The ShantiNiketan senior community offers a place for Indian-Americans to retire in a way that promotes their culture and customs. It addresses the fact that many immigrants don't enjoy the same Western activities such as swimming, playing golf and eating meat and potatoes. ShantiNiketan provides a niche environment that serves delicious curries, focuses on prayer services and boasts an auditorium that plays Bollywood and other foreign language movies every night after dinner.
Located in Tavares, Florida, the ShantiNiketan senior community is currently wrapping up a second wave of development. Iggy Ignatius, founder of the ShantiNiketan community, says, "It's a place where one comes for their soul. Pure vegetarian food, yoga and meditation is the lifestyle here."
Cross-Cultural Retirement Communities
The ShantiNiketan Senior Home Caters to Indian-Americans
Trend Themes
1. Cultural-specific Retirement Communities - Creating retirement communities that cater to specific cultures and customs provides an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the senior living industry.
2. Niche Retirement Experiences - Developing retirement communities that offer unique experiences and activities tailored to specific cultural preferences presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in the senior living industry.
3. Cultural-focused Amenities and Services - Integrating cultural-focused amenities and services into retirement communities allows for disruptive innovation in designing personalized, culturally immersive experiences for residents.
Industry Implications
1. Senior Living - The senior living industry can embrace the trend of cultural-specific retirement communities to better meet the needs and preferences of diverse populations.
2. Hospitality - The hospitality industry can explore opportunities to offer cultural-focused retirement experiences by partnering with or developing retirement communities that cater to specific cultural groups.
3. Food and Beverage - The food and beverage industry can adapt to the trend of cultural-specific retirement communities by providing authentic, diverse cuisines that cater to the culinary preferences of different cultural groups.