Feel better: A leader’s guide to the wellness market

To your health ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
Leading Off

Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

The concept of “wellness” may have become a cornerstone of workplace management strategies today: many organizations now consider ensuring employee wellness a hallmark of effective leadership. As far back as the 1940s, wellness began to be defined as something more than the mere absence of disease, and by the 1990s, it had come to mean a holistic, healthy lifestyle encompassing physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being. But that expansive definition of wellness can be challenging to implement in practice, especially across an organization. This week, we offer a quick-start guide.

An image linking to the web page “The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024” on McKinsey.com.

What are people looking for when they pursue wellness? They generally look for solutions across six dimensions—health, fitness, nutrition, appearance, mindfulness, and sleep. They also want effective, science-backed answers. Our latest Future of Wellness survey of more than 5,000 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, and China reveals seven areas that may be ripe for investment in the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024. For example, demand for healthy aging and longevity solutions is increasing as populations across developed economies continue to age. “Bringing products and services to market that anticipate the needs of aging consumers will be particularly important,” note McKinsey senior partner Warren Teichner and colleagues. As people live longer, leaders may need to consider how workplaces can adapt to an older workforce, as well as explore other complex issues such as financing long-term healthcare.

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An image linking to the web page “How to thrive in the global wellness market” on McKinsey.com.

Data privacy may be a big concern for consumers—but they may not mind sharing their personal data to get customized wellness products and services. That’s just one surprising finding of our survey of 7,500 consumers in six countries. Another is a growing preference for natural products. “We were surprised at the categories where natural is winning out,” says McKinsey partner Anna Pione in a McKinsey on Consumer and Retail podcast. “It does vary a little bit from country to country, but in all of them, we saw that same pattern, where ‘natural’ is winning over ‘effective’ for many categories.” Players entering the wellness segment may need to recognize that the market stands “at the intersection of healthcare, consumer goods, and digital,” notes partner Eric He. “That means you have to fundamentally think through what your winning model archetype is. What’s your differentiated value proposition? Go back to the business fundamentals.”

An image linking to the web page “Wellness in 2030” on McKinsey.com.

If you associate wellness with yoga classes, meditation camps, or healthy snack offerings, you may not be wrong. But the health and beauty makeovers of the future may add new dimensions to wellness products and services. In a video, McKinsey experts weigh in on what the wellness industry could look like in 2030. “A lot of the growth is in smaller, niche products,” says senior partner Jessica Moulton. “Keep experimenting with ways to get great at small.” Former partner and McKinsey alum Emma Spagnuolo expects beauty retailers to offer “clinical treatments, like microdermabrasion, that up until now have been done only in a dermatologist’s office or a medical spa,” while senior partner Manish Chopra anticipates a larger role for technology and wearables in the pursuit of mindfulness: “At whatever time in the evening, the wearable device would start saying, ‘Listen, you need to quiet your mind now.’”

Lead by staying well.

– Edited by Rama Ramaswami, senior editor, New York

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by "McKinsey Leading Off" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 04:11 - 19 Feb 2024