This report looks at the following areas:
- Interpretation of macro market factors and industry highlights in the nutrition market for senior people
- Analysis of supply and demand for seniors’ nutrition products
- Pre-old-age group’s and seniors’ awareness of common geriatric diseases and their health management behaviours
- Noteworthy ingredients and product formats for priority health needs
- Key marketing communication focus and channel placement strategies for priority health needs
Under the delayed retirement policy, physical, emotional and cognitive health, vision and mobility of seniors will become increasingly important. Brands urgently need to abandon the product development mindset of treating the symptoms instead of the root causes in seniors’ nutrition products, and develop systematic health problem solutions to help consumers comprehensively improve their mental and physical capacities.
Qianqian Ji, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
In line with the macro market trend of the integration of ‘preparedness for old age’ with the silver economy, this report covers research subjects aged 40-49, the ‘preparing for old age’ group, and senior people aged 50 to 65 to explore in-depth the potential opportunities in preparation for ageing healthily.
Mintel GNPD’s definition of seniors is those aged over 55. Therefore, Mintel GNPD analyses included in this Report are based on the population aged over 55, covering categories such as food, drinks and healthcare products.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market overview
- Trends in nutrition products for seniors
- Consumer awareness and demand insights
- Three major future business opportunities
- What we think
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The market
- Market overview
- Population ageing will continue to drive the development of the health nutrition market for 50-65 year olds.
- Graph 1: size and proportion of population aged 65 and above, 2013-23
- Reforms to China’s retirement system highlight the demand for physical, emotional and cognitive health enhancement
- Graph 2: attitude towards delayed retirement, 2025
- Chinese experts’ 2024 consensus on dietary nutrition prescription for patients with sarcopenia emphasises the importance of protein supplementation
- China’s 2024 Alzheimer’s Report highlights the importance of early reversal of the disease
- Opportunities and trends in product innovation
- Innovation in products for seniors is still insufficient, and brands can explore new categories
- Graph 3: food, drink and healthcare product categories with the highest proportions of launches that have ‘senior’ claims in the past five years*, 2020-25
- Graph 4: proportion of new food, drink and healthcare products with ‘seniors (aged 55 and above)’ claims*, 2020-25
- New products featuring high protein content, probiotics, plant sterols and low GI proliferate
- Graph 5: mainstream and fast-growing product claims in foods, drinks and healthcare products with claims for seniors (aged 55+), 2019-25
- Overview of ecommerce sales performance
- Compared to the overall market, the sales performance of senior food and drinks is somewhat inferior…
- …but the key value points for senior food and drink products remain high nutrition and delicious taste
- Food format might be the breakthrough approach for nutritional health supplements for seniors
- Cardiovascular health and bone strengthening are seniors’ core functional needs for health supplements
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The consumer
- Macro policy background: the ‘preparing for old age’ economy is included in the silver economy
- Attitudes and behaviours of senior people towards health and ageing
- Three key points of analysis in this section
- The focus on ageing is shifting from skin to brain, vision and mobility
- Graph 6: perceived signs of ageing, 2022
- Graph 7: perceived signs of ageing, 2025
- Cognitive ageing evolves with age, mental decline is a common consensus, and those who are preparing for ageing pay attention to skin ageing
- Graph 8: perceived signs of ageing, by age, 2025
- Eye issues remain the primary concern, while bone, joint and brain problems are back on the rise
- Graph 9: health conditions – proportion of people aged 50-65 with health problems, 2023-25
- Consumers aged 50-65 actively manage their health, but there is still a need for further improvement in brain, emotional, sleep and eye Health
- Graph 10: health status and management behaviours of people aged 50 to 65, 2025
- Men aged 50 to 60 suffer from more ailments, while women experience a gradual decline in health after menopause
- Graph 11: health conditions – average number of health issues, by gender and age, 2025
- In addition to eye problems, people preparing for old age are more prone to guts and emotional-related issues…
- Graph 12: health condition – proportion of people with the following health issues, by age group, 2025
- …but the management of eye and emotional issues among the 40-49 age group is far less satisfactory than that of the 50-65 age group
- Graph 13: proportion of people without the following issues and actively preventing them*, by age group, 2025
- Graph 14: proportion of people managing/treating the following issues*, by age group, 2025
- Target people of different genders as they prepare for old age: product innovation and communication should seek commonalities and preserve differences
- Graph 15: health condition – people without the following issues but actively preventing them, by gender and age, 2025
- Strengthen the foundation and nurture energy: immunity, gut health and brain-vision-mobility trio
- Opportunities for product innovation targeting key health needs
- This chapter consists of the following two parts
- Probiotics, vitamins and minerals serve as pillars of maintaining physical health and are highly recognised by 40-49 year olds
- Graph 16: ingredients for healthy ageing, by age, 2025
- Graph 17: ingredients for healthy ageing, 2025
- Probiotics, vitamins and minerals can be closely linked to improving gut health and immunity
- Graph 18: ingredients for healthy ageing, by population with health issues, 2025
- Integrate animal protein and amino acid to develop a systemic solution for muscles, bones and joints
- Graph 19: ingredients for healthy ageing, by signs of ageing, 2025
- Combine TCM ingredients, plant proteins and amino acids to create products that cover brain, nervous system and cardiovascular health…
- Graph 20: ingredients for healthy ageing, by population with health issues, 2025
- …and establish the link between emotions and brain health to enhance the perceived value of the product
- Graph 21: ingredients for healthy ageing, by health issues, 2025
- Graph 22: health condition – cross-analysis of people with health issues, 2025
- Explore the potential of traditional Chinese ingredients for eye health, tapping into the potential eyecare market
- Graph 23: ingredients for healthy ageing, by whether people with eye problems are treating them, 2025
- Eyecare health supplements ingredients on Taobao/Tmall ecommerce platforms
- Emphasise the multiple efficacy of specific ingredients on diabetes, brain health and cardiovascular health to penetrate the glucose management market
- Graph 24: health condition – cross-analysis of people with health issues, 2025
- Graph 25: ingredients for healthy ageing, by whether people with diabetes are receiving treatment, 2025
- Dietary supplement foods and protein powders are the products consumers are most interested in buying
- Graph 26: purchase interests in products, 2025
- Products for nutritional balance in diets can attract those seeking to prepare for old age by boosting their mental and physical capabilities…
- Graph 27: signs of ageing, by people aged 40-49 thinking the following behaviours are important but haven’t done enough, 2025
- … Stack different types of collagen to achieve benefits such as delaying skin ageing or enhancing mobility
- Graph 28: purchase interests in products, by ingredients for healthy ageing, 2025
- Potential opportunities in health supplements that help people with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases offset poor diets and boost mood
- Graph 29: health management behaviours – important but I haven’t done enough, by population with heart/cardiovascular issues, 2025
- Graph 30: health management behaviours – important but I haven’t done enough, by population with diabetes, 2025
- … For example, compounding superfoods with phospholipid ingredients
- Graph 31: purchase interests in products, by ingredients for healthy ageing, 2025
- Probiotics and vitamins and minerals as the pillars, combined with other nutrients, create a systematic solution
- Opportunities for marketing communications focused on key health needs
- This chapter consists of the following two parts
- Brands can plan communication content through popularising health knowledge and health guidance with professional endorsement
- Graph 32: health management behaviours, 2025
- Launch content both online and offline, with a focus on professional channels and new media channels
- Graph 33: trusted nutrition product promotion channels, 2025
- Deliver health knowledge and bite-sized fitness tips to senior consumers concerned about reduced mobility
- Graph 34: perceived signs of ageing, by people aged 50 to 65 who believe the following health management behaviours are important but have not done enough, 2025
- Examples of communication that reflect the above insights
- Memory decline is the core issue that brands targeting brain ageing care need to communicate
- Graph 35: concerns about symptoms of brain ageing, 2025
- Memory deterioration is a basic symptom, and language expression ability deterioration is often accompanied by other symptoms
- Graph 36: groups concerned about brain ageing symptoms – cross analysis, 2025
- Age 50 might be the point of rapid cognitive decline, and brands must awaken the preventative awareness of the 40-49 year olds…
- Graph 37: groups concerned about brain ageing symptoms, by age*, 2025
- … For example, address gut and emotional issues that 40-49 year olds are susceptible to and establish the gut-brain-emotion axis link.
- Graph 38: health condition – cross-analysis of people with health issues, 2025
- Combine online and offline channels with health knowledge and professional health guidance as the core content
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Issues and insights
- Launch dairy-based dietary nutrition supplements to break out of the involution in dairy products for seniors
- Market dilemma: although milk powders and dairy products remain the main arena for product innovation in the seniors’ nutrition market, there have been no breakthrough developments
- Graph 39: launch type distribution of new white milk products with ‘seniors’ claims, 2020-25
- Breakthrough strategy: launch dietary supplement foods made with dairy products
- Action direction: leverage the existing advantages of bone health and enter the untapped market of brain health
- Graph 40: distribution of functional claims in new white milk products claiming to be suitable for seniors, 2020-25
- Explore the potential demands between enhancing mobility and maintaining bone health, and develop a comprehensive muscle-bone-joint care plan
- Explore the potential of milk fat globule membrane in senior consumers with brain health needs
- Graph 41: target group claims for food, drink and healthcare products containing MFGM, 2020-25
- Fun with nourishment: taste experience adds value to brain-cardiovascular dual nourishment products
- Cardiovascular health foods that also take into account the consumption experience present a new opportunity in the emotional economy
- Graph 42: consumers with heart/cardiovascular related issues, by perceived signs of ageing, 2025
- Core value points of brain and cardiovascular care foods: diverse flavours and textures, localised ingredients
- The prevention of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is a long-term battle…
- Graph 43: groups concerned about brain ageing symptoms – cross analysis, 2025
- … Launch deliciousness without compromise solutions inspired by the MIND diet
- With skin as the lead and gut health as the medium, help the 40-49 group age healthily
- The 40-49 group is more focused on skin ageing, while their understanding of the relationship between gut health and ageing is still in its early stages
- Collagen and probiotics are potential ingredients for creating ‘internal and external care’ anti-ageing health products
- Future: explore the potential of collagen in delaying brain ageing
- Graph 44: ingredients for healthy ageing, by population with sleep and brain-related issues, 2025
- Future: utilise the gut-brain axis to explore and convey the necessity of nurturing the guts for brain health
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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