Integrative Alternative Medicine

Businesses the world over are leveraging LOHAS as a way to understand the consumption preferences of a growing number of people who care deeply about personal, community and planetary health and well-being, and are willing to spend accordingly.

While this theme acts as a backbone for LOHAS globally, significant differences exist in the interpretation of LOHAS from one geography to another. Not surprisingly, these differences tend to be largely driven by local cultural, environmental and social nuances.

For example, according to Peter Salmon from Moxie Design Group, LOHASians in New Zealand express their LOHAS values through outdoor experiences, seeking a connection with the landscape and concern about social issues.  This differs from U.S.-based LOHAS consumers, who typically have a stronger focus on personal well-being.  In Australia, the situation is different again, with environmental issues of drought and climate change hitting many Australians hard in their own backyard. Severe water restrictions are forcing Aussies to change how they think about their much-loved gardens and lawns.

CERTIFICATION KEY TO MARKET ACCEPTANCE
A key theme emerging from European and Australian studies is consumers’ desire for certification marks or “trust” marks from credible certification bodies, providing independent verification that the product lives up to its LOHAS claims. Supporting this claim are the findings of a  recent Porter Novelli report, which revealed that Europeans were 32 percent more likely than American consumers to buy products with such marks, and Mobium Group’s Living LOHAS report, which found similar conclusions among the Australian population.

LOHAS IN ASIA
Despite many similarities, key differences have emerged in the use of LOHAS between Western countries and the countries of East Asia—including Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, where LOHAS is a booming consumer term. The emergence of LOHAS-branded foods and beverages, fashion labels and even LOHAS department stores heralds a new use of the LOHAS term as it crosses from business-speak into the consumer vocabulary.
While most Western consumers would draw a blank if asked for a definition of LOHAS, approximately 70 percent of Japanese adults at least recognize the term while up to 40 percent can articulate its meaning, according to Toshi Ide of the Japan-based LOHAS Business Alliance.

But how is LOHAS really interpreted in Asia? In China, LOHAS has been roughly translated to mean “good life” and has even been picked up by Chinese state radio. And English-language website Chinadaily.com.cn has published several articles referring to “escaping city life” and enjoying LOHAS experiences on the weekends in the countryside surrounding Beijing.

In Singapore, the city state’s Tourism Board markets the country to its Asian visitors as the LOHAS city—focusing on its spa resorts, authentic Nyonya-style cooking and its water recycling efforts (a necessity in such a small island nation, as the key to its LOHAS claims).

The emergence of LOHAS as a consumer brand has brought with it a range of organizations seeking to capitalize on the term, with varying levels of commitment to the values of core LOHAS consumers offered through a wide a range of products and services.

INNOVATION
Small and medium-size enterprises comprise one sector where serious efforts have been made to address the needs and desires of LOHAS consumers on platforms of personal and planetary health and wellness. In many cases, these businesses have been the keys to LOHAS innovation.

One example of this sort of innovation is U.S.-based Terracycle.net, a company achieving mainstream distribution and significant success turning waste streams into value through a range of innovative products and services, including a novel approach to garden fertilizer.  With major distribution agreements across North America and licensing interest from across the globe, Terracycle has demonstrated that LOHAS innovation can deliver clear business value.

Another example is Australia-based professional garment cleaners, Daisy (www.daisy.net.au). Daisy has managed to eliminate the harmful chemical, perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene) from its dry cleaning process, using a water-based alternative to deliver an odorless dry cleaning solution free from harmful toxins. Such is the popularity of the Daisy service, excess demand currently means a wait of three days to have your suit cleaned! But based on the volume of customers prepared to wait, the LOHAS approach to dry cleaning has again demonstrated a commercial payoff.

Similarly, this year saw the launch in France of Velib (www.velib.paris.fr), a Paris-based commercial bicycle sharing operation that provides bicycles for commuters for a nominal fee. With over 10,000 bikes in circulation across 750 self-service docking stations throughout the city, this model is providing inspiration for cities the world over.
It seems that everywhere you look, there are examples of innovations, often by small and medium enterprises that are working toward more sustainable and healthier outcomes for people and the planet.

CONNECTIVITY
One of the difficulties faced by LOHAS consumers and the businesses that supply their needs is seeking out and finding each other—and connecting.
This key theme is driving the emergence of media platforms that respond to LOHAS consumers’ desire for greater connectivity—to other LOHASians and the organizations that manufacture and retail products and services that meet their values criteria.

Examples of recent activity in this space include Gaiam’s acquisition of Lime.com and zaadz.com, two strongly LOHAS-oriented information and social networking sites. Businesses, including U.S.-based Sustainlane, New Zealand-based Celsias, and a range of other sites across Europe, are springing up across the globe to fill this gap for information, referrals and advice. Discovery Channel recently purchased website Treehugger.com as the online property for its soon-to-be-launched Planet Green program.

Across the globe, mainstream consumer and investor interest in opportunities related to renewable energy, organic food, complementary medicine, low-impact transportation and other LOHAS products and services clearly demonstrates that LOHAS businesses have moved out of the fringes and are now attracting significant investor capital and expertise. Companies and investors that embrace the opportunity that LOHAS presents have the opportunity to take a leading position in the industries that will define the 21st century.

Key Facts: LOHAS in Australia
• Nearly 4 million adult Australians (26 percent of adult population) are LOHAS aligned. 
• Individuals with a LOHAS outlook are drawn from all parts of society; their values and world view are not strongly tied to income, geography or gender.
• Australian consumers currently spend $12 billion on goods and services in the LOHAS market segments, with an overall growth rate of 20 percent expected to continue. The market is expected to reach $21 billion by 2010.
• While 8 percent of the population are LOHAS “Leaders” who are highly committed and active participants in fully integrated healthier, more sustainable lives, the LOHAS “Learners” are the largest of the four segments, identified at 46 percent and standing as a largely untapped opportunity. 
• Learners would like to do the “right thing” but are not sure where to start. Solving for their key barriers, which include price and availability, are paramount to unlocking this market.
Source: Mobium Group, www.mobium.com.au, Living LOHAS Report, 2007.

Key Facts: LOHAS, New Zealand
• 32 percent of population Solution Seekers (NZ Equivalent of LOHAS)
• 57 percent female
• Greatest concentration (29 percent) are in the 45-54 year age bracket
• Slight skew toward rural rather than metropolitan locations
• Income profile of NZ LOHAS is growing over time
Source: Peter Salmon, Moxie Design Group, www.moxie.co.nz
Examples:
1. Media/online:
2. Lime – online portal to information, help and advice on LOHAS lifestyle
3. Zaadz and Riverwired – online LOHAS-oriented social networking sites
4. treehugger.com, Celsias.com – innovative online information sources for LOHAS-related themes and online collaboration
5. lohasguide.de (Germany), Sustainlane.com – LOHAS-related product and service listings and market information
6. Mobium Group – Australian research and strategy business focusing on sustainability and well-being; conducted the first research into Australian LOHAS consumers
7. Macro Wholefoods (Australia) – organic and natural foods retail store chain
8. Eco Age (eco-age.com) – a new store in London claiming to provide “a store, showroom, consultancy and destination that will offer inspiration, ideas and specific domestic solutions for all those who want to lead a greener and more energy efficient life”
9. Terracycle – Innovative company that re-uses waste streams and turns them into value-added products
10. Velib – Paris-based bicycle-share company
11. Flexicar.com.au – Australian car-share business winning support from local governments for their eco-friendly and cost-effective car-sharing program
 

I just returned from the International Spa Association Annual Conference held in Austin Texas. This was my 4th ISPA event and it is always a treat. It certainly is the most well groomed, beautiful person event I go to. Spa is a big piece of LOHAS as it incorporates
health and wellness along with personal care and green building. The last few years has seen a surge in green health spas have seen a surge in green orientation with things like eco-friendly towels and robes along with natural and organic skincare, essential oils and body treatments. These elements are a no brainer for modern LOHAS consumers who want LOHAS products without sacrificing quality. LOHAS consumers are also a main target audience for spas as many are those who frequent spas for massage treatments or other forms of wellness for the body and soul. (that would be me!)

The spa market has exploded in the last 10 years but the term 'spa' has been butchered quite a bit. I can go to my local Wal Mart or strip mall and find nail and hair salons with spa incorporated into their name - (usually in bright neon lights). However when I go into them nose gets singed with smells of chemical toxins from manicures or hair products or get blasted into the street from techno music. I often see  articles and pictures of exotic locations with luxurious hotels with spas included in glossy magazine spreads. All of course with a hefty price tag that limit me to my imagination as to what the lifestyles of the rich and famous is like. Call me old fashioned and snobby but that is not what I consider the true meaning of spa. The whole point of the creation of the industry was to generate awareness of self and healthy lifestyles. These initially were wellness centers that provided space for integrative alternative medicine practices such as massage, acupuncture, energy healing and meditation. Somewhere along the way external beauty, pampering and opulence founds its way into the mix and led the growth of the industry. When I was growing up hotels that had golf courses were all the rage and was a status symbol of a quality hotel. Now if the hotel has a spa it is considered a luxury hotel.

The economic crisis has caused many hotels to reconsider this paradigm. Insiders of the industry have told me that many hotels that incorporated spas into their properties from a 'me too' type of keeping up with the Jones attitude often did not factor the costs of operation into their profit/loss margins. Rather it was blended enigmatically into overall hotel costs. A spa on hotel property was a thing to have and since business was good the scrutiny on spas was limited. Nothing like a crisis to mix things up. Now that hotels are struggling with occupancy so are hotel spas. Those that did not have a structure to measure costs and profits are really floundering. This is also true with destination spas. Some say the wealthy are still booking and traveling - that market will stay the same regardless. But the so called 'wealthy wannabe' are the ones who are not spending. Overall spas are seeing their customers still come to their spas but are spending less per visit. This was echoed by many who I spoke to over the course of the event. For us to have a sustainable economy on all fronts we need to hit the reset button.

The spa industry was visibly hit at the event as well. Last year the ISPA conference had over 3000 people. This year there were about 1700. The exhibit space was also about half as many vendors as last year. Obviously the foot traffic was much quieter than years past. Yet I was surprised when I spoke to most vendors that they felt positive about the event. They said that although the traffic was less those that were walking the floor were serious buyers who were purchasing orders from them and there was more time for a deeper discussions and relationship building.

I think this brings up a very significant point for all businesses - how deep does a relationship go once the transaction is taken out of the equation? This is something that many companies are facing as many people are not spending. The old ways of business are being re-evaluated to figure out how to maintain relevancy in an environment that is transaction less. If you have ideas on next steps please share your thoughts.

I think that this is also a time of opportunity for spa leaders to refocus attentions on wellness. Health care is on the forefront of many people's minds with the debates on health care reform getting a lot of media attention. I think spas are a great place for educating people on preventative care and relaxation. Plus if you think a massage or organic living is expensive you should look at the price of health care. The spa industry has seen a purge of businesses. Now if they can re-establish the focus on the reasons for wellness I think we would all find that refreshing. I would love to hear your thoughts.

From their ranks came the leaders of Ben & Jerry’s, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Silk Milk and Celestial Seasonings.

Their vision for prosperous businesses sprang from idealism they had embraced in the 1960s and 1970s. Their names are synonymous with Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, long before LOHAS had a name.

Cohen. Greenfield. Mackey. Schultz. Demos. Siegel.

They tapped into an anti-plastic food zeitgeist that would shatter complacency and move markets toward healthy, natural, organic, ecofriendly and socially responsible products. They were the visionaries who first grasped and then capitalized on the changing moods of a generation.

They are Baby Boomers. They are men. And they launched an industry.

That’s why farsighted LOHAS marketers are taking another look at these men, both the innovators and the legions who buy their products. Millions of men, infused with idealism and health-seeking values, constitute an enormous segment that’s only going to become more lucrative in its aging.

Steve Demos, founder of WhiteWave and NextFood, already foresees the next giant marketing opportunities to target a generation. Simplistically, they are still Boomers, and they are aging, and they are changing aging.

They’re in play for new products that deliver substantive health and chronic disease mitigation benefits. So Demos has launched GoodBelly, a line of stomach-soothing probiotic juice products developed for Boomers. He’s made a good decision, even if it’s daring.

The market rewards daring. The market rewards clarity about the market.

Why This Generation, Why Men?

Never before in the history of this nation have so many men entered the 50+ lifestage. Nearly six thousand Baby Boomer men turn 50 every day, and a Boomer male turns 60 about every 15 seconds. This generational march to 60+ will continue for the next seventeen years.

Demography by itself does not predict the future course for this generation. The idiosyncratic Boomer value set, inspired by the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960’s and 1970’s, adds dimension to future scenarios. How so for Boomer men?

First, this generation of men has experienced the consumer power that came with being at the top of the nation’s traditional social hierarchy. When they were young adults, Boomer men were favored with jobs, wage and salary advantages, and access. Social status influenced them to resonate with heroic marketing archetypes such as the Marlboro Man and the Shelby Ford Mustang. They like mythologies around conquering individualists such as Ben & Jerry.

Second, they remember standing side-by-side with female peers during long months of struggle to achieve greater economic and social equality for women. Many protested for greater racial inclusiveness. A man coming of age in the sixties and seventies learned to empathize with the underdog and challenge authority. An iconic magazine ad campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle – “Think Small” – embodied the underdog achieving celebrity status. The movement toward local growers of organic foods is thinking small but with big implications.

Third, Boomer men have a feisty history, and they’ve transformed every lifestage they’ve occupied. For example, they ushered in the yuppie and gravitated to products such as the BMW sports car and Mont Blanc pen, reflecting their well-honed sense of technology, design and luxury. Starbuck’s and Whole Foods executives understand how to create the “being places” that cause Boomer men to linger…and buy: holistic, healing, eco-green places, down to earth.
 

Powerful Influences of Gender on Attitude

Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), based in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, has been conducting consumer research into the Boomer generation mindset since the beginning of this decade. Boomer men and women share many core values. For example, based on NMI’s Healthy Aging/Boomer Database, 81 percent of Boomer women and 78 percent of Boomer men strongly or somewhat agree with taking responsibility for health matters:  I’m very concerned about my personal health and am actively managing it.
 
Both sexes strongly or somewhat agree that exercise is a primary way to promote healthy aging (94% of women and 92% of men). Both sexes strongly or somewhat believe vitamins and nutritional supplements promote healthy aging (75% for both genders). Both sexes believe that maintaining independence as they age is of highest priority (98% of women and 96% of men).

However, upon closer study of NMI data, noteworthy gender differences emerge. Steve French, managing partner of NMI, believes many attitudes have distinct gender influences that marketers can use to construct and target commercial messages.

“NMI research follows the opinions of 10,000+ Boomer men and women, and our survey data is revealing surprising gender insights,” said NMI’s French. “For example, Boomer men are more likely to aspire to live very long lives, but they are less likely to embrace the behaviors that correlate with longevity, such as prioritizing a healthy diet and pursuing supportive social networks. Differences between men’s aspirations and reported behaviors create opportunities.”

When asked if they would like to live to 100-plus years old, 61 percent of Boomer men strongly or somewhat agree, while 53 percent of Boomer women hope for such advanced old age. Concerning a belief that the best years of life are still ahead of me, 77 percent of women strongly or somewhat agree while 68 percent of men share this degree of confidence in the future.

A large percentage of Boomer men aspire to long lives; yet, many do not have faith that bonus years will be so golden. A gap between ambition and outlook is an underdeveloped opportunity for marketers promoting products that empower Boomer men in their quest for self-directed health care and healthy living.

Organic products. Natural products. Nutriceuticals. LOHAS products.  

Boomer men are more prone to spend discretionary dollars during the economic crisis. They are more likely to make impulse purchases than women (25% men versus 9% women). They are more apt to spend than save (37% versus 28%). They are more self-directed on investment decisions (70% versus 46%). At the grocery store, they are more willing to buy national brands over generic store labels (46% men vs. 26% women).

Research and market observations point toward a new sociological construct for maleness after 50. It's a construct that includes awareness of natural and organic products, ecological living, holistic health modalities, social accountability, and integrative alternative medicine.

Boomer men are changing the meaning of aging and masculine identity and will expect more, acquire more, challenge more, and give more than their predecessors. 

Founders of the LOHAS movement, many of them Boomer men, already know this, and they’re acting on it.