Japan's baby food firms target elderly in taste test

Scotland on Sunday ^ | March 9, 2003 | BEN STUART

[MadIvan]

BABY food manufacturers in Japan have come up with a novel idea to safeguard their future in the face of a rapidly declining birth-rate - marketing their products to the elderly.

The innovative and potentially lucrative strategy has seen the use of discrete elderly-friendly advertising on the type of food that would traditionally be aimed at babies and children.

As Shy Hamada, 64, remarks, while perusing the appetising array of ready-to-eat food on display at his local supermarket in Tokyo: "If it’s soft and nutritious, why not?"

After all, both sets of customers - whether they spend most of their time on a rocking horse or in a rocking chair - have similar requirements; food that doesn’t require too much chewing, is easily digestible and nutritious.

While sales of baby food to the elderly currently account for less than £6.2m a year, businessmen such as Sukefumi Ito, managing director of Japan’s third biggest baby food manufacturer, QP Corp, are optimistic that they are tapping into a booming ‘grey market’.

"We see processed foods for seniors as a growth area," he said.

In common with their ageing counterparts elsewhere in the world, older people in Japan do not like to be reminded of their advancing years. So, companies use terms like "fun meals" or "food for ages 0-100" on dishes ranging from soft-boiled fish to seaweed-flavoured noodles.

During the 1990s, the growth in the number of working mothers who bought ready-made meals for their babies and young children led to rich pickings for baby food firms.

However, the continuing decline in birth rates has seen the value of the market slump from a peak of £157m in 1999 to £147m in 2001, according to the latest available figures.

At the moment, a fifth of the Japanese population are aged 65 or over. The proportion is expected to reach one in four by 2014.

It is not only baby food manufacturers who are responding to the demographic trend. A karaoke equipment manufacturer has already produced a sing-along video exercise machine aimed at elderly crooners, while the motor giant Toyota is selling modified minivans and hatchbacks with wheelchair ramps and seats specially designed for older customers.

[MadIvan]

I suppose we can applaud the Japanese for their ingenuity. Strange, though.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Spruce]

Ahh. Fond memories of feeding my kids when they were but babies. Some of that stuff is pretty good, if I recall.

[Physicist]

Japan's baby food firms target elderly in taste test

What, they're too good for Alpo?

[shiva]

LOL!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

dishes ranging from soft-boiled fish to seaweed-flavoured noodles.

Yummy!

[RichInOC]

You're a bad man. You're a very bad man.

[Happygal]

Want me to relay the story about my Nana and the false teeth and toffee? :-)

It's so funny! *LOL*

But, my same Nana had to have liquidized food fed her through a tube into her stomach after she had a stroke.

Having that said, those liquidized Japanese meals might have given my Mam (because, my Nan was brought home and nursed at home) some respite. Becuase even I (as a 12 year old) helped in preparing and administering her meals, which were cooked, and liquidized and then fed by syringe into a tube that went down my Nana's nose into her stomach. Been there, done that. Can't be told it isn't draining on a family! (I was 12, when I did that!!)

[conservagrrrl]

I love Japanese food, and I can tell you that this dish I've had at Japanese restaurants with noodles and shredded seaweed in a miso broth is absolutely yummy. It's even better with a little bit of chopped scallions thrown in.

If this taste is what they're aiming for, good. The original dish is a nice treat, and if that's the only way the elderly can taste such a thing, once again, good. The baby food firm is just trying to make money; it's capitalism at work. Once again... good. (I ADORE capitalism and think the people out there who dislike it are fools, but I digress.)

Ok, need to get back to studying now....

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Hey, my mother always has one or two jars of baby-food in her pantry, the applesauce kind. She lives alone, and a huge jar of applesauce would go to waste in her household. So, when she has pork for dinner, she will help herself to one of the baby-food applesauce jars! (My mother isn't ancient, just very frugal.)

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Would you like my share? I'll trade you for some of your chanpuru.

I just never could get in to seaweed.