Firms tend to cater to the young

Firms tend to cater to the young

Nguyen Thanh Truc of HCM City's Binh Thanh District was looking to buy porridge for her sexagenarian parents at a supermarket.

But after spending more than 15 minutes to read the information on the packaging of several products, she could not find even one suitable – for instance, containing less salt and sugar and less or no fat — for people aged 56 or above.

Nguyen Thi Thao, 73, of District 11 said she is unable to find a place that sells clothes for people her age, since most fashion companies only make products for people aged up to 50.

For the past decade she has had to go to tailors, she said.

Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment, Textile, Embroidery and Knitting, said for long the garment industry has not made products for older people and its product segments are for children, teenagers, males, females and the middle-aged.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Viet Nam entered the ageing phase in 2011 and is in fact among the most rapidly ageing countries in the world.

For the moment it is in a golden demographic period, with two-thirds of its population being of working age, but the over-60 population is expected to double from 10 per cent in 2011 to 20 per cent in 2030 and increase to 30 per cent in 2050, it said.

The ageing population has led to a tremendous demand for products and services required by that age group, but the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry admitted products and services targeting the segment are limited.

Le Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Saigon Food, said the few food products in the market for older people are mostly imported.

Local products, even if good for older people, do not state so clearly since their producers are often afraid this would turn away people of other ages, she said.

Saigon Food has bird nest porridge that is suitable for older people, but the label does not say so.

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