Contact: Jay F. Heinrich (719) 783-9099

Baby Boomers Influence The Impending Growth of the Funeral Industry

Today’s families are seeking a more profound, positive experience from the funeral process. Baby Boomers are reshaping the American culture by demanding both value and meaning from this life experience. They will change the rules! They are used to living in the immediate now. They buy what they want, when they want it and haven’t had the same need to save as their parents had in the past. Many are demanding a more eco-friendly way to live their lives. They are asking for alternatives to bring more value to the experiences in their lives, including funerals.

The Baby Boomer population is growing older. By the year 2030, the number of Americans 65 and older will double to 71.5 million. This group will represent 20% of the population and will be the wealthiest group of elderly in our history.

Being a part of this unique majority, Boomers are used to being heard. They have achieved their goals. They have made a major impact on every aspect of American culture. As they grow older and enter into a new phase of their lives, they are affecting our culture in ways never thought possible.

Times are changing. The funeral industry must respond to the changes already in motion. The values and opinions of Baby Boomers have influenced how they choose to honor the lives of their loved ones and themselves.

Boomers are challenging funeral homes to create a more personalized, meaningful experience. They want this change of focus to include all those attending funerals. This involvement helps everyone to move past the loss and achieve a greater purpose from the service – that of the celebration of the life lived.

This change in direction opens the door for funeral homes to expand their product line and the service, they offer. This directional change also promotes a positive image of their business for the consumer and for all the participating attendees. In a time of grief, the funeral home provides comfort and meaning. For the Baby Boomer, experience equates to value and value drives their decisions.

Forever Wildflowers™, located in Westcliffe, Colorado, has both identified and met the Baby Boomer challenge. This patent-pending product line allows family, friends and associates to take an active part in process of bringing closure to the life of a loved one. The company wants funeral attendees to have the opportunity to celebrate and memorialize a life lived, rather than dwell on a death.

The program involves the presentation of either a cut glass bowl or high quality woven basket filled with velvet pouches containing vials of the highest quality wildflower seeds with planting instructions and a personal note from the funeral home. A family member or friend dispenses the pouches of seeds to attendees in memory of their loved one.

Each service attendee has the opportunity to celebrate this life by planting their portion of
wildflower seeds in a time and location of their choice to create a meaningful tribute for years to come. Each vial contains approximately 9,000 seeds, geographically chosen, to plant a garden of around 25 square feet.

Forever Wildflowers™ has created a professional, elegant, positive process in redirecting the mourning experience to celebrate the life experience and the life lived.