This report looks at the following areas:
- Key factors influencing the food and drink market for seniors
- Purchase and trial of food and drink for seniors
- Senior consumers’ views on delayed retirement and ageing
- Senior consumers’ understanding of healthy food
In the era of delayed retirement, brands must rethink the relationship between retirement, seniors and ageing, with a focus on both anti-ageing and preparing-for-ageing needs throughout longer lifespans.
Pepper Peng, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Mintel consumer survey covers consumers aged 40-65. Mintel GNPD’s definition of seniors is those aged over 55. Therefore, the Mintel consumer data analysis in this Report covers the 40-65 age range, while the GNPD analysis is based on new products targeting senior consumers aged 55 and above.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- The market
- Summary
- The consumer
- Mindset and consumption behaviour of senior consumers
- Issues and insights
- What we think
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The market
- Market factors
- Interim measures for implementing a flexible retirement system have been introduced
- With delayed retirement, physical capacity and brain health are gaining more attention
- Graph 1: attitude towards delayed retirement, 2025
- Market overview
- eCommerce sales: liquid milk and biscuits see rapid growth
- Milk powder continues to dominate innovation in food and drink for seniors
- Graph 2: category share of new food and drink products with senior-related claims, 2022-24
- Market highlights
- Mengniu You Rui supports older parents traveling during the Spring Festival travel rush
- Quaker advocates for recognising the value and purpose of seniors in their later years
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The consumer
- Employment and attitudes towards delayed retirement
- Working beyond retirement: over one-third of people over 60 still work full-time
- Graph 3: employment (retired or employed), by age and gender, 2025
- With delayed retirement, greater attention should be given to both physical and mental health
- Graph 4: attitudes towards health in the context of delayed retirement – agree, 2025
- In discussions about delayed retirement, ‘young people’ and ‘women’ are frequently mentioned
- Purchasing behaviour and product trial
- Dairy takes the lead, while overall purchasing patterns remain stable
- Graph 5: buying behaviour and interest in food and drink designed for seniors, 2025
- Milk and nuts show the strongest overall performance
- Graph 6: satisfaction/interest* in purchasing food and drink for senior consumers, 2025
- The RTD tea trend continues to grow
- Graph 7: trials of food and drink products among senior consumers, 2025
- Oat milk is viewed positively, while perceptions of alcoholic beverages are polarised
- Graph 8: changes in trial behaviour among senior consumers (aged 50-65), 2024 vs 2025
- Natural ingredients are the top priority
- Graph 9: top purchasing factors, 2025
- The appeal of short video platforms is remarkably strong
- Graph 10: purchase channels, 2025
- Perceptions of ageing and trusted benefits
- Brain function is a strong indicator of ageing, while deteriorating skin condition serves as a signal
- Graph 11: signs of ageing, 2025
- Boosting immunity is the most valuable health benefit to promote
- Graph 12: health concerns that senior consumers trust food and drink to address, 2025
- Bone health is a common claim, but its significance should be critically examined
- Graph 13: top ten functional claims of new food and drink products for seniors, 2022-24
- Consumers’ definition of healthy food and drink
- Calcium has surpassed protein as the most important nutrient
- Graph 14: nutrients emphasised in daily diet, 2025
- ‘Less’ matters more than ‘more’
- Graph 15: definition of healthy food, 2025
- Distribution of claims such as ‘low salt, low sugar’ closely mirrors the best-selling categories on ecommerce platforms
- Less sugar claims are more attractive to consumers with a strong demand for health benefits
- Graph 16: definition of healthy food, by emphasis on health benefits*, 2025
- Claims of no trans fatty acids are crucial for consumers concerned about brain health
- Graph 17: definition of healthy food and drink, by attitudes towards brain health in the context of delayed retirement*, 2025
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Issues and insights
- Brain health is a key concern for senior consumers
- Concerns about ageing signs differ across age groups, but brain health remains a common focus
- Graph 18: signs of ageing, by age, 2025
- Brain health claims remain relatively untapped and are better suited for dairy to explore
- Graph 19: share of functional claims in new food and drink products targeted at senior consumers, 2022-2024
- Examples of dairy products for seniors featuring brain health claims
- Cater to the cognitive needs of senior consumers with different lifestyles
- Focus on supporting vitality/physical capacity management for older women
- In the context of delayed retirement, older female employees face more challenges related to physical stamina and energy
- Graph 20: in the context of delayed retirement, more attention needs to be paid to maintaining physical strength/fitness – agree, by gender and age, 2025
- Older women need a tailored bone health management plan to support mobility
- Graph 21: issues that can be improved through food and drink – bone and joint issues, by gender and age, 2025
- Product example: food and drink for older women featuring bone health claims
- From a metabolic standpoint, focus on the thyroid health of older women and its impact on overall physical strength/fitness
- Health focus for individuals aged 40+ preparing for ageing
- Less salt and sugar are basic standards for healthy food and drink
- Graph 22: definition of healthy food and drink, by age, 2025
- They are more convinced that gut and sleep problems can be improved through food and drink
- Graph 23: health issues in seniors that can be addressed through food and drink, 2025
- Providing beauty sleep solutions for 40+ consumers
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Methodology and Abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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