Are you a "baby boomer"? Here is some interesting information (though possibly worthless to most of us) on how baby boomers spend their food dollars. Market studies have shown that there is a difference in what foods the different groups of baby boomers prefer to eat. Makes sense to me. See where you fit in the baby boomer picture and if the marketers are right.
Let's begin by defining what a baby boomer is. Any person born between 1946 and 1965 may be considered a baby boomer. Even further defined, there are three groups of baby boomers: Kennedy Boomers (born between 1956-1964 or 44-52 years of age), Truman boomers (1946-1955 or 53-62 years of age) and FDR 60s (1936-1945 or 63-72 years of age). For myself, I'm a Truman boomer.
It seems that as baby boomers get into their 60s, they are past the phase of their lives where they are taking care of others (ie, hopefully, kids), penny pinching (hopefully not) and saving (already done it). Instead, the baby boomers are focusing on themselves and are buying either healthier products or more indulgent products. Contrary to popular belief, baby boomers are actually spending MORE money, not less.
Market researchers find that all the baby boomers enjoy the most popular and indulgent category of food and beverage - wine, spirits and coffee (go figure...). You can certainly see this in the many coffee shops and expresso drive-thrus. Personally, I'm not a coffee drinker, but you'd have to be beyond the penny pinching phase to be able to afford the fancy coffee drinks now available!!! I imagine the FDR 60s baby boomers wonder what ever happened to just plain ole coffee!
The next most popular product category for the baby boomer, especially the FDR 60s group, is snacks and nuts. Well, OK. What more can you say about that - nuts do add fiber in the diet and keep you regular. Nuts are high in calories but heck, whose counting now? Studies have shown that it's better for the seniors to have some meat on their bones or fat on their backs anyway. I can attest that I do enjoy a bag of sunflower seeds in the shell - an absolute must for staying awake on the road - and they do keep me regular!
Breakfast meats are the third most popular category for the baby boomers, with the Kennedies buying the most product here. (Good thing the food companies have come up with so many variations of old fashion pork bacon and sausage - made of turkey breast.) For the baby boomers I've been privileged to take care of, bacon is THE number one must for breakfast every day. Sausage would be next with ham rounding out the breakfast meats. I never tried serving any turkey bacon (shame on the dietitian in me). But I figure if you get to the age of some of the late baby boomers, let 'em eat what they want. In retrospect, it would have been an interesting activity to do a blind taste test and see if the seniors could tell the difference between pork bacon and turkey bacon. Oh well, if any of you are "foodies" working in the senior care environment, try it for me, would you? Let me know the results - it would be very interesting to share with the readers.
The fourth most popular category in food and beverage is ice cream and sherbet products. Once again, the FDR 60s top the list of baby boomers liking their ice cream. A cook in a senior living environment can lose their chef's hat and spatula in a hurry if you don't have ice cream available. Just plain ole vanilla please. If you've looked in the freezer section of your favorite grocery store, there are now many options of more healthy "ice cream" available that are pretty darn good. My favorite happens to be Dreyer's Fully Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with only 130 calories per 1/2 cup serving, 4.5 grams of fat and 10 mg cholesterol. And it stays softer in the freezer so it's easy to dish up. Of course I never turn down an opportunity to visit Cold Stone Creamery - but I don't even WANT to know the calorie and fat content of their treats. Certainly an indulgence - both in terms of flavor and cost!
Well, I had a lot more to say about baby boomers than I originally thought. I hope you found it interesting at least, if not educational. This will be a series of articles designed for your information, education and entertainment. Should you decide to follow-up or implement anything I've discussed, please check with your physician before doing so. He or she has detailed information about your medical history and can advise you best on the wisdom of implementing any particular program or products.
Until we meet again,
Live to Ride, Ride to Live - Just Do It!
Let's begin by defining what a baby boomer is. Any person born between 1946 and 1965 may be considered a baby boomer. Even further defined, there are three groups of baby boomers: Kennedy Boomers (born between 1956-1964 or 44-52 years of age), Truman boomers (1946-1955 or 53-62 years of age) and FDR 60s (1936-1945 or 63-72 years of age). For myself, I'm a Truman boomer.
It seems that as baby boomers get into their 60s, they are past the phase of their lives where they are taking care of others (ie, hopefully, kids), penny pinching (hopefully not) and saving (already done it). Instead, the baby boomers are focusing on themselves and are buying either healthier products or more indulgent products. Contrary to popular belief, baby boomers are actually spending MORE money, not less.
Market researchers find that all the baby boomers enjoy the most popular and indulgent category of food and beverage - wine, spirits and coffee (go figure...). You can certainly see this in the many coffee shops and expresso drive-thrus. Personally, I'm not a coffee drinker, but you'd have to be beyond the penny pinching phase to be able to afford the fancy coffee drinks now available!!! I imagine the FDR 60s baby boomers wonder what ever happened to just plain ole coffee!
The next most popular product category for the baby boomer, especially the FDR 60s group, is snacks and nuts. Well, OK. What more can you say about that - nuts do add fiber in the diet and keep you regular. Nuts are high in calories but heck, whose counting now? Studies have shown that it's better for the seniors to have some meat on their bones or fat on their backs anyway. I can attest that I do enjoy a bag of sunflower seeds in the shell - an absolute must for staying awake on the road - and they do keep me regular!
Breakfast meats are the third most popular category for the baby boomers, with the Kennedies buying the most product here. (Good thing the food companies have come up with so many variations of old fashion pork bacon and sausage - made of turkey breast.) For the baby boomers I've been privileged to take care of, bacon is THE number one must for breakfast every day. Sausage would be next with ham rounding out the breakfast meats. I never tried serving any turkey bacon (shame on the dietitian in me). But I figure if you get to the age of some of the late baby boomers, let 'em eat what they want. In retrospect, it would have been an interesting activity to do a blind taste test and see if the seniors could tell the difference between pork bacon and turkey bacon. Oh well, if any of you are "foodies" working in the senior care environment, try it for me, would you? Let me know the results - it would be very interesting to share with the readers.
The fourth most popular category in food and beverage is ice cream and sherbet products. Once again, the FDR 60s top the list of baby boomers liking their ice cream. A cook in a senior living environment can lose their chef's hat and spatula in a hurry if you don't have ice cream available. Just plain ole vanilla please. If you've looked in the freezer section of your favorite grocery store, there are now many options of more healthy "ice cream" available that are pretty darn good. My favorite happens to be Dreyer's Fully Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with only 130 calories per 1/2 cup serving, 4.5 grams of fat and 10 mg cholesterol. And it stays softer in the freezer so it's easy to dish up. Of course I never turn down an opportunity to visit Cold Stone Creamery - but I don't even WANT to know the calorie and fat content of their treats. Certainly an indulgence - both in terms of flavor and cost!
Well, I had a lot more to say about baby boomers than I originally thought. I hope you found it interesting at least, if not educational. This will be a series of articles designed for your information, education and entertainment. Should you decide to follow-up or implement anything I've discussed, please check with your physician before doing so. He or she has detailed information about your medical history and can advise you best on the wisdom of implementing any particular program or products.
Until we meet again,
Live to Ride, Ride to Live - Just Do It!
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