organizations,” says Hashem.

After a few years, the company began focusing solely on the retail market because it saw a demand for help in this region. Rytalo has seen a growth in companies looking at mobile applications in order to have a digital presence. Whether these companies are new to digital marketing and are looking for a consultant to advise, plan and partner with them to create a strategy across all channels, or they have an e-commerce presence that they find difficult to maintain or too competitive, Rytalo has a service that can suit their needs.

Teamwork           

Rytalo operates in North America and the Middle East, with offices in Toronto, Dubai and Cairo, with 22 employees who work under the company’s three partners. Hashem looks after the digital marketing strategy and the plan to achieve it by working closely with his clients. The second partner focuses on the software development and operations, while the third partner handles digital marketing services and activities.

“We’re a partnership, basically. The three partners have expertise and strength in different areas,” says Hashem. “These are the three markets of what we provide as well. One is the strategy for our clients, which spans across technology, business model, engagement and marketing activities. The second is technology, development, leveraging and the software across all systems and platforms. The third are the marketing activities, social media, SEO marketing, campaigns and inbound marketing.”

Rytalo has developed the skills to deal with all these aspects because, according to Hashem, the retail market is undergoing a big transformation that retailers must contend with.

“In the last two years, we have seen lots of different technologies getting very persuasive and sophisticated. Digital activities in general have become very competitive and complicated and most retailers are either taking steps to get into different channels to promote their products and business beyond their existing current stores and some of them take steps to find better and more effective ways of doing it and they need some help. Or they haven’t done anything and they are looking at it and trying to find an entry point,” says Hashem. “Those are the two scenarios that we work with to help the client with the strategy and partner with them to leverage all this new technology and different channels so they can expand their business and stay competitive, because that’s the big issue now. That’s basically why they come to us.”

Pick your service           

Rytalo offers several services designed to help a company transition into the digital marketplace, including setting up an online store with optional help updating content and promotions, creating a mobile application for iPhones and Androids, creating a Facebook store that links directly to the company’s online store and handling social media, content marketing, search engine optimization and online advertising. Rytalo has even developed a special package for digital newcomers.

“The first package is to have their own online store, mobile application or store and presence in social media,” says Hashem. “We immediately put them on this platform which would allow them to have a presence across all those channels and then help them to set up those stores, products, categories, inventory, all the logistics needed for them to start their business online across all those channels. This is the base package to set up their presence and provide them with essential parts required for them to expand into this domain.”

Rytalo’s portfolio includes Quality, an electronics and gadget retail store that resells major brands such as HP, Asus, Lenovo, Dell and Samsung at several retail stores across the U.S. and at several locations in the Middle East.

“Quality was looking for more than just launching an online website. They were looking for a full comprehensive strategy on how to leverage the online channels to grow their revenue within their target markets without jeopardizing or creating an overhead to their current operation,” says Hashem. “Rytalo’s partnership business model clearly resonated with Quality’s need to have a partner who will be able to build the technology platform, establish processes, integrate with current processes and provide required marketing services needed to generate traffic and boost sales.”

As a result of the partnership, Quality successfully launched a fully branded online store, mobile application and Facebook store, which Rytalo fully integrates with existing store inventory management as well as customer services and call centre systems.

“The Rytalo team assisted in setting up all store configurations, product details, tax setups and shipping and handling logistics. It also fully automated the fulfillment of purchase orders and customer services with existing Quality resources,” says Hashem. “The Rytalo Internet marketing services team continuously managed all promotions and online campaigns via Google and Facebook advertising that resulted in increased consumer interactions and a growth in revenue.”

For those retailers who are unsure of introducing an online presence, Hashem warns that if they wait too long, it may be too late. “Across the last three years, there has been a huge growth happening on the digital side and it will continue in the coming five to 10 years. Unless they act now, they will lose the opportunity and ignore a big sector of users,” he says. “Unless they give them what they’re looking for, customers will go somewhere else.”

Hashem believes that Amazon joining the ranks of the National Retail Federation’s Top Retailers, and even breaching the top 10 of the list, bodes well for e-commerce sites everywhere, since an online retailer has never before reached that level. “You can see how it’s not a tiny niche in retail anymore, it’s beyond that,” says Hashem.

A human experience

Customers who value human contact while making purchases won’t be left out in the cold. In reality, Hashem believes it’s easy to cater to those customers through the right application.

“You cater to consumers who prefer to come to the store, go through the products and get engaged with sales and customer service representatives one-on-one,” says Hashem. “Then there are other customers who would like to do it themselves. They don’t want to talk to customer service, they want to use technology to give them the tools to do it.”

He offers up an alternative to meet the needs of customers who prefer the human aspect of shopping. “You can still use a mobile app in the store which would allow you to request attention from the sales rep. You get in touch with them, they guide you through it, and then instead of waiting in line to complete the purchase, they can do it right through the application,” suggests Hashem. “It doesn’t have to be where you put the entire store online and you can purchase and that’s it. It can provide indirect engagement and provide users with the values, which will escalate into the purchase of products. It’s not a one-time thing that you do; it requires a plan and ongoing activities where you start somewhere with basic offerings and engagement and build on top of that.”