With Baby Boomers numbering about 80 million and these consumers accounting for 44% of all households with annual incomes over $75,000, the segment is fast-becoming a focal point for the food industry. Central to the success of understanding this consumer demographic is Boomer Wellness—a pivotal reference point for food industry stakeholders, according to a report from Packaged Facts and CCD Innovation titled “Boomer Wellness: Culinary Trend Mapping Report.”

Fueling dietary needs that are fairly sophisticated, many Boomers are concerned about developing and maintaining a holistic well-being. For others, food behaviors are reflective of a robust discretionary spending capacity and a need to accommodate a busy lifestyle, like increased restaurant usage and using technology conveniences to order food.

“Boomers grew up during an era when eating out became a form of entertainment, not just a special occasion affair,” said Kimberly Egan, CEO of CCD Innovation. “They’ve also become accustomed to convenience food in all its forms and expect variety and choice at food retailers, specialty groceries and supermarkets.” Ms. Egan said understanding nutrition, aging and convenience is part of the multi-faceted spectrum of the Boomer market and harnessing this understanding is opportunistic for food businesses. Included in the report is the sequencing of the decision-making cycle and consumer behaviors through CCD Innovation’s proprietary Trend Mapping:

Stage 1: Nutritional Genomics—Advances in understanding of the human dietary system drive choices designed to prevent, delay or treat chronic conditions.

Stage 1: Dietary Self-Tracking—Data-collecting devices, apps and programs help monitor health metrics.

Stage 2: Eating for our Microbiome—Boomers feed their personal bacterial ecology for overall health.

Stage 3: Grocery Shopping 2.0—Older consumers embrace technology innovation to order fresh, packaged and prepared foods.

Stage 4: Restaurant Redux—Dining out more frequently is a benefit of superior spending power and more time.

Stage 4: Juicing Meets Mixology—A focus on beverages that provide nutrition, microbiotics, proteins and healthful benefits.

Stage 5: Food That’s Frozen vs. Frozen Food—Boomers look for healthy messaging in food that’s frozen prompting new retailer messaging and a frozen food “makeover.”

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