Kick back with a plate of kale, the eat clean, live lean movement is here to stay, and the opportunities could not be better for wellness brands to lead consumers in their full-body shift towards preventative care in the coming years.
The global wellness industry, which covers sectors such as fitness, healthy eating, beauty and wellness travel, currently measures in at a whopping $3.4 trillion and is set to continue in its double digit annual growth as consumers become more informed about proactively avoiding future health implications.
Marketers today can make the most of the growing wellness industry by evolving and creating wellness brands that target the needs of this increasingly time poor and over-worked audience, which we have condensed into the following key opportunities:
1. Boutique Fitness
No longer wishing to commit to traditional gym memberships, consumers are engaging with boutique fitness brands across classes such as spinning, yoga, barre and even indoor surfing. It’s the easiest way to enjoy keeping fit, and brands that offer this or facilitate it such as ClassPass, which allows people unlimited monthly access, are thriving.
2. Sweatworking
As consumers spend longer hours in the office, there is a growing demand to fit socialising, networking and fitness into one experience. More than ever before, they are choosing to get fit and eat healthy with friends, and brands that build in social connectivity into their experiences will benefit the most from this.
3. Wellness Travel
The Wellness Travel industry is now worth over $438.6 billion a year and is set to swell to $715.6 billion by 2017 . Hotel brands are improving their “healthy” menus and fitness offerings, and wellness retreat demand is growing. From luxury brands to organic experiences, there are many opportunities to benefit from a wellness traveller’s willingness to fork out up to 65% more the average traveller.
4. Essential oils & organic beauty
It’s not just what goes in the body, but what goes on it. Organic beauty brands and oils are set to take over this year as people become more conscious that super gentle plant based oils and products will do far more for skin in the long run than its artificial competitors.
5. Athleisure
Chic, casual and comfortable are terms owned truly by Athleisure, an industry that’s growing by at least 5% a year, to $68 billion, according Barclays analysts. Fitness has become so integrated into people’s social lives that it’s really no surprise to see wear people wearing Lululemon leggings to brunch — everyone is heading to Pilates after (or they at least claim to be)
6. Mindfulness
Workspaces and social environments are becoming more mindful. By improving the indoor environmental quality of the places in which we work, live and recreate, we can minimise many of today’s health concerns. As this becomes more widely understood, it won’t be surprising to see meditation become a common shared activity, with brands such as MNDFUL in NYC leading the way with their studio meditation classes and corporate mindfulness services.
So here’s to protein balls, quinoa porridge, matcha lattes, courgetti spaghetti and the brands that can stay ahead of the strong not skinny curve in 2016 and beyond.