Japanese convenience stores are stocking their shelves with extra products for the elderly now that almost 27 percent of the country is 65 or older, says NPR. For example, Lawson, a popular convenience-store chain, carries food packages labeled 1-5 for how hard the food is to chew. “The higher the level, the less need for you to chew. In the end it’s porridge,” says the store’s manager, Masahiko Terada.
For customers that have no need for maceration assistance, the store also sells packages of cut-up vegetables and meats in single servings, a reflection of the growing number of older people living alone in Japan.
Competition between convenience stores in the the country is cutthroat. 7-11, which was bought by a Japanese company, is the market leader, but other chains are doing their best to corner the geriatric market by offering home delivery and opening locations next to pharmacies.