breaking down the $1.8T market opportunity in health & wellness
what's trending and what's to come in the wellness economy
I could’ve easily made this into a 20-minute read, as “wellness” is an umbrella term for anything that improves your health. But I tried to boil it down to the most pertinent trends I’m seeing today and what’s on the horizon. The topic of wellness is nothing new, but it has evolved. In other words, it’s not about how long we live but the quality of how we live. Manna Tree defines this as “healthspan”, where we can live not only longer but longer and better.
Consumers are making these lifestyle changes for four key reasons:
Prioritizing their general health
Enhancing sleep
Supporting healthy aging
Managing weight
And Gen Z, in particular, is investing more time into routine lifestyle changes, not just temporary short-term solutions. Forbes Health also notes that Gen Z has the highest average willingness to spend on their health, sitting at $7,856 per year compared to the survey average of $5,285.
Latest Consumer News:
Nico’s Ice Cream opened a Toasted Smores Bar in Portland
Olipop just raised $50M in a Series C funding round
Gruns gummies launches at 600 Target stores
Perfy soda, a mood-boosting soda, launches a Pepperoni Pizza-flavored soda (i’m scared…)
Nightingale ice cream sandwiches are available at Kroger
Food & Beverage
There’s always so much (almost too much) happening in food & beverage when it comes to “better-for-you” and “functional” benefits. You’ll notice that wellness is one of the few industries where the lines between perceived benefits and real benefits blur.
Hydration in the form of greens & electrolytes
To me, wellness started to take effect in 2010, when Athletic Greens launched green powder.
I could take up a lot of space talking about greens powder but in short, despite there still not being enough data to prove the efficacy of green powders, it hasn’t stopped brands from winning over consumers. Athletic Greens (AG1) recorded to have $600M in revenue in 2024, with plans to expand into Starbucks and more vending machines. AG1 primarily targets 30-50 year-olds that come from an athletic background, but emerging brands have been able to capture a younger crowd that’s just looking to “get their greens in”. If scientists don’t have enough to say about this product, I don’t either. It not only works but works exceedingly well.
Beyond green powders, hydration has become a big part of rest and recovery, a key segment of wellness. Electrolytes play a significant role in this space, and the market continues to become increasingly saturated as more brands come in. Electrolytes are now having a moment, as people call this their “morning coffee”. Fortunately, liquid electrolytes are targeting a loyal consumer base, as 68% of sports and performance drinkers consume them at least once a week. Brands ahead of the hydration curve, such as Gatorade and Propel, saw market share growth in 2024 despite emerging brands like LiquidIV and LMNT coming to market. This market will continue to see diversification in flavor profiles and potential penetration into the non-alcoholic market as well.
GLP-1 shaping our diets
The rise of GLP-1 is also shaping how consumers think about nutrition as a form of practicing wellness. Regardless if you use GLP-1 medications, we’re becoming more intentional with buying clean-ingredient, high-protein foods. And of course, zero sugar.
Even though I can’t stand knowing my food has artificial sweeteners, there’s something oddly satisfying about seeing “Sugar: 0g” on the nutrition label. Brands are locking in to provide consumers with easy swaps. The zero sugar beverage market ALONE is predicted to hit $8.8B in 2030.
Zevia PBC, a zero-sugar beverage company, is expanding from 800 to 4,300 Walmart stores across the country
Ocean Spray launches a zero-sugar tropical punch line of products
Swoon, a startup founded in 2020, offers zero-sugar beverages in nostalgic flavors.
Contrary to this, clean ingredients are all the rage. It’s almost like nutrient-dense, whole foods make you feel better. What a concept! Maybe it’s from growing up in an Indian household where home-cooked meals are referred to as the remedy to anything, but I’ll always be bullish on this market. That’s why I was especially excited to see how many natural foods made it on Instacart’s 2024 fastest-growing brands list. Several brands, across kombucha to sauerkraut to bone broth, made it on the list. With gut health and high protein becoming all the rage, whole foods are making their way back into our diet in a way that aligns with our busy lifestyles.
CPG expanding into brain health
Recently, we’ve seen another wellness trend emerge in CPG: brain health. I was skeptical at first — proof below!
Brain-health products have been promoted in several ways, with typical buzzwords like “supporting cognitive function” and “better mental focus”.
Ryze Superfoods coffee, which has achieved $18M since it has started, sells mushroom coffee, claiming that its adaptogens provide better focus and immune support.
Bulletproof nutrition sells MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil is a coconut oil-based, mix-in functional ingredient with links to cognitive function.
IQ Bar sells clean-ingredient plant-based protein bars with brain health ingredients (how many buzzwords can you fit into one tagline!!!!)
Neuro sells “Energy & Focus” gum and mints to improve cognitive function
Vitamins, Minerals, & Supplements (VMS)
The vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) space has also evolved with emerging wellness trends. First with sleep. With only 32% of Americans reported getting “excellent” or “very good” sleep, trends like the “sleepy girl mocktail” exploded across the internet. This trend paved the way for more non-habit-forming sleep supplements to enter the market.
Personalization has also been a keen area that investors are placing their bets on in the VMS space.
Bioniq, a company that creates personalized supplements using blood biomarker data, raised $15M in Series B funding
SuppCo, a platform to make it easier for consumers to manage their supplement stacks, raised $5.5M in funding led by Union Square Ventures and True Ventures.
Timeline, a DTC supplement to help slow aging at the cellular level, raised $66M in funding in early 2024
Looking ahead, we’re going to see growth in convenient VMS formats, such as gummies, powders, and liquids, according to Mintel’s 2024 VMS report. The report also discusses that a key area for VMS products to experience a barrier to market entry is the lack of education. Gen Z consumers, specifically, have become agnostic towards brand names and instead are looking for affordable prices and product efficacy.
Exercise (or lack thereof 🌚)
Exercise, in particular, has taken a big redirection and THANK GOD we’ve finally discovered that less is more. As someone who used to think that working out 7 days a week was a non-negotiable, it has been incredibly healing to have a fun schedule of workouts while sprinkling days of rest. Fitness clubs are also offering services to provide weight-loss support and biomarker blood testing, a clear indicator that consumers are taking ownership of their health regularly instead of relying on their 6-month physical.
Wellness service offerings have now been equally important as physical exercise.While not a huge thing in Minnesota (yet), larger cities have taken shape with how wellness can be investable experiences to incorporate into your life. At first, this looked like run clubs and fitness classes, but now we’re seeing a surge in “rest & recovery” facilities that include saunas, cold plunges, soundbaths, massages, etc. Love.Life is a health and wellness club in LA that has memberships for up to $50K/year. However, the future of wellness is not just for the wealthy. I recently went to Bathhouse, where a day pass was $50. These facilities are no longer an exclusive experience for high-income earners but are accessible to a broader audience. Rest is no longer an afterthought—consumers are embracing relaxation as a key pillar of holistic health.
Wellness is about finding the strategic shifts across various pillars of health, from exercise to nutrition, that improves and supports your lifestyle.
🛍️Things I’ve been loving:
Builtbars - these are GAMECHANGING protein bars
Sauz - incredible pasta sauce created by Gen Z founders
the huge tub of Kirkland hummus from costco
a solid tongue scraper
americanos! i’m finally convinced :)
the $20 Levi’s jeans i found at TJ Maxx
What I’m working on:
I just hosted my second CPG taste test night in late January. It is so fun being able to share the experience of trying out emerging brands with a group of friends who are equally passionate about the consumer world! I’ll get into the details of the products and rankings in a future piece :)
I’m considering areas to continue building CG through different social platforms and content styles. There are always 4-5 ideas spinning through my mind at once, so why not plug them into different content forms?
Great post! If you like Builtbars you should also check out barbells protein bars, I think those are the best.