The over-65s are a booming demographic. We challenged design agency Bluemarlin to dream up five dairy concepts to appeal to older shoppers
Dairy has some maturing to do. At least if it wants to capitalise on the opportunities of the lucrative grey pound. The over-65s now make up 17.6% of the UK population, with disposable income up 13% on 2014, according to HSBC.
That means the opportunities for dairy brands are “huge” says Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK. “Dairy has an advantage in this space,” she believes.
“The healthy ageing arena has huge potential for dairy foods and ingredients for those with the right products and marketing strategies.”
In fact, in a list of decision-making criteria for food shoppers aged over 65, Age UK found ‘health’ was their number one concern.
And not only is it “important to remember that the nutritional profile of standard milk is already great for healthy ageing” adds Bryans, but “dairy foods are also a good vehicle for fortification and enrichment”.
Furthermore, “beyond the arena of products people can pick up off their local supermarket or health food store shelf, dairy-based products also have a role in the specialist medical product space”.
Yet short of a probiotic yoghurt or two, dairy innovations targeted at the over-65s have been lacklustre thus far. So what is putting brands off?
“There is much more that could be done to capitalise on this trend,” accepts a Müller spokeswoman.
She adds currently “there are some niche areas of dairy that are capitalising on these trends, and where there is investment in this opportunity it drives the growth of the overall category”.
Enrichment
Some major dairy companies are slowly but surely waking up to this. Arla already markets a number of dairy products to older consumers in Scandinavia and points to its Arla Skyr brand, now available in the UK, as an example of its attempt to reach the over-55s. Skyr’s “combination of fat-free, low in sugar and high in protein” taps the “healthy proactive satiety” trend that’s so appealing to this demographic, it says. It adds the success it has seen this year with the launch of Arla Big Milk, enhanced with vitamins A, D and iron for toddlers, has left it keen to explore the opportunity to bring “enrichment to other, older demographics” in the future.
Offering a clue as to what may be the biggest barrier facing brands in the category, however, Arla insists that “how we communicate with this audience is crucial. With a ‘60 is the new 40’ mindset, advertising that doesn’t play to outdated stereotypes is the key to success,” says a spokeswoman.
With this in mind, we challenged brand design agency Bluemarlin to dodge the stereotypes of the older shopper and create five eyecatching and innovative new dairy products to tap the opportunities of an ageing population. So what ideas did they come up with?
This article is part of our Dairymen feature.
Milx6
This milk sampler (above) offers curious older consumers the variety they crave without committing to a big-ticket purchase, says Alex Hamilton, senior strategist at Bluemarlin.
Each of the six milks is targeted around specific health benefits, a major consideration for the over-65s when opting for a new product.
For this example, Bluemarlin chose to focus on alternative milks - showcasing three animal-based and three plant-based products - but the concept would also lend itself to enriched cows milks with nutritional benefits.
The bottles are sold in a contemporary version of the nostalgic milk bottle crate that older shoppers will fondly remember being delivered each morning as the milkman did his rounds.
At the same time, the bold packaging, Hamilton adds, incorporates subtle “little tweaks to ensure that they’re easy” for older consumers who may struggle with deteriorating eyesight, without being obvious about it.
“The back of pack has large text so they can see the individual benefits, and bottles are colour-coded for easy differentiation,” Hamilton explains. Illustrations relating to each milk’s source also provide easy identification, she adds.
Served up as six single-serve portions, the product is designed to cater for single-person households keen to avoid wastage, a factor that will appeal to the 3.5 million older consumers Age UK say are currently living alone in the UK.
Yet its “edgy” naming and humorous taglines (‘bleating good milk’ and ‘a stampede of calcium’ to name a couple), also help to show this product doesn’t take itself too seriously - a fact Hamilton believes will appeal to the grey pound market.
Click through the pages to see all the concepts.
Mooze
This daily dose of milk with a “nip of something naughty” appeals to playful older shoppers, says Hamilton, who simply “are looking to have fun”.
Packaged in a medicinal-style bottle - both a nod to nostalgia and the contemporary speakeasy trend - Mooze gives retired consumers the perfect excuse to indulge before bed. After all, they won’t have an alarm clock waking them up in the morning.
For Hamilton, though, the product could appeal just as much to a 20-something as to a 60-something, and this is the secret to any dairy product that seeks to tap the grey pound.
“Don’t look at them as old,” she says, “but as having a young vitality”, with aspirations similar to many younger shoppers.
And a touch of wry humour on pack helps this product enjoy cross-generational appeal, too.
Kultured
A sweet way to ingest the benefits of kefir, a fermented yoghurt containing 47 strands of healthy bacteria, this premium product provides indulgence with the added extra of a health benefit, says Hamilton.
Each cheesecake would be sold as a single-serve slice and comes in three flavours, all encased in robust packaging with a premium feel that could lend to its re-use by older shoppers.
It’s for consumers who want the health benefits of kefir in an easy, hassle-free and indulgent way, adds Hamilton.
Forget Me-Not hot chocolate
This luxurious hot rich cocoa in stylised single packs comes ready to drink, with a dose of memory-boosting flavanols.
Packed in a canister with three individual servings (peppermint, orange and plain), each portion can be popped in the microwave to heat for ease of use.
The product offers up the perfect vehicle to market additional health benefits to older consumers too, believes Hamilton.
In this example, the design focuses on boosting memory and brain function, but could work equally well to address a variety of other health concerns of interest to the over-65s.
A nod to a well-respected charity, such as the Alzheimer’s Society in our example, would give any product making health claims additional credibility, believes Hamilton.
Ultimately, though, these flavoured chocolate drinks are all about indulgence, she adds. Hence the playful double entendre around the product name.
“The product will be a memorable experience, as well as good for the memory,” she explains.
Orb cheeses
Orb is a fresh cheese snack that helps older consumers get their daily dose of calcium on the go.
Spherical packaging means each portion can be held in the hand for ease of use, with a compact spoon unveiled by a small peel-off tab in the bottom of the pack.
This would accommodate a loss of dexterity among older shoppers, says Hamilton, while the strong flavours, such as chopped pecans and cayenne pepper, cater for any deterioration in the taste buds.
This “more female-centric” product would appeal to consumers concerned about “whole wellness”, she adds, and is perfect as a snack after a “yoga class”.
It also taps emerging food trends with its flavours and variety of cheeses, a factor that Hamilton believes will engage an older demographic.
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