The Rising Wellness Trend

First of all, wellness is a broad term. There are multiple different definitions of it spanning supplements to health diagnostics or gyms and everything in between. Brands such as Daye, Flo and Neom could be classed as sitting in the wellness category, however, all doing so in many different ways. 

From a consumer psychology perspective, it can be an easier purchasing decision for something that is aiding physical or mental wellbeing, rather than something that is purely going to make you look better cosmetically. This similarly backs up why it is more common to see subscription or membership services within wellness and the overall value of a wellness consumer. 

Based on the differing definitions it’s hard to know where wellness begins and ends. However we do know that it was reported by McKinsey & Co in their 2023 report that the $1.5 trillion global wellness industry is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of as much as 10 percent to 2027. 

Holistic wellness is a buzz word and the biggest aspect we’re seeing is the convergence of applications. Brands and retailers are looking to support entire lifestyles and offer products or services which support all requirements. 

There are some interesting applications of this; brands like ‘You’re Looking Well’ are blending ingestible supplements with skincare, all centred around gut health. With backing from Soho House founder Nick Jones the brand takes more of a membership approach rather than purely selling one off and has an advisory board of medical and industry experts.  

From a technology perspective; Flo and Daye both offer female based health advice in a variety of ways. Having developed these technological assets to their brand, they have driven value into the brand yet also providing personalised and differentiated offerings.

Overall, there is a sense that as the wellness market converges, there is a huge aspect of imagination and enthusiasm being used by those who are looking ahead and bringing to light issues to consumers that they hadn’t previously thought of. 

Not only are projections that wellness will take up more shelf space, I believe it will converge even further.

Historically, brands have been merchandised either in skincare or supplements, however alongside and complimentary to this, wellness convergence is a greater appreciation that consumers shop by their needs rather than what location of the store they’re standing in. We will see far more of this brand or ‘need state’ merchandising as well as additional space overall. 

We’re even seeing specific wellness retail environments taking shape online such as ‘Health and Her’, a menopause based retailer, that combines products with advice and community. I expect us to see a lot more of this in bricks and mortar too. 

Obviously trends are often cyclical indeed, however, I don’t think the wellness trend is going anywhere, we’re at a point where expectations are higher at consumer level and brands or organisations are answering their needs. For example, I know some people who receive a wellness budget from their employees that they can spend on services such as massages.  

In a way, we have two converging factors which will work together to drive this ongoing trend. 

Firstly, the ability of technology to help empower both advanced and personalised treatments, and the wish to lead a more ‘primitive or natural life’. While both of these individual trends are separate, they do converge.