Men want to look nice too

According to Harleysville, Pa., consulting firm the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), men’s personal care is the fastest-growing segment in the bath and body care category. In part driven by the advent of the metrosexual, the most critical aspect of this trend has been the growth of a youth culture which places increasing social and media pressure on men to be young, fit and well-groomed. The job market is flooded with aging Boomer men who are striving to maintain their competitive advantage through greater investment in their personal appearance.

The culmination of these factors is driving market expansion across generations and giving men a newfound permission to participate fully in the category, according to NMI. Interest in having natural, organic and eco elements to their personal care products (not just in the foods that they eat) and the prevalence of these products in mainstream retail environments is also leading more men to the category.

According to Linda Povey, a vice president of strategic consulting at NMI, “More men are gaining exposure to the personal care category as a direct result of their participation as primary grocery shoppers. Men’s role as the primary grocery shopper has almost doubled from 26 percent in 1999 to 41 percent in 2006, allowing them greater access and interaction with products and brands.”

Because of this shift, NMI looks for men to become increasingly accommodated in traditionally female environments such as grocery, drug and specialty retail. The challenge will be for retailers to understand how men shop, representing a unique opportunity in effectively marketing and merchandising to them versus women.

Let me stay in my home, seniors say

Senior citizens fear moving into a nursing home and losing their independence more than death, according to a study, “Aging in Place in America,” commissioned by Clarity and the EAR Foundation, that examined the attitudes and anxieties of the nation’s elderly population.
The vast majority of seniors (89 percent) want to age in place - or grow older without having to move from their homes - and more than half (53 percent) are concerned about their ability to do so. Seniors living at home are determined to maintain their independence; they report that they require - and receive - limited support from their children or other caregivers.

Seniors cited three primary concerns that could jeopardize their ability to live independently: health problems (53 percent); memory problems (26 percent); and the inability to drive and/or get around (23 percent).

They said they do not expect nor do they receive much support from those around them. The majority of seniors (55 percent) view themselves as very independent in that they receive no assistance from their children and seem content with that fact. The vast majority (75 percent) said their children are involved “enough” in their life.

Seniors who do require help from others receive assistance with household maintenance (20 percent), transportation (13 percent) and health care (8 percent). Very few (1 percent) reported receiving any financial support.

Are low-sodium products worth their salt?

As reported by Brandweek’s Vanessa L. Facenda, some food marketers are rolling out low-sodium options as a way to appeal to aging Baby Boomers. Del Monte, for example, has 25 low-sodium or no-salt-added products across its portfolio. “The low-sodium/no- salt business is small, only about 5 percent of our sales, but it’s growing,” said Apu Mody, senior vice president - consumer products. Del Monte introduced organic products three years ago, which has improved sales of low-sodium items. Kraft also offers several low-sodium and unsalted versions of its products, like Reduced Sodium Triscuits and Lightly Salted Planters nuts.

Juli Mandel Sloves, senior manager of nutrition and wellness at Campbell Soup, said sodium reduction is the top strategic priority for R&D at the company. “We are focusing on how to lower sodium across our entire portfolio,” she said. Campbell uses a proprietary lower-sodium sea salt in its offerings, of which it now has nearly 50.

Sloves echoed Campbell president/CEO Douglas Conant’s claim to analysts in September 2007 that low-sodium entries were bringing lapsed brand loyalists back to the fold: “The soup sales have exceeded our expectations and have been incremental to sales of our base brands.”
 So far, the growth of the low-sodium foods category is modest. Datamonitor Productscan Online reported that 4.1 percent of foods today are making low-sodium claims, up from 2.5 percent in 2002.
Proponents of the low-sodium diet point out that the nation’s 76 million Baby Boomers are squarely in middle age, when sensitivity to salt becomes a health issue. (Salt makes the body retain fluid, making it harder for the heart to pump blood.)

But consumers aren’t yet at the point where they’re demanding low-sodium foods, Mody said. “There is some interest, but we’re not seeing a huge consumer movement toward the desire for low-sodium offerings. It will become a greater area of focus for consumers, but we’re not there yet.” Retailers are the ones asking for more low-sodium products, he said.

Time will tell if consumers’ demand for lower-salt products will materialize. Cereal firms sensed a similar groundswell for low-sugar cereals three years ago. But low sales prompted General Mills to pull two of its 75 percent-less-sugar cereals from shelves last year.

The low-sodium movement is another case in which marketers have cope with the changing winds of consumers’ diet-related obsessions. “Every few years we have a new fad in regards to what’s important in food,” said Simon Sinek, president and chief strategic officer at Sinek Partners, New York. “First it was low-cal, then it’s high- this or low- that, or no carbs...every few years we get something new that we’re fixated on. Food marketers are constantly reacting to what the fad is.”

“Food Firms Prep for Salt-Free Wave,” Brandweek, November 12, 2007