The consumption concept of middle-aged men: drink Oriental Leaves, wear Uniqlo, and read Zeng Guofan

Is there a consumer market that can be developed for middle-aged men? This article will analyze the consumption outlook of middle-aged men from the perspective of three living habits.

"Laughing at middle-aged people, understanding middle-aged people, and becoming middle-aged people" is the only way for all young people.

According to the current public opinion that 35 years old is middle-aged in China, those born in the 1980s have basically become middle-aged people. After next year, even the first batch of those born in the 1990s will enter middle age.

In China, there are endless reports on the consumption of young people under 35, but there is almost no data on the consumption of middle-aged people over 35, especially middle-aged men. Because some people say that men are not as good as dogs in consumption.

But in fact, the number of middle-aged men is very large. According to statistics from Qingshan Capital, there are about 268 million middle-aged men over the age of 35. This is a huge market that cannot be ignored. If we can grasp their consumption concepts and meet their consumption needs, we can also create a market that cannot be ignored.

Middle-aged people have their own consumption concepts. They are more rational and will no longer be attracted or fooled by advertisements. They also consume faster and will not spend too much time shopping. Once they see a brand they want, they will quickly complete the purchase. They pay more attention to cost-effectiveness and practicality and no longer pursue flashy but useless products.

They began to like drinking Oriental Leaves, wearing Uniqlo, and reading Zeng Guofan. They are becoming more mature and stable in their consumption.

1. Drink Oriental Leaves: Be a pure and transparent person

In 2011, Oriental Leaves made its debut on the market with "sugar-free, no additives" as its selling point. It adopted an aseptic production line and aseptic cold filling technology, creating a new standard of "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories, 0 flavors, 0 preservatives" (these five zeros were many years ahead of Yuanqi Forest's three zeros).

However, in the market at that time, consumers did not have enough demand for sugar-free tea. People like the post-80s generation did not experience particularly rich material conditions, and more people still preferred sweet drinks and sugary tea.

This is also in line with human nature. From the perspective of genetic selection, humans like to eat sugar because the preference for nutritious, high-energy foods allows our ancestors to better adapt to the environment and reproduce, while those ancestors who do not have such preferences will find it difficult to survive.

Sugary drinks are in line with human genetic selection, so they are naturally delicious. However, Oriental Leaves, which has 0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories, and 0 flavors, is of course not popular. At that time, most of the tea beverage market in China was occupied by sweet tea represented by iced black tea. This market seemed difficult to change. One year, Oriental Leaves was even rated as the most unpalatable drink.

However, Nongfu Spring did not give up on Oriental Leaves. After studying the data from Japan, they believed that the number of people drinking tea beverages would grow, and one day they would choose sugar-free tea drinks.

In 2019, a milestone data was that China's per capita GDP reached 10,000 US dollars. After years of economic boom, many young and middle-aged people with rising incomes and better conditions have changed from not being able to eat well and lacking nutrition to eating too well and becoming increasingly obese.

It was from this year that Oriental Leaves began to experience explosive growth in sales. In the first half of 2023, Nongfu Spring announced its performance: revenue of 20.462 billion yuan and profit of 5.775 billion yuan, an increase of 23.3% and 25.3% respectively over the same period last year; among them, the revenue of the tea beverage segment (Oriental Leaves, Teaπ) reached 5.286 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 59.8%. According to Nielsen data, the annual retail scale of Oriental Leaves may reach 10 billion.

As Nongfu Spring expected, those young people who drank sweet tea drinks eventually grew into middle-aged people and became consumers of Oriental Leaves.

In the comment section of social networks, you can often see many middle-aged people talking about their choice of Oriental Leaves. Some of them may be joking, but it can be seen that the middle-aged people intentionally or unintentionally associate it with Oriental Leaves. Some even call Oriental Leaves "Dongmen". Oriental Leaves seems to have become a belief for middle-aged people.

There are two reasons why middle-aged people begin to like Oriental leaves:

1. Oriental leaves are healthy and do not contain additives

After middle age, people find sweet things less and less interesting. If they don’t want to become middle-aged greasy men, they must control their weight. Oriental Leaves, as a sugar-free tea beverage, meets their needs for healthy drinks. Looking at the ingredients of Oriental Leaves, there is nothing else except water, tea, vitamin C and sodium bicarbonate. You can drink it pure.

2. Oriental leaves give middle-aged men a low-key and tasteful feeling

Although Oriental Leaves is not high-end, its quality is not low. Its packaging design is from the world-renowned design agency Pearlfisher. The bottle is designed in the shape of "round on top and square on bottom", which embodies the traditional Chinese concept of "the sky is round and the earth is square".

It is not like the round bottle design of most other beverages, but looks like a middle-aged man who has smoothed out his edges, lives a peaceful life, and is immersed in the comfortable life of his own preferences.

At the same time, Oriental Leaves has a purpose for designing the bottle to be transparent on both sides. Generally speaking, tea extracts are easily oxidized by light, so most tea beverages are packaged with labels that cover the entire bottle as much as possible to avoid sunlight. However, Oriental Leaves has developed a unique antioxidant technology, so it only puts labels on the front and back of the bottle, allowing consumers to directly see the color and clarity of the tea beverage through the transparent bottle.

The main point of this is clarity. Middle-aged people live for clarity.

Oriental Leaves is not as youthful as Yuanqi Forest. It is more like a simple, low-key but tasteful middle-aged man who lives purely and transparently.

2. Wear Uniqlo: Be a "fast man"

There is a joke about the difference between men and women shopping in a mall. Women spend more than three hours shopping, spending several thousand yuan and buying many pieces of clothing, while men spend a few minutes, go straight to GAP, and spend 200 yuan to buy a pair of pants.

The consumption patterns of men here are more like those of middle-aged men. In China, GAP has been replaced by UNIQLO. It’s not that GAP cannot meet the purchasing needs of middle-aged people, but that UNIQLO, as a Japanese brand, understands Chinese people better.

Uniqlo has a label in the market - a straight men's brand. It is especially popular among middle-aged straight men. This is because Uniqlo's clothes have several characteristics.

First of all, most of Uniqlo's clothes are basic styles, like shirts in spring and autumn, sweaters in winter, T-shirts in summer, etc. They are generally simple in style and easier to match. Most of the fabrics are pure cotton, which makes them more comfortable to wear.

Middle-aged men prefer speed in everything they do (except fishing). You will know if you watch "Remote Control of Life".

Shopping for 3 hours is too slow. After picking a few clothes, they have to try them on for half an hour. Even on e-commerce platforms, they are too lazy to spend time browsing. Wouldn’t it be better to play a game in that time? Their consumption habits are to see the brands and products they have always chosen, buy them directly, pay at the cashier and leave without leaving a cloud.

When you come to Uniqlo, you can just close your eyes and pick up a few pieces without having to choose. People who come here often already know their own sizes by heart, and they don't even have to try them on. They can buy a few pieces of clothes that fit them without spending too much time and energy. This is one of the best brands for middle-aged men who are not sensitive to fashion and don't like to dress up.

More importantly, Uniqlo often cuts prices and offers discounts, which is a favorite of middle-aged men. Middle-aged men buy things rationally and pay attention to cost performance. They will spurn anything that is flashy and not cost-effective.

Uniqlo has discounts all year round, and often spends a lot of effort to lower its prices. A down jacket that costs 599 yuan can be discounted to 399 yuan, a 299 yuan down jacket can be discounted to 199 yuan, and a 199 yuan shirt can be discounted to 99 yuan. Uniqlo has always been considered cost-effective by middle-aged men, and once it is discounted, they will buy it without hesitation.

There is a joke that says don't date a boy who is wearing all Uniqlo. There was a report in Japan that a Japanese girl was very disappointed when she was dating a boy who was wearing all Uniqlo.

If any lady wants to date a middle-aged man, please be prepared for them to come to see you wearing Uniqlo, but remember, it's not that they don't have money to buy clothes, they just want it fast.

3. Zeng Guofan: Be a person with spiritual pursuits

It is said that every middle-aged man has a set of Zeng Guofan's bookshelf. I have not verified this statement with big data, but my middle-aged uncle has two sets of books on his bookshelf, one set is indeed Zeng Guofan, and the other is Wang Yangming.

Zeng Guofan is an idol of a generation of middle-aged people because his great success also began in his middle age.

Zeng Guofan had achieved almost nothing before he was 30 years old. He had taken the examination for the title of scholar seven times, but failed the first six times. He passed the examination for the title of scholar on the seventh time. During this period, he experienced many setbacks and difficulties, and even wanted to give up. After passing the examination for the title of Jinshi, Zeng Guofan's talent was revealed, and he almost rose to prominence in his official career. Zeng Guofan achieved greater success after he was 40 years old. He formed the Hunan Army and used it to quell the Taiping Rebellion.

Zeng Guofan's influence on middle-aged men also lies in his achievements in self-cultivation, family management and governance.

In terms of self-cultivation, Zeng Guofan advocated the Confucian "inner sage and outer king" as the life goal, "loyalty, filial piety, courtesy, righteousness, integrity, and shame" as the basic virtues, and "keeping to one's simplicity", "gritting one's teeth and inspiring oneself", and "accumulating one's energy and growing one's wisdom" as the methods of self-improvement. In terms of family management, he advocated the family traditions of "filial piety and friendship", "diligence and thrift", "reading", and "good neighborliness".

In terms of career, Zeng Guofan was well versed in officialdom strategies and interpersonal relationships. He said: "Focus on the big picture and start with the small details; when in a group, keep your mouth shut and when alone, keep your heart guarded."

The world of middle-aged men is one that emphasizes efficiency and practicality. How to handle relationships with colleagues and do a good job in career, how to make family harmony a harbor for their career, and how to strengthen and cultivate their inner self are the three major issues they care about most. Zeng Guofan's practice and philosophy of self-cultivation, family management, and governance are undoubtedly the best role models for middle-aged men.

The reason behind liking Zeng Guofan is actually a symbol of the fact that middle-aged men are gradually shifting their focus from material consumption to spiritual consumption. Similar consumption that satisfies their spiritual needs, such as buying strings, collecting calligraphy and paintings, etc., are also popular.

You will find that middle-aged men are willing to spend money on spiritual consumption. They may be stingy with daily necessities, but they have no hesitation in buying a hardcover complete works of Zeng Guofan for more than 1,000 yuan. They may not spend several thousand yuan on a windbreaker, but they will spend several thousand yuan on a string of beads.

In essence, this still conforms to their practical consumption concept. A set of Zeng Guofan's complete works can benefit them for a lifetime, and they will feel at ease just by looking at the bookshelf every day. A string of beads can be played every day for 5 or 10 years without any problem.

4. Satisfy the consumption concept of middle-aged people

It can be seen that the middle-aged male market is huge. It is not that they do not consume, but they have their own consumption concepts and preferences. Oriental Leaves, Uniqlo, and Zeng Guofan's books have proved that satisfying this consumer group can also create a huge market. Specifically, their following needs should be met.

1. Meet the needs of health and wellness

Middle-aged men are a consumer group with an increasing awareness of health. When choosing products, they not only consider the functions of the products, but also the safety and health of the products. Therefore, the market and merchants should pay attention to the health and wellness needs of middle-aged men. Sugar-free tea drinks, organic foods, nutritional supplements, etc. can meet these needs.

For example, in the huge tea market, there are really not many brands except Xiaoguan Tea. For example, wolfberry has not really formed a brand.

2. Meet the needs of fast, practical and cost-effective

Middle-aged men are a busy and tense consumer group. When buying goods, they don't like to spend too much time and energy, nor are they willing to waste money on low-quality or useless goods. Therefore, the market and merchants should pay attention to their demand for fast, practical and cost-effective goods. Fast fashion brands like Uniqlo are typical representatives.

In China, there must be many companies that have certain design and production capabilities and can meet the needs of speed and practicality, but there is currently no Chinese Uniqlo. We have to say that this is an opportunity.

3. Satisfy spiritual needs

Middle-aged men have less and less desire for material things and are eager to be spiritually fulfilled. They are willing to spend a lot of money on goods that can bring them spiritual satisfaction, because the satisfaction brought by these things is not temporary but long-term. Goods like hardcover books, liquor, collectibles, tea, etc. not only have usage attributes, but middle-aged people often believe that they represent a kind of culture and spirit.

Young people will sooner or later become middle-aged, and according to the current population trend, the middle-aged market will become larger and larger in the future. For brands and businesses, it is important to think about how to become younger, but the vast middle-aged market cannot be discarded.

Author: Xunkong, Source: WeChat public account “Xunkong’s Marketing Revelation”.