Entering a Super-Aged Society in 2025... Capturing the Taste of the Elderly Population

As Aging Accelerates, Food Industry Focuses on Elder-Friendly Food Market
Strengthening Soft Foods, Meal Services, and Special Medical Purpose Foods

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] As the aging process accelerates, the food industry is paying attention to the senior-friendly food market. Senior-friendly foods are products manufactured and processed by adjusting the physical properties or nutritional components of food to aid the intake and digestion of elderly people. Food companies are strengthening their senior-friendly food brands or expanding their product lines.

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 27th, last year, the population aged 65 and over accounted for 15.5% of the total domestic population. As the society enters an aged society, the senior-friendly food market is also growing. The market size, which was 510.4 billion KRW in 2011, surpassed 2 trillion KRW last year. With the increase in the aging rate and life expectancy, the elderly dependency ratio is continuously rising. It is expected to exceed 20% in 2025, entering a super-aged society, and to increase to 46.5% by 2067. Accordingly, the market size of the senior-friendly industry is expected to continue growing.

Expanding Soft Food and Meal Services

Functional food manufacturers, such as those producing health foods and special-purpose foods, are expanding senior-friendly food products and meal services. Pulmuone Foodmus launched the senior-specialized brand Fullscare in 2015. It offers various products, including stage-specific customized meals classified into four levels based on the chewing ability of the elderly, as well as desserts exclusively for seniors. In September last year, it signed a business agreement with Aria Care, a senior care specialized company, to expand senior-customized food care services.

Hyundai Green Food’s health food brand Greeting is expanding its product line with soft foods used for diabetes treatment meals, diet meals, and blood pressure management meals. Shinsegae Food’s senior-friendly food specialized brand 'Easy Balance' manufactures various soft swallowing side dishes for consumers who have difficulty chewing and supplies them to hospitals and nursing homes. Ourhome has expanded soft easy meals to B2C since last year and is currently launching various new products.

Strengthening from Special Medical Use to Special Nutritional Foods

Food specialized companies, as comprehensive food companies manufacturing brands and food groups in various categories, hold patient meal-related brands. Daesang Life Science, launched in 2018, owns the patient balanced nutritional food brand 'New Care.' It also manufactures and sells online specialized health food brand products such as 'My Meal,' a proper nutritional meal. New Care is a general meal for patients who have undergone surgery or elderly people, provided in an easy-to-consume drink form that includes all nutrients of a meal and offers customized care for specialized diseases such as diabetes. My Meal is a nutritional supplement in drink form to compensate for insufficient protein.

Daesang Life Science also offers anti-aging foods such as pomegranate hibiscus and chlorella, and through continuous research and development (R&D), it is developing products for the prevention and nutritional supplementation of special diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, dysphagia, and dementia. To build a new market, it is developing a new softening agent concept sauce using high-concentration nutrient coating and enzyme coating technology in collaboration with CHA University, Copick Food, and Konkuk University.

Maeil Dairies is introducing Selex, which enhances nutritional components such as protein and essential amino acids along with milk, dairy products, and beverages. It manufactures and sells special nutritional foods such as diabetic meals, renal diets, high-protein diets, and balanced nutritional meals. Selex, launched in October 2018, recorded sales of 25 billion KRW in 2019 and 50 billion KRW last year. The sales target for this year is 75 billion KRW.