Supermarket chain Ito Yokado, owned by convenience store giant Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, has seen its sales of food for the elderly rise consistently over the past decade. It attributes that success to a decision to devote a special corner of its stores – and dedicated staff – to selling nursing care products including special foods.
“There are still a lot of people who don’t know what food for the elderly is,” said Shogo Aoto, head of nursing goods at Seven & I. “We need our staff to be able to explain what it is.”
Meanwhile, Japan’s bureaucrats are also working to give “nursing care food” a makeover. The Ministry of Agriculture has been leading an effort to come up with a more appealing name for the category: candidates includes “active life support food”, “lively, energetic food”, “easy food” and “happy food”. (Reuters)[eap_ad_3]