Middle-aged to dictate ‘wellness’ market

THE middle-ageing of the Irish population will be the dominant factor in food and many other markets over the coming decade, a leading consultant said over the weekend.

In a speech prepared for the national conference of the Agricultural Science Association at Tullow, Co Carlow, Gerard O’Neill, chief executive of Amárach Consulting, said the number of people aged over 50 in Ireland will increase from just under 1.1 million today to over 1.4 million in 2015.

This will lead to a dramatic expansion in what he described as the ‘wellness market’, which currently accounts for an expenditure of €1 billion per year.

This spending is not just on healthy foods but also on other experiences which are good for the mind and spirit. By 2015, the market will reach €5bn per year.

“Irish consumers are moving from a mind-set of preventing illness to one of promoting wellness,” he said, projecting a 13% cumulative growth in consumer spending on food between now and 2010.

In contrast, expenditure on holidays and leisure will increase by almost 80% and 60% respectively during the same period.

Expenditure on housing will also continue to soar, with a projected cumulative growth of 50% by 2010.

He forecast a increase in alcohol expenditure of less than 2%. Clothing and shoes are the only items where expenditure is projected to fall, with a drop of almost 13% between now and 2010.

Mr O’Neill said ‘rip-off republic’ was not just a television phenomenon during August. Consumer confidence in the institutions and companies providing them with goods and services has declined dramatically.

He said research by Amárach in 2004 showed that a mere 7% of consumers trusted supermarkets to be honest and fair, a drop of 50% from 2001. Just 3% of consumers trusted the Government to be honest and fair compared to 9% in 2001.

“We have a syndrome of ‘private affluence - public failure’. While consumers are reaping the fruits of their own labour, their confidence in many institutions is evaporating.

“This is evidenced in the fact that two out of every three consumers say the cost of living is rising faster than their incomes. This feeling applies across every demographic group in Ireland,” he said.