Wellness encompasses many things in the context of consumers’ minds, beliefs, and experiences. Personal care, mental wellness, nutrition, and weight loss all play a role, as do social levers such as community and workplace wellness, according to the Global Wellness Institute. Combining all these factors, consumers are formulating their playbooks for living good, fulfilling lives. Ones that combine happiness, health, and fulfillment.

Wellness has become a nearly $2 trillion global industry driven by several performance levers that are increasingly shaped and fueled by cultural forces and evolving social dynamics. Millennials and Gen Z consumers are playing a particularly central role in its growth, accounting for 41% of annual wellness spending in the US alone and bolstering sectors such as skincare and sexual health.

In a survey of 11,000 global consumers, the Kearney Consumer Institute added more context to consumer behaviors, identifying three cohorts that have very distinct views on what wellness means to them, and how these beliefs influence their browsing and buying behaviors. Brands need to understand these distinct nuances to better tailor their entire go-to-market strategy, from marketing to product innovation and customer experience.

When Social Theater Becomes Scientific Rule

As the wellness ecosystem has flourished, consumers have gained access to a wider range of products, services, and solutions, allowing them to create their unique wellness doctrines. However, it also creates more complexities, making it more difficult for them to distinguish fact from fiction, and better understand how wellness plays into their unique lifestyles and world views.

Up to 85% of consumers surveyed by KCI claimed they knew how to make healthy choices, and 87% agreed they have access to healthy products. But the research suggests a significant gap lies between consumers' perceived knowledge and their actual knowledge. They may think they know what they need to do (and what they need to buy) to achieve their wellness goals, but even the most informed consumers sometimes lack a comprehensive understanding of the information and context required to make informed changes to their lifestyles.

Social media is undoubtedly a major source of competing health and wellness information: more than half of American consumers use social media to learn about new health tactics. However, more than two-thirds of the participants in one survey reported being unable to discern whether the health information they saw on social media was true or false. This is the new murkiness between fact and fiction; authentic community development and brand-manufactured worldbuilding.

Consumers have sat in the audience, witnessing the rise and fall of many wellness influencers, and in many ways, supporting this journey by financially supporting these in-feed talking heads. Fitness influencer Brian Johnson, more widely known as “The Liver King,” admitted to using $11,000 worth of steroids a month while touting his organ-filled diet on social media. Another fitness influencer, Janelle Rohner, received an onslaught of negative social comments after admitting to using GLP-1 medication while she was promoting a $200 course designed to reveal the secrets of her weight loss.

The other reality is that while some consumers may know what to do, they simply don’t make the necessary behavioral changes. They are stuck in a state of wellness purgatory due to a lack of time and financial resources. And sometimes, quite simply, people lack the inspiration or belief that they are worth the time, money, and effort. This distinction alone highlights the nuance of wellness as an idea, and therefore, the nuance of wellness as a retail category. 

KCI got to the heart of these nuances by developing three custom segments that aligned with overarching health philosophies: 

• Health on Hold: Those who do not, cannot, or regularly struggle to prioritize health
• Health as Wealth: Those who invest time and money into their health
  
• Balance and Moderation: Those who try to achieve health equilibrium
  

The Intention vs. Action Paradox

Consumers were able to self-select where they felt they belonged, but KCI also benchmarked consumers’ actual behaviors to compare intentions against tangible behaviors, a key distinction often lacking in consumer research. Once consumers were able to contextualize their perceptions of wellness and how they participated in it, KCI was able to offer more robust guidance for brands navigating this changing space. 

“We built a methodology that better accounted for their real habits and behaviors and, frankly, the structural constraints they have around prioritizing their health,” explained Katie Thomas, who leads the Kearney Consumer Institute. 

Daily obstacles hinder ‘Health on Hold’ consumers.

“What we found is that 50% of the total survey population is actually in the Health on Hold group. This whole group really isn't even looking for ‘better for you’ messaging yet; they're not there yet because they haven't built the foundation to grow from.” 

Some of the data further contextualizes this takeaway: 94% of respondents in this category say their health is important, but they struggle to prioritize it. 

They’re more likely to indulge or stray from their wellness routines when stressed. They’re also more price-sensitive and are more likely to opt for cheaper options over healthier, tastier ones. Developed markets in the US and Europe were most represented in this segment. 

Money is no object for ‘Health is Wealth’ consumers.

The Health is Wealth segment is smaller (at 30%), but is “really valuable,” Thomas noted. “This is where brands get to play with trends like gut health and longevity.” Respondents in this group are more likely to prioritize physical well-being, spend more time cooking at home (85%), and focus on finding healthy and delicious foods (79%) over cost-effective ones. The emphasis on taste over price could largely be attributed to the fact that consumers in this segment were more likely to be higher income, according to Thomas. 

Thomas admitted to having a pre-conceived notion that more health-obsessed consumers would be more willing to sacrifice taste for quality of output (including functionality and healthfulness). But when money is no object, it’s easy to understand that consumers are willing to pay any price for a high-quality and delicious product. There is no reason to sacrifice any attribute. 

Consumers prioritizing ‘Balance and Moderation’ put meaningful marketing front and center.

Balance and Moderation was the smallest sector (20%), but it provides a significant testing ground for brands looking to refine their messaging or test new product concepts. For example, 75% of these consumers said they are willing to spend more on products that improve their health, but 48% still indulge in treats.

This “little treat” mindset also unlocks new insights to inspire marketing messaging and broader storytelling initiatives. For Balance and Moderation consumers, long walks are not just exercise; they’re moments that establish mental clarity and support stress management. They look for visual and verbal (such as product labels) to support their decision-making, which means they prioritize helpful and authoritative content. Brands have an opportunity to tap into these distinctions to understand what their core audience wants and expects across product, marketing, and customer experience.   

Global Realities and Cultural Nuances

While our perception and participation in wellness is very much an individualized journey, the global survey of 11,000 consumers outlined some overarching trends: most (62%) attach physical activity to wellness, while others connect it to diet and nutrition (49%), sleep (45%), and mental health (39%). The long tail of wellness has elongated, though, with nearly a quarter of respondents associating weight management and medications/supplements with wellness.

But how we define and participate in wellness is equally cultural as it is personal. For instance, while 39% of all respondents associated mental health with wellness, only 13% of respondents in Japan made this connection. Conversely, while only 16% of all respondents claimed that a clean living environment played into their definition of wellness, 45% of respondents in Indonesia made this connection. 

Thomas also noted that while consumers are overall adopting a “broader point of view around mental health and well-being,” it doesn’t extend to critical adjacencies, such as community socialization. There is a strong connection between social isolation, loneliness, and well-being, but this connection isn’t as well-established or widely accepted at the consumer level. 

Emerging Sectors for Innovation

The KCI research paints a clear picture of how consumers define and prioritize wellness. While these insights indicate where opportunities are today, they also provide clues regarding where opportunities lie in the future as they continue to participate in wellness trends and content. 

Mental health and self-care

The mental health sector is growing and evolving, largely because mental health is so intrinsically linked with modern wellness beliefs and principles. But there is an emerging subsector within this market, which KCI refers to as “food for mood,” that remains largely unexplored. 

Thomas points to the beverage industry as being at the forefront, with adaptogen beverages helping reduce stress, and companies like Apothekary capitalizing on the rise of mocktail culture and “sober curious” communities. The brand lives by the belief that “nature is medicine,” and its tinctures can be combined with juices, fresh fruits, and other ingredients to support metabolic health and reduce mental tension. 

Gut and digestive health

A 12% gap exists between consumers who currently use gut health products and those who plan to use them in the future, according to the KCI survey. The intention to explore this sector is especially significant among the Balance and Moderation cohort, who are more likely to test new products and trends to determine which brands and products are best suited for them personally. 

The rise of gut-friendly sodas is a major influencer in the growing role of gut health in the wellness market, largely because players like Poppi and Olipop have perfected how to best communicate the benefits of their products, according to Thomas. “This is gut health masking as an indulgence,” she said. “It’s a small win for the consumer, and despite soda still being a huge business, this is a step change that is smaller and much different than significant health claims. It’s this notion of ‘stealth health.’”

Clean beauty and living

Most Gen Z consumers (59%) already use clean beauty and living products in their everyday lives, and KCI predicts that number will increase to 66% over the next two years. The opportunity for this sector is not as clear for other demographics: only 45% of Boomers currently use these products, while 53% intend to do so in the future. However, adoption is increasing across the board, indicating that while not everyone will become a loyal power user, all consumers are at least willing to test and explore products in this sector. 

The Wellness Fad-to-Trend Pipeline

Consumers’ definition and participation in wellness will continue to evolve and expand. Brands should view this equally as a challenge and an opportunity to adapt their product and marketing strategies in response. However, they also need to understand which fads are just that—a short-term phenomenon driven by social media—and which will eventually become long-term trends that shape the market’s future.  

For instance, while everyone is talking about GLP-1s, only a very small subset of consumers currently utilizes them. This reality, coupled with the cultural ripple effect of Serena Williams’ ad spot with Ro, shows that the discourse surrounding GLP-1s is changing, but it’s nowhere close to mainstream, making CPG’s protein overhaul a “super-trendy-trend,” according to Thomas. However, with Morgan Stanley recently doubling its 10-year projection for the GLP-1 market, that doesn't mean brands and retailers should ignore it completely.

“Don’t get lost in these trends where the difference between 10 and 20 grams of protein only really matters to a small group of consumers,” Thomas said. “Because what happens is, brands decide to hit the protein trend and add all this weird stuff to their products, and then it tastes awful. People will try it once, but never buy it again. Function and efficacy (including taste) still hold the ultimate veto power.” 

Perhaps most importantly, brands need to understand how individually defined and complex wellness can be. Despite clear benchmarks for what supports a “wellness lifestyle,” consumers will tap into different products and categories based on their own unique circumstances.

“We’re seeing consumers want to pull different levers when it comes to health,” Thomas said. “They know sleep and exercise matter most. But maybe for me, diet is the hardest thing to change, so I can say I’m getting healthier in other ways, like making more thoughtful choices about the beauty and cleaning products I use.” 

Health, wellness, and self-care are also continuing to blend together, creating a more complex picture of how consumers define personal well-being and happiness. “Little treats” like a glass of wine or a cookie before bed play into a more apt definition of “living well.” It is this nuance that brands need to understand and speak to as they discuss the role their products play in consumers’ lives.

“Whatever your treat of choice may be, you may realize depriving yourself is not good for you mentally,” Thomas noted. “Think more creatively about what the path to health and wellness looks like, and have an honest reflection of who your consumers are,” she said. “Who’s seeking what degree of health, who's able to prioritize it, and who isn’t?”

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