Abhishek Gagneja, Founder, Yoga Brands

Abhishek Gagneja plunged into the wellness & lifestyle industry some two years ago after up keeping with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. His diverse experiences in the past skills him professionally in Sales Funnel Optimization, Ecommerce, Market Research, Management, and Competitive Intelligence. Abhishek helped businesses grow D2C Brands in the USA in the past, utilizing his expertise in different work spectrums and now lining up building D2C Brands in India.

 

The notion of wellness has always existed, but it has taken on a new meaning that involves not only exercise and diet, but also physical and mental well-being, which was made possible by technological intervention. Lifetech, which refers to the use of technology in wellness including fitness, beauty, and health, has been on the rise for a few years and was fueled further by Covid’s unprecedented growth.

The worldwide wellness business is seeing stratospheric growth as a result of a paradigm shift in people’s views about health. The key drivers of this transition are India’s youthful millennial population, which prioritizes health and happiness. According to Numb Research, an Indian market research agency, India’s 443 million millennials spend Rs 4000 per month on health and wellbeing services and goods.

According to McKinsey, the global wellness market is poised to grow at more than 1.5 trillion dollars with annual growth of 5 to 10 percent. One of the potential reasons for the expansion in this business is an increase in customer interest and spending power, as well as a desire to keep active.

Technology driving wellness

People are adjusting their habits in favor of healthy living as society continues to grapple with the effects of the pandemic. This trend is seen when examining how the fitness sector has grown over the last year.

With the internet and the quick adoption of disruptive technologies, the focus shifted from increasing access and cost to improving quality and cure through data and technology. The concept of staying active and healthy through staying connected to technology struck a chord with consumers.

While fitness technology and digital fitness were already on the rise before the pandemic, they have come to dominate the fitness business in the post-pandemic landscape. Health and fitness applications showed a 46 percent rise in download worldwide in the first two quarters of 2020 alone. The number of downloads increased the most in India, by a whopping 156 percent.

Top trends in wellness

Some of the biggest tech-driven developments have fundamentally transformed the health and fitness market in the last few years. Health extended beyond medicine and supplements and included medical devices and personal health trackers. The PwC report wearable device has determined the wellness wearables market to reach $27 billion by 2022.

To improve their fitness, people have turned to innovative solutions such as virtual trainers, which have experienced extraordinary demand in recent years. Because improved nutrition is the key to greater health, more than a third of customers worldwide desire to spend more money on diet programs, drinks, and supplements. Furthermore, under Covid, improved mindfulness gained traction in the form of meditation-focused applications and relaxation and meditation-oriented solutions.

The trends in the Future -Looking ahead 

All of the developments mentioned above will create opportunities for two important trends: consumer-centricity and a high level of personalization. Because customers will be the ones setting product development parameters, merchants and wellness product producers will have no option but to take a consumer-centric strategy. 

Demand for products that suit different lifestyles and diet requirements such as Keto, diabetic-friendly snacks, fortified foods, immunity-boosting products, etc. will be the trend. The trend will be for items that cater to various lifestyles and diet requirements, such as Keto, diabetic-friendly snacks, fortified meals, immune-boosting products, and so on. The demand for such items has already increased, as seen by the increased availability of gluten-free cereals, cold-pressed juices, and other products.

As per the Health and Wellness Market by Product and Geography – Forecast and Analysis 2020-2024, the health and wellness market size is expected to grow by USD 1,299.84 billion with a CAGR of 6.37% during 2020-2024.

Opportunities for the Wellness industry

All these factors present significant opportunities for startups and businesses in the area of overall wellness with new models disrupting this sector. Many VCs and private equity companies are taking a keen interest in this industry. Due to the rising demand in this market, several multinational businesses, including salons, gyms, fitness firms, and wearable gadget makers, have expressed interest in entering India. The availability of launch and sustainability finance from banks and private equity investors allows for global expansion.

The Wellness Industry in India

In India, the wellness business has quickly developed from a very unstructured environment in the 1990s to a more active and developing sector today. With health and wellness becoming more prominent, this business is expected to flourish in the next years. According to FICCI and EY, the sector would increase at a CAGR of over 12% over the next five years, reaching a projected high of Rs 1.5 trillion by 2020. Some of the variables driving this trend are an increase in disposable income and an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable illnesses.

Challenges in the Wellness industry

One of the most significant difficulties in the business today is a lack of experienced and trained staff. Another problem is effective industry monitoring. Users experience difficulties owing to poor quality offers, generally as a result of subpar facilities and inadequate infrastructure, particularly in the unorganized sector.

The key challenges faced by the industry are in the human resources space. Especially, there is a shortage of qualified doctors, nutritionists, counselors, etc. The lack of insurance penetration and poor focus on preventive care by the population managers are some of the other key challenges.

Conclusion

As digital platforms and fitness technology continue to rule the roost, they are playing an important role in assisting people to keep active and healthy not just from the comforts of their homes, but also in a hybrid, post-pandemic future. 

With these statistics and rising health consciousness, certainly, current and upcoming trends are here to stay. With the optimistic and rising forecasts for the wellness sector, there is a wide range of opportunities for enterprises to capitalize on the predicted and impending wellness market trends.

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