Designing food and drinks for personalisation of diets for different life stages
Project team: Sarah Chapman
Member funded research project
Running: January 2016 – December 2018
Steering MIG: Sensory and consumer
Project number: 138061
Proposal documentation
Globally the over 65s are the fastest growing segment of the population. In 2010, approximately 10 million people were over 65 in the UK; this figure is projected to reach 15 million by 2030 and 19 million by 2050. The population of over 85s was around 1.4 million in 2012; this figure is expected to increase to 3.6 million in 2037. The ageing process is accompanied by a decrease in sensory perceptions such as smell, taste, vision, and hearing, and body movement, and an increasing requirement for food and drink products that meet their changing needs.
These demographic changes will result in significant challenges for manufacturers and packaging designers in terms of both nutritional requirements and inclusivity of packaged products, while at the same time creating opportunities for growth in new markets. This project will help address these challenges.
Project coverage
- R&D451: Inclusive packaging design
- R&D450: Development and consumer testing of nutritionally enhanced ready meal suitable for older adults
- R&D429: Observational interviews to understand the readability of information on cans and openability of ready meal trays
- R&D425: Older adults: which aspects of health are particularly important and what challenges do they face in terms of shopping and opening different types of packaging
- R&D418: The potential role of functional foods in addressing the nutritional and physiological changes that impact on the health of the older adult population
- RSS 2018–17: Openability of packaging
- RSS 2018–08: Consumer testing of a nutritionally enhanced ready meal for older adults
- RSS 2017–18: Development of nutritionally enhanced prepared food products for older adults
- RSS 2017–12: Readability of labels on packaging
- RSS 2016–12: Health, food and nutrition requirements of older adults
- RSS 2016–11: Designing packaging labels for the visually impaired
- The evolving nutritional and related lifestyle needs of the elderly consumer
- The problem with opening packaging
- Blog - Developing food for the ageing consumer – six things to consider
MIG Updates
- MIG - Sensory and consumer - Feb 2019
- MIG - Sensory and consumer - Feb 2018
- MIG - Packaging - Oct 2017
- MIG - Sensory and consumer - Oct 2016
- MIG - Sensory and consumer - Jan 2016