Nutraceuticals and the Elderly Nutraceuticals and the Elderly Many of the biggest companies in the chemical industry have begun to plan for entry into a market that affects the elderly. They are building up sizable businesses in an untraditional market called nutraceuticals. The companies that make the active raw ingredients for these nutraceuticals are also involved in chemical, margarine, grain and plant-derived products. They have always been aware of the potential of the health-product market, but only now are starting to go into it in a big way.
Sales indicate that the elderly are the largest users of health care products.
Witness all the advertisements targeted to this group. Secondly, the largest growing age category of the population is the elderly. Combining profits with health is very attractive to these chemical companies, especially when they are under attack from environmental groups and could righteously proclaim they are engaged in health- enhancing activity. It is also found in breast milk and is the predominant structural fatty acid in brain gray matter. This opens its use in the infant formula supplementation market as well as in individuals experiencing cognitive decline.