Trends in wellness brands
Why health & wellness matters
Think
Ah, the pandemic, that unexpected plot twist in our lives that made us reassess our shopping habits and embrace the hermit life. Who would have thought?
Lockdown measures and venue closures hit some fast-moving consumer goods markets hard, and the beauty industry took a particularly colourful punch. With masks covering our faces, lipstick companies found themselves in a sticky situation. After all, who needs lipstick when your smile is hidden behind a mask?
But it wasn't all gloom and doom. The pandemic forced us to sit with ourselves (and our joggers) and contemplate our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. We couldn't escape the constant reminders of illness and loss, which made us think about our own health and bodies. Suddenly, searches for health and wellness products skyrocketed as we had plenty of time to browse the virtual aisles.
Lockdown measures and venue closures hit some fast-moving consumer goods markets hard, and the beauty industry took a particularly colourful punch. With masks covering our faces, lipstick companies found themselves in a sticky situation. After all, who needs lipstick when your smile is hidden behind a mask?
But it wasn't all gloom and doom. The pandemic forced us to sit with ourselves (and our joggers) and contemplate our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. We couldn't escape the constant reminders of illness and loss, which made us think about our own health and bodies. Suddenly, searches for health and wellness products skyrocketed as we had plenty of time to browse the virtual aisles.
The pandemic shifted our perspective on health. It became more than just waist sizes and fad diets. We started embracing a holistic approach, recognising the importance of mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. The pandemic might be fading away into the history books (fingers crossed!), but this new outlook is here to stay.
Now, let's dive into some of the biggest trends in the wellness world, where brands are rising to the occasion and catering to our newfound appreciation for holistic health. Brace yourself for a wellness journey like no other!
Now, let's dive into some of the biggest trends in the wellness world, where brands are rising to the occasion and catering to our newfound appreciation for holistic health. Brace yourself for a wellness journey like no other!
Supplements and Immune system support
In March 2020, during the UK's nationwide lockdown, people were not just binge-watching Netflix or perfecting TikTok dances. They were actively searching for products to boost their immune system and protect themselves from Covid-19.
Google trends showed a significant increase in searches for "immune boost" and "immune boosting" in the later weeks of February and the first half of March. Instagrammers jumped on the trend, partnering with vitamin and supplement companies and creating "immune boosting" smoothie recipes for their health and fitness apps. Pretty savvy, if you ask us.
However, for the average person, the abundance of information on the internet about the immune system and supplements can be more confusing than helpful. Knowing what to take, how much to take, and when to take it can be a challenge. Mistakes in supplementation can have serious long-term effects on vital organs like the kidneys. This created an opportunity for companies to develop products specifically designed for new health enthusiasts.
That's where we consider ourselves lucky to work with Clara, a wellness brand dedicated to simplifying supplements for women. They create complete multivitamins tailored to different life stages and invest time in educating their customers. Their goal is to ensure that people have the knowledge they need to avoid long-term health complications related to over-supplementation. It's a partnership we truly value!
Healthy snack food
For many of us, lockdown restrictions meant that our offices closed their doors. Suddenly we were working from our kitchen tables, just an arm's reach away from the biscuit tin… Need I say more? For many, without the judgmental eyes of their peers, eating a whole packet of custard creams to themselves each day was becoming the norm – a bit of a worry.
Many remote workers scoured supermarkets, online stores and subscriptions for better alternatives to their favourite snacks. It has been a great opportunity for better-for-you brands like Graze, Olly’s and Popcorn Shed which provide alternatives to snacks like biscuits and crisps.
‘Grow your own’ kits
It seems the combination of lockdown and a growing awareness of the importance of nature in health and wellbeing has created a boom in ‘grow your own’ craft kits from brands all over the world.
Over the past year people have been growing everything from mushrooms to chilli peppers to bonsai trees to ‘snore curing’ plants… yeah it turns out that is a thing. There truly seems to be no limit to what you can grow using one of these little kits.
There are lots of mental health benefits to growing your own plants. Research shows that gardening can help with anxiety, stress, depression and bereavement. For those who live in urban areas, restrictions during 2020/21 have highlighted the importance of nature and people are finding more ways to bring nature into their living spaces.
Affordable Luxury products
As we begin to emerge from a rocky few years and re-enter the world of social gatherings, day trips and even trips abroad, it is not hard to find things to look forward to. In these times it is safe to say that nothing is for certain.
With isolation alerts popping up on our phone left right and centre and countries hopping from the red to amber list like we don’t know what, many of us are choosing to find ways to treat ourselves at home. We are buying expensive alternatives to our usual supermarket buys as a way of creating moments for ourselves to look forward to in our daily lives. This trend spans all the way from chocolate and wine to fancy face masks.
If covid has taught us anything, it is that we really don’t need a big occasion to treat ourselves to something nice every once in a while. Because if you can't love yourself, how the hell are you going to love someone else?
Online workout programs
If grunting gym bros weren’t enough to put a lot of people off the gym to start off with, the sudden realisation that gyms are an absolute breeding ground for bacteria certainly did the trick.
With gyms closed we all discovered new ways to keep active by ourselves at home and for many the option of an online workout program resolved a lot of the issues that were otherwise holding people back.
Being able to exercise in private, not having to take an extra trip to the gym, not having to use a communal shower or changing room, not having to listen to the gym’s pop remix playlists or walk past someone who has let off a protein shake fart, suddenly exercise seems way more enticing! Perhaps add in more high-tech equipment like our client Boxx?
Spirituality
Spirituality and wellness have almost become synonymous with one another in recent years and as people searched for some sort of meaning during the chaos that was the last year, trends in spiritual goods were huge.
Meditation brands and apps such as Calm and Headspace saw a dramatic increase in downloads in April 2020 as more people searched for healthy ways to cope with the new anxieties presented by the pandemic. Many yoga practitioners started offering classes online on a donation only basis which made classes a lot more accessible for beginners.
Self help books also experienced a surge in Sales with Glennon Doyle’s Untamed selling over 1 million copies. Many people had the time to reconnect with themselves and explore ways to develop spiritually, which led to some surprising trends.
Anyone on TikTok may be familiar with WitchTok which has seen the recent rebirth of witchcraft and magic as a spiritual practice. The recent spike in interest in astrology and tarot cards also points to a new search for spiritual and wellness practices which help us to make sense of the world. Items like crystals, incense sticks, candles, herbs, teas and lots of other witchy items have been selling like hot stakes … I mean hot cakes!
Wellness brands here to stayyyyy
Although many of these wellness trends have been triggered or accelerated by the pandemic, it doesn’t look like they are going anywhere anytime soon. The pandemic has not only changed the way we look at our health and well being but also the way we spend our money.
Many of us are no longer focused on the next Gucci bag or the next iPhone. Instead, we are looking for wellness products that enrich our lives in the long-term, not just the short-term. Health, whether that is physical, mental or spiritual, has become more fashionable than fashion.
