Winning the Wellness Consumer
Today's wellness consumer navigates a fragmented ecosystem, where niche products, health services and advanced tech create innovation opportunities and complexity.
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NAVIGATE THE COMPLEX, EXPANDING WELLNESS LANDSCAPE
- Wellness journeys are being redefined by new priorities, and brands with clarity are positioned to win
- The wellness opportunity by the numbers
- Cost pressures and breakthroughs shape an era of steady but strong growth
- The US market is predicted to reach $3.3 trillion in 2030
- Graph 1: market size and forecast of wellness products and services, 2019-30
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DEFINE THE WELLNESS CONSUMER BY MINDSET, NOT CATEGORY
- Psychographic motivation paves clear paths for relevant innovation and branding
- Four motivation-based wellness segments are reshaping demand
- Meet the Wellness Thrivers
- Celebrate Thrivers’ wellness choices in all their forms
- Meet the Wellness Architects
- Empower Architects to lock in on good habits
- Meet the Wellness Balancers
- Enhance – don’t disrupt – Balancers’ already-fulfilling lifestyles
- Meet the Wellness Essentialists
- Tailor strategies to unique barriers and drivers to win over each persona
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PUT THE CONSUMER PLAYBOOK TO WORK FOR YOUR BRAND
- For all personas, strategic placement is essential for visibility and trust
- Deliver and demonstrate value to protect loyalty
- Watch out for science- and wellness-washing
- Develop adaptable solutions for sustained engagement
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INNOVATE FOR OUTCOMES OVER CATEGORIES
- Consumers follow outcomes, not category lines
- Cross-pollination is the future of smart brand positioning…
- …it can also spur proprietary innovations and category leadership
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IDENTIFY THE NEXT WINNING TERRITORY WITH BLACK SWAN DATA
- Introducing Black Swan Data for winning innovation territories
- Exclusive VMS Trend Territory: Smart Indulgence
- Today’s consumer needs create future opportunities
- Trend Maturity Curve: Smart Indulgence
- Enjoyment-led formats make supplementation feel more accessible
- Use relevant product benefits, themes and ingredients to inspire on-target innovation
- A winning territory in one category signals new frontiers in another
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TAP MINTEL EXPERTS FOR CATEGORY-BLURRING PREDICTIONS
- Healthy indulgences, indulgent health
- Fitness centers, the new third spaces
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WHAT’S NEXT AND HOW TO ACT
- Plan for continued evolution of key wellness territories
- The longevity opportunity lies in sustainable habits
- Men’s vs women’s wellness to become specific and differentiated
- Anticipate new destinations and communities for experiential wellness
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APPENDIX
- Consumer research methodology
- Market size definitions
- Market size definitions (cont.)
- Market size and forecast of wellness services and products, in current dollars
- Market size and forecast of wellness services and products, at inflation-adjusted dollars
- Market forecast methodology
- Segmentation methodology
- Segmentation methodology (cont.)
Introducing the New World of Wellness from Mintel
For many years, Mintel has already been reporting on the world of wellness. Our historic intelligence and authority in this space is vast as we have witnessed the dynamics we are experiencing today, evolve, grow and establish. Mintel’s new Wellness Solution brings the clarity, opportunity and direction needed within wellness to choose the winning path.
What we know today: wellness is no longer confined to one category or routine. It now shapes how consumers eat, move, rest, think and care for themselves. In fact, 40% of consumers engage in four or more categories of products and services as part of their wellness routine. With no one‑size‑fits‑all pathway, consumers curate their own stacks, stitching together solutions across nutrition, fitness, beauty, mental health, sleep, and healthcare.
As the global wellness economy is projected to approach $9.8 trillion by 2029, this expansion is unlikely to solve fragmentation. Instead, growth will accelerate highly targeted, category‑blurring innovations, creating a landscape that feels more like an interconnected web than a unified system.
This report marks the first in a new series examining wellness today. Grounded in our rich consumer research and bringing the predictive lens of Black Swan Data, our new Wellness Solution captures real-world attitudes, behaviors and decision-making. It pushes strategy and innovation beyond traditional opportunity areas to shape the future direction of wellness.
Key Topics Covered in the Report
- Navigating a complex, expanding wellness landscape – Explains how wellness has become fragmented and cross-category, creating both opportunity and complexity for brands.
- Defining wellness consumers by mindset (not category) – Introduces four psychographic personas (e.g. Thrivers, Architects) to better understand motivations, decision-making and demand drivers.
- Applying a consumer playbook for growth – Outlines how brands can act on consumer drivers, remove barriers, build trust, and deliver value to win loyalty across personas.
- Innovating around outcomes over categories – Shows that consumers prioritise outcomes (e.g. sleep, relaxation) rather than product categories, leading to cross-category innovation opportunities.
- Identifying future opportunity areas using predictive data – Uses Black Swan Data and expert insights to highlight emerging winning territories, trends, and what brands should do next.
Want to learn more about this report or Mintel’s new Wellness Solution? Get in touch today.
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