AGING BOOMERS WILL WIELD INFLUENCE AT THE SUPERMARKET.Byline: Philip Lempert Chicago Tribune OK. We know the first of the baby boomers are turning 50 this year. But what does that mean for the supermarket? The effect of this generation is changing the way supermarkets are built and how their products are marketed. Today, just more than 63 million people are older than 50. Baby boomers, all 76 million of them, will be swelling those ranks over the next 18 years. The way boomers live, work, shop and eat will affect us all. It starts with the aging process. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) A research agency of the U.S. Department of Labor; it compiles statistics on hours of work, average hourly earnings, employment and unemployment, consumer prices and many other variables. reports that 40 percent of all people over 50 have arthritis, 30 percent hypertension and 25 percent heart ailments and hearing impairments. About one in 10 have hemorrhoids hemorrhoids (hĕm`əroidz) or piles, dilatations of the veins about the anus (external hemorrhoids) or those higher up inside it (internal hemorrhoids). . As we get older, our sense of taste and smell diminish. What was hot and spicy a few years before, now tastes bland. Stores and products will need to meet the needs of an aging population. More products will be designed to aid the boomers' physiological aging and tastes. Call it nutraceuticals if you will, but the bottom line is that more foods will be offered with vitamins and nutritional fortification fortification, system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hastily constructed in the field in time of war. - and the flavors boomers remember from childhood. Tums Tums A trademark for an over-the-counter preparation of calcium carbonate. calcium carbonate Adcal (UK), Alka-Mints, Cacit (UK), Calcarb 600, Calci-Chew, Calci-Mix, Caltrate 600, Children's Pepto Chooz, Florical, , that product we first snuck snuck v. Usage Problem A past tense and a past participle of sneak. See Usage Note at sneak. from our parents' pockets thinking that it was a tasty peppermint peppermint: see mint. peppermint Strongly aromatic perennial herb (Mentha piperita, mint family), source of a widely used flavouring. Native to Europe and Asia, it has been naturalized in North America. , has now introduced Tums in five flavors - a perfect connection to boomer memories of five-flavor Life-Savers. Alka-Seltzer was quick to follow, with a cherry-flavored version. We may soon see the day of the Hostess Twinkie Twinkie® defense Forensic psychiatry A legal tack in which a defendant claims that a criminal act resulted from chemical imbalances induced by 'junk food,' and not criminal intent. Kid on television hawking the latest innovation: a Twinkie with vitamins, minerals, calcium and good taste. It's not as far off as you think. Who said getting old couldn't be fun? Many of the flavors, tastes and brands that we grew up with will carry forward to those products that were typically for grown-ups. Clever television ads from Kellogg's brought boomers back to tasting (and buying) Frosted Flakes for themselves. Other products reach back to childhood heroes. At the recent Fancy Food Show, new ``adult'' products were being introduced under Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett brands. |
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