The wellness industry is a colossal global industry, which has grown to $4 trillion. Furthermore, the wellness market has expanded by 6.4% since 2017 from $3.7 trillion to $4.2 trillion. This growth has been double as fast as the growth of the global economy! Therefore, now is a valuable time to break into this industry and capitalise on its continued success. In this article, we advise you on six of the fastest growing areas of the wellness industry.
What is Defined as the Wellness Industry?
The wellness economy includes industries that allow consumers to incorporate wellness activities and lifestyles into their daily lives. It involves 11 different sectors, including mental wellness, spa economy and personal care and beauty. Its huge increasing interest is thought to be partly due to the fast-paced stress of everyday life (that has become the norm in modern society), which has led people to focus more on their wellness and find ways to destress. Plus, the pandemic Covid-19 forced us into isolation, pushing many of us to take wellness into our own hands and find ways to incorporate wellness from our homes.
Let’s now take a look at some of the fastest-growing areas of wellness that are being observed.
Connected/Digital Fitness
You’ve probably noticed a considerable increase in adverts selling home exercise bikes, wearable fitness devices and group online fitness classes over recent months. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the gyms were no longer an option as the world went into lockdown. Therefore, people went searching for other ways to keep fit and digital fitness appealed to many. It is thought that the pandemic fast-tracked the digital fitness revolution, as demand hugely increased during its peak.
Many even believe that Covid has permanently changed the fitness industry and our relationship with it for good. With the level of technology some of these products include, such as monitoring heart rate, blood pressure and sleep, many see these devices as digital personal trainers. We see more apps, wearable devices and at-home connected devices than ever before.
Wellness Skincare
Skincare has, of course, been a popular industry for some time. It is not a new revolution. However, the industry has had somewhat of a makeover and has reinvented itself to fit in with the modern person. Currently, non-toxic, cruelty-free, vegan beauty is the new normal. With the public more conscious and proactive regarding the planet’s health (such as by recycling, adopting a vegan diet) than ever before, we can see how this has also transferred to the skincare cosmetics industry.
Consumers are much more aware of their impact on the planet and so look for products that can minimise this impact, such as by selecting environment-conscious products. Skincare in the wellness industry is an area of substantial growth amongst both new and exciting startups.
CBD
CBD is having a momentous impact on the wellness industry and is taking it by storm. CBD is a compound that derives from the Cannabis sativa plant. It is believed to be a beneficial natural supplement with desirable properties. Unfortunately, because CBD originates from the Cannabis plant, it has struggled with shedding its stigma for some time. Due to this affiliation, it is assumed that CBD is illegal and gets you high. However, it cannot give you a ‘high’ and is perfectly legal in most countries as long as it doesn’t exceed the THC limit.
This misconception around CBD is beginning to be clarified, and so CBD is gaining further universal acceptance. The sheer amount of CBD products on the market, and the sales of these items, clearly demonstrate that opinions and standpoints on this compound are swiftly changing. Nowadays, every CBD manufacturer offers this supplement in various forms, such as CBD edibles like gummies, vapes, tinctures and even drinks like coffee! There is an almost exhaustive range of products on the market, and CBD is predicted to be an even more successful industry in the near future.
Sleep
Over recent years, more attention has been paid to sleep regarding its effect on our health. It is becoming more evident that poor sleep can lead to severely compromised mental and physical health and that getting enough shuteye is a substantial contributing factor to overall wellness. This realisation and quest for optimum rest has led to the sleep industry moving forward in leaps and bounds.
Nearly every industry in the health and wellness market is turning to sleep as a crucial factor for overall wellness and the avoidance of extreme stress and burnout. The mattress market is on the increase, and other sleep-related products are flying off the shelves, such as pillows, sleep technologies that regulate your rest and earplugs, to name a few. Of course, since everyone on Earth needs to sleep, this is an industry that is unlikely to lose much interest.
Meditation
It is no secret that meditation is now the fastest-growing wellness trend in America. Furthermore, around the globe, studios, apps and brands are on the rise. Anxiety and depression rates are staggeringly high and are increasing (this is believed to be partly due to the pandemic). So people are searching for low-cost solutions without side effects. This is where meditation comes in. It is thought to have a tremendous impact on stress reduction and mood improvement, leading many to try it out. What’s more, it is now gaining the momentum that yoga did 20 years before. Plus, meditation can be practised from the comfort of your home, making it even more appealing to many, especially during the lockdown.
Sexual Wellness
This is a trending topic at the moment. Sexual wellness has slowly become less of a taboo as the conversation gets louder. In the past, it may have been inappropriate to talk about sexual health, but now we are becoming more open in many aspects of our life. And talking more candidly about our sexual health is one of those aspects. More companies are coming forward with technology designed to help you get more intimate or even to help provide you with sexual satisfaction. There are even sexual wellness apps out there. This area is still only getting started, and we are sure that sexual wellness will develop further over the coming months as the taboo is thrown out.
Final Thoughts
The wellness industry has a huge increasing interest. It has grown to $4 trillion! Within this industry, certain areas are growing with impressive speed, such as sexual wellness, CBD and meditation. It is thought that Covid and an increase in the importance of self-care have helped to spur this growth forward, and there are no signs of this industry slowing down any time soon.