Tomorrow’s senior is today’s joint care supplement user

A recent Raymond James Financial commercial, in which the “fastidious librarian Emily Skinner” lives to the “ripe old age of 187” (thanks in part to prudent financial planning), really captures what tomorrow’s senior is going to look like — or at least what he or she will aspire to look like. And judging by the commercial, seniors will look extremely active, playing a ping-pong champ, landing a record-setting bass and setting off on a hang glider into the sunset.

For manufacturers of joint care supplements, this sort of aspirational and active baby boomer will translate into a steady stream of new users. There also will be an increase in interest among the sandwich generation, who soon will become caregivers for their baby boomer parents. “We’re [starting] to see Americans begin to understand preventative care, as well as responsive care,” said Dave Ritterbush, CEO of Joint Juice. “In the case of joint health, traditionally that market has been built by somebody who begins to have knee pain, etc. People now are beginning to understand that you can begin healthy diets and can be taking steps [toward better health] prior to the actual onset of anything.”

Another potential future sales driver of joint care solutions is today’s obese teenagers.

“When you listen to orthopedic specialists present, there is a lot of discussion these days on childhood obesity and overweight adolescence,” noted David Moore, VP consumer sales for Nutramax Labs. The longer time period that excess weight is carried on the body, the more damage is caused to the joints, and at a younger age. “For every pound of weight that you lose, your joint feels as though you lost 5 to 6 pounds,” Moore said. And since proper dieting isn’t working for these teenagers today, they very well may be in the supplement aisle looking for joint care solutions tomorrow.