Aiming to answer this question, market insights provider Lumina Intelligence will unveil its latest research involving 3,500 consumers from across the globe at NutraIngredients’ inaugural Nutra Healthspan Summit set to take place in London from Nov. 12 to 13.
The latest research conducted by the firm for NutraIngredients (involving 500 participants from UK and 1,500 each from the United States and China) identifies consumer beliefs, priorities and purchase habits related to longevity and healthspan.
Ewa Hudson, director at Lumina Intelligence, described the research as “one of the most interesting” surveys the firm has conducted.
“Our data provides a 360-degree view of the consumer and their beliefs around extending their healthspan—defined as the years of life spent in good health,” she told NI. “Companies need to understand where consumers are right now in terms of their health concerns, beliefs and barriers to purchase, as well as their health wishes to fine tune their NPD pipelines and marketing.”
She added: “The insights should be really useful for everyone that works in product development and design or who wants to understand consumer perceptions and behaviours around use of longevity supplements.”
Asked if they had started to think about their health in relation to aging, 91% of consumers in China, 90% in the United Sates and 86% in the UK said ‘yes’.
Yet, when asked specifically about the term ’healthspan’ results were less clear cut and revealed a much higher awareness amongst Chinese consumer (80%) compared to consumers in the United States (41%) and UK (37%).
UK respondents under the spotlight
A notable 63% of global respondents and 51% of UK respondents agreed that dietary supplements can extend healthspan, and a promising 70% said they were proactive about maintaining long term health. However, just 27% were currently taking dietary supplements to counteract natural aging.
These data indicate a clear opportunity to serve consumer interest in extending healthspan but a clear gap between interest and uptake of supplements targeting this aspect of health.
Regarding reasons for purchase hesitation, 24% of consumers claimed ‘cost’ as biggest barrier, while 13% said they do not believe the claims made, 11% said there is not enough proof/research, and 8% cited safety concerns. However, this varied significantly between the respondents’ genders, age groups and living situation.
“We can see its early days, but they are ready for the science to bring solutions,” Hudson said.
“There’s a warm market of consumers open to the likes of cellular health claims and other claims which are quite new, but for the industry to acquire these consumers, we need to understand their motivation, where they learn of healthspan supplements, which ingredients they already find helpful for extending healthspan, the health parameters they track with health tech tools, what would make them try and trust a new longevity supplement…the list of data insights is long. And of course, the science really needs to deliver.”
Delving into the specific aspects of health that consumers associated with longevity, the data revealed the highest ranking areas, in order, were: Physical strength, loss of mobility, chronic diseases, energy and stamina mental clarity and focus, and cognitive decline. Again, Hudson noted these answers were heavily impacted by the demographics of the respondent.
Nutra Healthspan Summit brings academia and industry together
The Nutra Healthspan Summit will deliver cutting-edge science alongside business strategy in the quest to extend healthspan through nutrition and supplements.
This must-attend event will cut through the noise and hype to deliver actionable insights from the world’s leading scientists, brands, and innovators in cellular ageing.
Discussing the event, Hudson told NI: “I think we are at the very early stage of the science being built around NAD, Q10, omega-3, the microbiome, but it’s the first time we are discussing all these different areas as hallmarks of aging.
“I’m really looking forward to being a part of this conversation as there will be a fantastic group of people in the room who can investigate this topic together.”
