Seniors continue to pose problem to marketers

The GNPD​ tracks new products launches in the UK (and elsewhere), and includes information about the positioning and marketing of such products whenever possible. But when it comes to products targeted specifically, or indeed even partially, at those over the age of 50, the database entries are few and far between, confirming the claims that marketers are missing out on the opportunities, and have been doing so for several years.

Indeed, Mintel picked up just six products launched in the UK over the last six years which specifically mentioned that they were targeting older consumers, and just one which was aimed solely at that segment.

But the Datamonitor report​ also suggested that the products targeted at seniors that were the most likely to succeed were those which appealed to a broader range of consumers - highlighting the overall qualities of the product, be they indulgence, health or anything else - rather than any specific element appealing to the older generation, and this approach at least appeared to be the one most frequently adopted by the owners of the brands highlighted by the GNPD.

Indulgence in particular featured strongly among the products highlighted by Mintel. For example, when Signature Foods launched a new range of fresh cream cakes under the Cadbury's brand back in 2000, its £1.2million campaign was targeted specifically at two female target audiences (Empty Nesters and younger women) but with a tagline which emphasised indulgence above everything: 'It's not a treat, it's therapy'.

Older and younger women are targeted by other companies, as well. The Woolworths retail chain, for example, launched new own label chocolate bars back in 2000 which also distinguished between Empty Nesters and younger women. Devilishly Dark, the dark chocolate bar, was aimed at older adults, while the Heavenly Milk milk chocolate bar was aimed at younger female consumers, playing on the respective images of both chocolate varieties but again stressing indulgence over everything else.

While these more recent launches suggest that Datamonitor's assessment of the current state of play is correct, earlier product launches identified by the GNPD show that marketers took a different tack in the 1990s. For example, when Warburtons, the bread maker, launched a new loaf in September 1999, it based its logic on pack size: a retired couple with no children at home need to eat less bread than a large family, so a 400g version of its standard loaf seemed like a good idea.

Unilever's Van Den Bergh Foods took a similar line in April 1998 when it relaunched Serves Two Chicken Tonight, its cooking sauce range, targeting older couples with smaller appetites.

As for health, the other major factor which Datamonitor highlighted as appealing to Empty Nesters looking to enjoy a long retirement, few products have targeted this older segment of society specifically, at least according to the GNPD - notwithstanding the raft of new health food products targeting the wider society as a whole.

Indeed, GNPD picked up just two 'health' products which specifically mentioned senior consumers. Back in 1999, for example, United Biscuits launched a range of frozen desserts under its healthy Go Ahead! range, including a Blackcurrant & Raspberry Cheesecake "targeted at older couples"​.

But the most recent launch tracked by the GNPD came in February this year was in fact the most overtly targeted at seniors. Sunny-Bisk breakfast cereals from Grain Health Foods was relaunched earlier this year with specific emphasis on older consumers - indeed, 5 per cent of retail sales of the brand will be donated to the Help the Aged charity in the UK, whose logo will also be featured on the pack.

Sunny Bisk has been available in the UK since 1933, pre-dating, or so the company claims, better-known counterparts such as Weetabix, but this is the fist time the product will be targeted specifically at the over 55s there - building on successful campaigns in South Africa and Australia running along the same lines.

But this more than a simple relaunch - it is evidence that some brand owners, at least, see greater opportunities for differentiating their product from the rest of the pack by focusing on the over 55s and their needs. While this flies somewhat in the face of Datamonitor's suggestion that marketers should try to appeal to a broader range of consumers, it also suggests that products which focus on seniors' needs and approach their target audience in the right way - without patronising or resorting to stereotypes - can also be a success.