Future-proofing products for all ages

The challenge

A multinational food and drink group’s innovation team needed to future-proof its health and wellness strategy.

The company enjoyed a strong, loyal following among health-conscious older consumers. But its competitors were responding more quickly and effectively to rapidly changing attitudes towards health, nutrition, wellbeing and convenience. The team needed a sharper, more nuanced understanding of what ‘healthy’ or ‘better for you’ means across generations and regions, today and in the future.

This required interrogating not just what people eat, but how they discover, choose, shop for, prepare and store food.

It also meant understanding broader lifestyle choices across themes like digital health and social fitness, analysing what health means to families and households, and examining broader influences on healthier choices: from convenience to indulgence and beyond.

Our approach: generational research and trend mapping

Our comprehensive Advisory report combined generational consumer research, macro trend analysis, and cultural insight. We sourced and interrogated cross-category signals: from cutting-edge fine-dining experiences to academic papers on gut health and recovery. We synthesised a vast amount of qualitative information and quantitative validation into clear, actionable intelligence.

This trend mapping and behavioural segmentation didn’t just reveal the distinct ways consumers in different generations – from Gen Alpha kids to baby boomers in retirement – define, prioritise, and consume ‘healthy’ food. Crucially, we also identified where shared attitudes and expectations create opportunities for new category entry and product development.

Future-facing consumer cohorts

We created six compelling consumer cohorts that aligned with the organisation’s strategic priorities and key markets. In each cohort we not only identified current behaviours and attitudes, but also projected how these groups will evolve as they age – critical for maintaining competitive edge by anticipating future consumer needs.

And we mapped regional nuances within global trends to inform product development and distribution strategies across different markets.

The impact

Originally intended solely for the innovation team, our work was subsequently shared with the group’s global brand and marketing teams. One senior stakeholder called it “the most actionable generational insight work we've seen. It's helped reframe how we think about health for the next decade.”