Few businesses have truly tapped the revenue opportunities that exist in the Baby Boomer and senior markets, according to two speakers last week at the 10th annual International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) Conference in Orlando.

For fitness and wellness businesses, one of those opportunities is in providing wellness and lifestyle specialists, Colin Milner, CEO of the ICAA, said in his keynote presentation. The health care system lacks the level of staffing and expertise to easily accommodate large numbers of older adults—particularly those seeking preventive services rather than treatments.

“There are opportunities for individuals to provide not just personal training but also wellness and prevention training, and to act as life coaches or advisors in other areas as well,” Milner said. “People are paying to ensure they age well in all aspects of their lives—health, nutrition, fitness, finances, travel and other quality-of-life pursuits.”

Because so many sectors are late in recognizing the needs, desires and value of the Boomer market, untold opportunities exist for companies to serve this burgeoning demographic, Milner said.

In addition, fundamental shifts in the nation’s largest demographic group, the Baby Boomers, are leading to perceptual changes that will influence the market for Boomer-targeted products and services, according to Steve French, managing partner at the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), who spoke at the conference.

The oldest Baby Boomers are beginning to turn 65 years old, and the youngest are in their late 40s.

“As Boomers adjust to the new challenges of aging, they’re realizing they have to realign some of their long-held attitudes and behaviors,” French said. “As a result, they are re-inventing themselves, becoming more self-aware and self-responsible, and taking a pragmatic approach that will drive various industries forward.”

NMI’s Healthy Aging/Boomer Database, an annual survey of more than 3,000 older adults in the United States, identified trends that are shaping the Boomer market.

One of those trends is aging healthfully. Fewer than one out of five consumers over 50 years old are looking for the next fountain of youth. For them, it is not about not aging; it is about healthy aging and accepting who they are now while aiming for a healthier version, French said.

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