If there was anything good to come out of the last couple of years, maybe it’s that people are prioritizing their health and wellness over anything else. Those that were always mindful of their health became more so and for the many who were neglecting themselves and their needs, the pandemic brought health and wellness to the forefront of minds, prompting a resurfacing of the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’.

As consumers look to continue caring for both physical and mental health in a preventative way, the market is not seeing any downturn since the end of lockdown measures, infact, the global health and wellness industry was valued at $4.4 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach over $7.6 billion USD by 2030, representing a 5.5% CAGR. North America takes the largest share of the market in terms of revenue (over 40% of global share) and will continue to lead the growth in this sector over the coming years. 

Health and Wellness Becomes Everyday

The industry has always been multi-faceted and if anything the pandemic has spurred growth across its many sectors as consumers bring health and wellness decisions into their everyday lives. Segmentation of the industry can differ depending where the information comes from, some will include health as the biggest category, encompassing not only supplements and medicines but wearable trackers and devices, with fitness and appearance following close behind; others will strangely omit health as a sector. 

Whichever way we look at it though, every part of this industry is growing aside from workplace health management which loses out as people opt for a more wellness-focused approach to health in the workplace too. Other sectors moving up the ranks thanks to the pandemic include mindfulness, sleep enhancing products, including apps, and wellness tourism which is set to be the fastest growing sector up to 2030 according to Precedence Research. 

Source: Precedence Research. Accessed: 21.06.2022.

Top Trends Driving The Health and Wellness Industry

• Travel for Health 

Wellness tourism is booming and will continue to do so for at least the next few years. Traveling and exploring the world is associated with numerous physical and mental health benefits and consumers will seek out destinations that offer a multitude of activities for them to improve both physical and mental health. 

Rather than going to a destination for sightseeing and indulgent food and drink and returning home several pounds heavier, wellness destinations offer an opportunity to reset and refresh. Many resorts in the South position themselves as retreats where yoga, therapies and fresh organic foods can be enjoyed alongside active recreational activities which encourage holistic relaxation and there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs in North America to provide health and wellness services to tourists in diverse locations. 

• Virtual Training

Gyms were one industry that had a very tough time during COVID-19 and many consumers will carry on with the ‘at-home’ services that they got so used to during lockdown. Monthly subscriptions, fitness ‘gaming’ and virtual reality fitness are all likely to grow over the coming years as consumers embrace home fitness. 

There will also be new entrants into the market to rival at-home subscription-based fitness equipment such as Peloton with different equipment offerings. Personal coaching and fitness programs will rise in popularity as a way for clients to receive personalized training plans and keep motivated towards their individual goals and wearable devices can help trainers and clients connect. Virtual group workouts at home will gain following too as people want access to a fitness community without having to leave home. 

• Health Monitoring and Tracking

Wearable health and fitness tracking devices are nothing new, however, we expect this category to carry on advancing and coming out with new products that fulfill the customers’ expectations for these devices to help them do other tasks such as manage their body weight, monitor glucose intake, implement intuitive eating, reduce their insurance premiums and ultimately increase their lifespan. Manufacturers of monitoring products will also start to venture into emotional wellbeing with devices that can determine mood and play music that adapts as anxiety levels increase for example. 

• Smart Clothing

Whilst this sector may still be in its infancy, it represents a big opportunity for companies’ to assist consumers in addressing specific needs through clothing. Smart clothes essentially are electronic devices with a number of sensors that are capable of gathering the wearer’s physical and biometric data and communicating it back to connected devices such as smartphones. Artificial intelligence may be used in a T-Shirt for example, in helping an athlete to improve running performance and innovative brands such as ‘Wearable X’ are using sensors to send small vibrations that let yoga wear users know when they need to adapt, hold or move position in home workouts. Although there’s a way to go in ironing out challenges associated with battery life and how to prolong life of sensors, we foresee many other applications for this technology in other situations such as regulating temperature in menopausal women at nightime. 

• Functional Food and Beverages Here to Stay

Functional food and beverages were the biggest part of the healthy food and beverage market in 2020 and demand will continue to increase. Consumers of functional foods and beverages are looking for products that provide nutritional benefits which improve health and wellness and the pandemic accelerated preference for these products in the health food sector.  

Unsurprisingly during the pandemic, eating ingredients that build the body’s natural defenses against germs and viruses was top of mind and brands are incorporating immune-boosting ingredients such as turmeric, green tea and elderberry into their ranges with new products hitting the shelves daily. 

Brands in this sector will be successful in producing foods and drinks that are focused on simple, wholesome ingredients that aim to boost immunity and reduce the food intolerances and general inflammation caused by more processed foods. 

Health is Wealth in Business

With no sign of let-up from consumers seeking the best in self-care, most companies in this industry will be expecting to increase sales during 2022, particularly in the ecommerce channel. Some sectors of health and wellness will be easier for newer businesses to impact than the segments that include established, large corporate brands who are capable of scaling up through merger and acquisition of complementary businesses in order to fulfill customer demand for new products and services. 

Nevertheless there’s a big opportunity for business owners in this industry who can bring to market products and services that are scientifically proven to help customers improve physical health or can demonstrate how they enhance emotional wellbeing for users. 

For information on the financial solutions available to new or established health and wellness businesses, reach out today. Our team is working with some of the most innovative brands in the US and Canada who are growing rapidly and need flexible finance to help them achieve their goals.