Research report Determinants of food expenditure patterns among older consumers. The Spanish case Teresa Garcı ´a *, Ildefonso Grande Public University of Navarra, Department of Business Administration, Campus de Arrosadia, 31006 Pamplona, Spain Introduction European consumers have, over the last decades, undergone a major lifestyle transformation reflected in increased concern for health issues, a healthy lifestyle, conservation of the environment, responsible consumption, etc. and the elderly consumer segment is no exception to these changes. Today more than 8 million Spaniards are over the age of 65. Whereas at the beginning of the last century, the elderly accounted for 5% of the population, they now make up close to 18%. Babies born today can expect to live beyond the age of 80. According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadı ´stica de Espan ˜ a (Spanish National Institute for Statistics), life expectancy in Spain is set to continue this upward trend and estimated to reach an average of approximately 84 years in the next 24 years. These changes in the socio-economic environment have increased the numbers of elderly consumers with higher incomes, thus creating a growing segment drawing the interest of retailers and manufacturers. There is a large body of research pointing to the importance of the elderly consumer segment across Europe as a target for the various actors in the industrial sector. This obviously applies to the entire agrifood industry, including producers, manufacturers, distributors, caterers, and all those engaged in agriculture for nutritional purposes. The population ageing process affecting several European countries, including Spain, is leading to ever-better living conditions: better health, higher employment and, what is supposedly more important from the management perspective, improvements in economic status (Bo ´ dalo, 2003; Jauhiainen, 2008; Ong, Kitchen, & Jama, 2008). Spain’s socio-economic development over the last decades of the 20th century matched that of other societies and has meant a considerable increase in overall income levels. This in turn has created a ‘‘well-being society’’ with newly emerging needs that prove a challenge not only to retailers but also to the administration. Although in past history the overriding concern of humankind was to obtain the necessary nutrients to ensure proper bodily functioning, today’s nutritional demands are shaped in a different manner. According to a recent report issued by the Instituto Nacional del Consumo de Espan ˜a (Spanish National Consumer Institute), the traditional concept of ‘‘proper nutrition’’ is being replaced by that of ‘‘optimum nutrition’’. That is, a diet which, in addition to enabling us to carry out our activities, also includes foods to enhance our health and reduce the risk of contracting certain illnesses. These are known as functional foods. The aforementioned objectives feature promi- nently among the demands of the elderly consumer segment. According to Verbeke (2004), these functional foods, which have been launched on the back of the current direct link between diet and health, respond to this demand. Frewer, Scholderer, and Lambert (2003), Urala and La ¨hteenma ¨ki (2005) and Verbeke (2004) report that the probability of accepting functional foods increases with the age of the consumer, since a belief in the potential health benefits correlates positively with the acceptance of these products. Appetite 54 (2010) 62–70 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 3 March 2009 Received in revised form 7 September 2009 Accepted 13 September 2009 Keywords: Elderly consumers Food expenditure Expenditure explanatory factors Spain ABSTRACT The continuously evolving lifestyles of European consumers are most noticeable in the elderly age segment, which, as a result, is drawing increasing attention from agrifood companies. The aim of this study is to perform an empirical analysis of the main determinants of food expenditure among elderly Spanish consumers, by comparing key variables reported in the literature, based on data from different years. The performed estimations yield a linear model with three statistically significant variables; type of household, level of education – a proxy measure for family income – and consumer’s age. The results enable us to conclude that agrifood companies will need to deal with a changing demographic environment, and increase the flexibility of their supply to adjust to the new situation. ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: tegar@unavarra.es (T. Garcı ´a), igrande@unavarra.es (I. Grande). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Appetite journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/appet 0195-6663/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2009.09.007