The baby boomer generation has been the most influential demographic of all time. The first post-war generation are today the people with the most disposable income and as they enter their final decades, the battle to win their custom is as fierce as ever.
Where once it was about cars and houses, today the battleground is about vitamins and anti-ageing products. The major drug companies around the world are buying up the firms that make dietary supplements and health remedies, keen to cash in on the desire of an ageing population to turn back the sands of time.
In the US alone, sales of vitamins, minerals and supplements reached an astounding £23billion in 2012 alone and are growing at 5-7% every year. Walk into any supermarket virtually anywhere in the world and you’ll find the shelves groaning with health supplements and products designed to see off the aches and pains of growing old.
The baby boomers have also been the most media savvy and trend-setting of generations. Now, as they approach their dotage, they are the most health conscious and lead the way in preventative health care.
Vitamin and mineral supplements are also ideal pickings for drug companies who don’t want to jump through the regulatory hoops demanded of prescription drugs. In the US, dietary supplements, vitamins and minerals don’t need the approval of the Food & Drug Administration so don’t need years of clinical trials before they can be marketed.
Along with the supplements, another popular acquisition in recent times has been of companies producing skincare products, again with one eye on the generation most determined to banish any signs of ageing.
What this means for the consumer is potentially greater choice as the major pharmaceutical companies put their financial weight behind the supplements and skincare products they have acquired to mass produce them and possibly make them cheaper to purchase, too.
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