Amid continuing economic strain, brands can create emotional-management products that transcend economic cycles by leveraging wellbeing, self-indulgence and experiences – core attributes with consumer resilience. Brands can engage in tailored marketing and product design targeting groups prone to emotional issues to enhance the emotional resonance of products with consumers.
Qianqian Ji, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
Emotional wellbeing refers to consumers’ self-evaluation of a broad range of feelings, including stress, tiredness, low mood, anxiety, panic, short temper, depression and loneliness.
This Report investigates key consumer behaviours and attitudes towards emotional wellbeing, covering the following aspects: occasions that trigger emotional issues and their impact, consumer awareness of different emotional-management methods and how to enhance product perception of healing through flavour, product design elements and marketing styles.
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Executive summary
- Key topics covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- The past: experiences, self-indulgence and wellbeing help emotional-management products transcend economic cycles
- The present: ‘lighter recipes’, ‘internal regulation’ and ‘flavoured/scented’ are key words for brands focusing on experiences, self-indulgence and wellbeing
- The future: emotional management will require segmentation with targeted mood-enhancing solutions to better convey empathy
- What we think
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Market overview
- A look back and looking to the future
- Emotional wellbeing of consumers closely tied to macroenvironmental changes
- Graph 1: % of respondents with the following emotional issues, 2020-25
- Graph 2: GDP and GDP growth, 2015-24
- Pandemic measures leave younger people more susceptible to multiple emotional issues
- Graph 3: % of respondents who have experienced the following emotional issues more often in the last 12 months, 18-24s vs overall*, 2020 and 2023
- Graph 4: % of respondents who have experienced the following emotional issues, by age, 2021
- Since 2023, rising work-related stress and employment concerns have been the main threats to emotional wellbeing
- Graph 5: top five confidence influencers, 2023-25
- Graph 6: average weekly working hours of employees in enterprises, 2015-2025
- Consumer confidence fluctuates but spending on experiences, self-indulgence and health shows resilience to economic cycles
- Graph 7: spending plans across categories – consumers who plan to spend more, 2014 vs 2025
- Graph 8: consumer confidence index*, 2020-25
- Experiences, self-indulgence and wellbeing will be king for emotional-healing products
- Future: launch nutritional solutions that address health concerns around emotional eating
- Future: leverage the olfactory economy to create emotional healing products with fragrance elements
- Graph 9: engagement on social media platforms with emotional healing-oriented fragrance products, January 2024-June 2025
- Product trends and opportunity insights
- Stress and sleep aids experience explosive growth but the market remains relatively untapped
- Graph 10: proportion of new food and drink/healthcare products with a stress and sleep claim*, 2020-25
- Health supplements lead the charge, while food and drinks are still in their infancy
- Graph 11: value sales, market share and year-on-year change of ingestible nutritional products with a mood-lifting claim* on Tmall/Taobao, July 2024-June 2025
- Graph 12: proportion of new products with stress and sleep claims, by category, July 2020-June 2025
- Enhancing usage satisfaction is a key priority in food, drink and health supplements
- Graph 13: attitudes towards methods to boost mood*, 2025
- Graph 14: % of respondents who have tried the following methods to boost mood, 2025
- In direct-acting health supplements, melatonin and GABA dominate, but homeostasis-supporting supplements are on the rise
- The feel-good factor of active lifestyles is an inspiration for health supplements that promote body’s internal regulation
- Purely indulgent foods remain dominant, but snacks with health attributes are more favoured by consumers
- Graph 15: value sales, market share and year-on-year change of food subcategories with mood-lifting* food claims on Tmall/Taobao, 2024-25
- Just as tasty, lighter stress-relieving snacks can minimise side effects of emotional eating
- Launch variety of flavoured products to capture the budding flavoured stress-relief market
- Graph 16: top or fast-growing flavours of food and drinks with a stress and sleep claim, 2020-25
- Graph 17: top 10 flavours in food and drinks with a stress and sleep claim, 2020-25
- Examples of overseas products with dairy and bakery flavours
- Incorporate fragrance into food and drinks to create a free-from experience
- Graph 18: % of new food and drink products with an ‘aromatic’ description, 2020-25
- Graph 19: % of products in major categories with an ‘aromatic’ description over the past five years, 2020-25
- Leverage the different emotional associations of fragrances to enhance the instant therapeutic experience
- Graph 20: perception of the emotional benefits provided by scents, 2025
- Examples of scented products
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The consumer
- In 2025, feelings of stress, tiredness and low mood remain the most common emotional issues
- Graph 21: changes in emotional wellbeing, 2025
- 30-39s hard hit by emotional problems, especially men
- Graph 22: emotional issues in the last 12 months, by age, 2025
- Graph 23: % of consumers who have experienced the following emotional issues more often in the last 12 months, by age and gender, 2025
- Emotional issues growing fastest among younger people aged 18-24
- Graph 24: % of respondents who have experienced the following emotional issues more often in the last 12 months, by age, 2025
- Women more likely to experience poor vitality due to emotional issues
- Target emotionally affected consumer segments and create mood-improving solutions through a tailored approach
- The workplace wellness crowd: balance broad health benefits with flavour experiences to help boost energy for younger professionals
- The workplace is a high-incidence occasion for emotional issues, with 30-39s more likely to be frustrated by work-related socialising
- Graph 25: occasions when emotional issues have occurred, by age and gender, 2025
- Evoke poetic visions of faraway lands in marketing to create a sense of solace for professionals
- Graph 26: elements that provide emotional healing, by occasions when emotional issues have occurred, 2025
- Huge potential in food, drink and health supplements market, but needs of 30-39s remain challenging
- Graph 27: difference* in attitude towards methods to boost mood, 30-39 (N=900) vs overall (N=3,000), 2025
- Improving health issues associated with emotional wellbeing could be a breakthrough opportunity
- Graph 28: impact of emotional issues, by age, 2025
- Create mood-lifting supplement products with broader health functions
- Graph 29: impact of emotional issues, by respondents who answered ‘have tried but didn’t work for improving emotional wellbeing’, 2025
- Flavours are highly recognised for their emotionally therapeutic value
- Graph 30: % of respondents who are familiar with the following flavours, by age, 2025
- Use herbal flavours as a refreshing option for professionals and add spices to invigorate or floral/gourmet notes for a rich, layered experience
- Graph 31: % of new drink launches with a botanical/herbal flavour, July 2020-June 2025
- Graph 32: % of new stress and sleep launches with a botanical/herbal flavour combined with another flavour, July 2020-June 2025
- Brands can seek inspiration from exotic wellness concepts and traditional aromatherapy products
- The sophisticated ladies: focus on immersive sensory experiences to help women boost vitality from within
- Women are more likely than men to be troubled by household and family matters
- Graph 33: occasions when emotional issues have occurred, by gender, 2025
- Communications with nostalgic and childlike elements can comfort women stressed out by household and family matters
- Graph 34: elements that provide emotional healing, by occasions when emotional issues have occurred, 2025
- Women pay more attention to vitality problems due to emotional stress
- Graph 35: the impacts of emotional issues, by gender, 2025
- Women are more likely to acknowledge the effects of sensory stimulants such as good food, skincare and meditation in improving mood
- Graph 36: difference* in attitude towards methods to boost mood, female (N=1,500) vs male (N=1,500), 2025
- Develop scented supplements based on the mood-lifting mechanisms of meditation and skincare…
- Graph 37: respondents who have tried the following methods – cross analysis, 2025
- … and expand mood-boosting products to include inside-out beauty benefits to attract female consumers
- Graph 38: impact of emotional issues, by respondents who answered ‘have not tried but interested in trying’, 2025
- Create joyful and uplifting immersive experiences with floral and dessert as core flavours/scents
- Graph 39: perception of emotional benefits provided by flavours/scents – floral and dessert, by gender, 2025
- The laidback lifestyle set: provide immediate emotional outlets for younger people with products evoking a sense of relaxation and a down-to-earth style
- Younger people are more prone to emotional issues during socialising, sleep and job hunting occasions
- Graph 40: occasions when emotional issues have occurred, by age, 2025
- Brands can build empathy with younger people by focusing on the stress and loneliness of job hunting and social occasions
- Graph 41: % of respondents who have experienced the following emotional issues more often in the last 12 months, by occasions when emotional issues have occurred, 2025
- Incorporate fun designs featuring anime and metaphysical elements to provide an emotional outlet for stressed younger people
- Graph 42: elements that provide emotional healing, by age, 2025
- Food and drinks are more popular among younger people, but health supplements and fragrance products that meet their needs remain scarce
- Graph 43: difference* in attitude towards methods to boost mood, 18-24s (N=284) vs overall (N=3,000), 2025
- Leverage heart-warming product elements to create lite health supplements suitable for younger people
- Graph 44: elements that provide emotional healing, by respondents who have not tried the following methods but are interested in trying, 2025
- Develop convenient fragrances that work for bedtimes and mornings to help young people quickly settle their mood
- Graph 45: % of respondents who have experienced the following emotional issues more often in the last 12 months, by occasions when emotional issues have occurred, 2025
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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