Integrative Alternative Medicine

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.