Most companies concentrate their efforts on attracting Gen Z and millennial buyers and forget how many baby boomers make up the American consumer population. Per USA Visa, consumers over age 50 account for more than half of U.S. spending.

You need to create the right packaging design to attract this group. Here are ways to do that.

Who Are Baby Boomers?

Baby boomers are of the generation born between 1946 and 1964. They're responsible for more growth in spending during the last decade than any other generation. This includes millennials, whose spending habits seem to get more attention in the press.

Baby boomers are often busier than ever after retiring. They take part in numerous activities, spend time with grandchildren, and care for loved ones. This busy lifestyle means they have demanding schedules that require the purchase of different types of products.

Baby boomers often shop for themselves and those around them. They care about the safety of their children and grandchildren, so search for product CPG packaging that relieves their concerns and meets their needs. 

As a brand, you should keep the needs, buying preferences, and lifestyles of baby boomers in mind when designing your CPG packaging. This generation is extremely valuable to your brand and shouldn't be ignored. You need to find ways to win them so they don’t go to your competition.

Your CPG packaging should connect to the product and how consumers use it. There are ways to positively strike each demographic with your packaging design. Here are some things to consider for baby boomers.

Give Them Information

Like other generations, baby boomers want data about the product they're purchasing. Their reasons, however, may slightly differ. For example, while other generations may read food labels for allergen and calorie information, boomers want details about fiber content and probiotics.

Many baby boomers also want snacks that don’t require heavy preparation. Thus, they choose foods like trail mix, nuts, and yogurt rather than vegetables or fruits they'll need to cut up.

Keep Sustainability in Mind

While sustainable packaging design is often associated with millennials and Gen Z, baby boomers will usually consider sustainability when making product purchases. They're becoming more environmentally conscious in what they buy and how they dispose of it. Therefore, include sustainability information on your CPG packaging so it's easy to locate.

Safety Matters

Safety matters to baby boomers in a big way. Many of them take medications, which are often in places where grandchildren can find them. Using childproof caps, lids, and other CPG packaging that's childproof on medicines and household items is extremely important to this generation as it keeps kids from opening and ingesting potentially harmful products.

Fresh Lock reports 20% of poisonings in children involve grandparents' medications. Using a childproof or child-resistant packaging design is an extremely important consideration for products where poisonings can occur.

Consider the Furry Friends

Pets are an important part of many people’s lives, and baby boomers are no exception. Fresh Lock suggests that of the $77 billion Americans spend each year on their pets, boomers account for over 46% of pet product spending, and they're willing to pay extra to make their pets happy and comfortable.

When developing pet product packaging design, keep baby boomers in mind. Include data about pet food ingredients prominently on the label. Also, clarify the functions of products like chew toys.

Use Flexible Packaging

Another way to reach baby boomers is through flexible CPG packaging. This involves using resealable packaging designs.

Flexible packaging includes standup pouches that zip open and closed or that are fitted with sliders to make them easier to reseal. This ensures food and other products stay fresh for consumers and keeps you on-trend.

Flexible packaging is sustainable because it reduces materials and emissions. Recyclable films are also being developed, making them more environmentally friendly choices.

Some companies are also creating child-resistant flexible packaging. This should appeal to baby boomers, as these packaging designs can keep children from gaining access to household chemicals and other dangers.

Use Premium Packaging

Consumers willing to pay more for products expect them to come in premium CPG packaging. Boomers, like other generations, want to know they're getting quality products, and their packaging designs are their first impressions of said quality.

A premium packaging design means using premium materials that are strong, feel great, and are resealable or reusable.

Reusable CPG packaging can be repurposed to contain refills of the original products or used to hold other items. It decreases waste, so it's preferred by many consumers including baby boomers.

Conclusion

Use these ideas to consider baby boomers when developing CPG packaging strategies. Think about what’s important to them as well as other generations and incorporate those features into your packaging design.

By providing the right information on the packaging, you can ease boomers’ concerns about what they're buying. This also makes life easier because they don’t have to go in search of the details they want. This leads to consumer loyalty and repeat business.

PKG Brand Design is always at the forefront of new CPG branding and packaging initiatives. Subscribe to our blog for the latest package design industry news!