Functional health foods targeting older adults are becoming hot commodity

A senior care hospital in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, celebrates Parent's Day on Monday. [NEWS1]

Korean food companies are diving into the so-called care food market in the era of the aging population.

Care foods are marketed as foods for older adults that are healthy and easy to digest.

Korea is expected to become a "superaged" society by 2025, where more than 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The size of the care food market tripled over a period of seven years to pass 2.5 trillion won ($1.89 billion) in 2021.

The care food category has recently been expanding to include not only medical foods but also health-functional foods, two terms used within the industry in Korea to refer to foods that are supposed to provide additional nutritional benefits besides basic nutrition. The Food Ministry estimates the care food market to have reached 12 trillion won as of 2020 under the expanded definition.

The medical food product revenue of Hyundai Green Food's care food brand Greating has risen by more than 20 percent each quarter since the lineup was launched in April last year, according to the company.

The annual revenue of CJ Freshway's care food brand Healthy-Nuri rose 23 percent on year.

"Healthy-Nuri settled in as a key business after it showed an improving performance despite the economic slowdown," a CJ Freshway spokesperson said.

These higher revenues led companies to invest more in food targeting older adults.

Hyundai Green Food plans to develop a customized diet service for consumers with hypertension. CJ Freshway inked a business agreement with an artificial intelligence healthcare company to develop software to boost nutrition intake for older adults.

Ourhome began developing a food product aimed at improving one's chewing ability with Yonsei University College of Dentistry last month.

"The competition for technology related to the aging population is fierce both domestically and abroad," a spokesperson for the catering company said.

Daesang Wellife signed a memorandum of understanding with Sinopharm International, an affiliate of the Chinese pharmaceutical group Sinopharm, to establish a joint venture to produce nutritional supplements and medical foods in China. It is also running clinical trials on a product for stomach cancer patients at the Vietnam National Cancer Institute.

Some companies' care foods have entered the production phase.

Pulmuone Health & Living introduced a product designed to improve cognitive impairments derived from old age last month. hy, formerly known as Korea Yakult, launched a multifunctional product in February that aims to ease stress-induced tension.

The food industry is "strengthening brands tailored for each phase of a person's life cycle as a pre-emptive strategy to get hold of the food market in the era of a low birth rate and aging population," an industry source said.

BY BAEK IL-HYUN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]