Abstract:

This document provides some finding, drawn from a 650 page study of senior citizens, which was conducted by GIRA. That study was made in order to determine possible marketing opportunities in this segment of the population and to offer timely recommendations for taking advantage of this market. First of all, it was necessary to learn what characterised the behaviour of the over-60 generation as far as their diets were concerned. GIRA attempted to explain what factors govern the composition of senior citizens' food baskets, a result of the combined interaction of three complementary factors: the age effect (change in the body’s needs with ageing, alterations in taste, for example); the generational effect (children and adults have developed their eating habits; how will an individual of 60 react to new products?) and all the external factors, particularly, their receptiveness to all the press given food. Within respect to their diet, senior citizens do indeed have special needs, but GIRA has demonstrated that, basically, it is preferable to give priority to the "average" needs of the elderly. The fact is senior citizens require very few new products (though a few possibilities are open for sweet products), but constitute a huge market for existing items, which are surprisingly "under"-consumed because the business sector has overlooked marketing them.