Health may be the greatest wealth, but wellness is the wealthy’s favourite luxury item.
While tens of millions of people in the US have been shocked by skyrocketing healthcare costs, the one percent have been presented with more luxury offerings than ever in pursuit of perfection of mind and body, as well as more time on Earth.
Those that want a healthy dose of networking along with their additional years can join a surge of new wellness members’ clubs that have opened in cities across the world from London to New York, giving them daily access to services once reserved for resort getaways. While wellness’s main customer continues to be women, the clubs’ chic decor and pilates studios are paired with futuristic infrared contraptions and the language of biohacking and optimisation to capture growing male interest.
This rising masculine presence in the industry may also explain why plant-based ingredient trends continue to take a backseat. Erewhon shelves are stocked with bottles of desiccated liver supplements touting the word “primal” and various animal-product based supplements include ingredients like whey protein, collagen and colostrum.
Investors continue to see the promise of the industry, even if their interests jump from fad to fad. Hormones, fertility and menopause have been areas of focus, with women’s supplement brand Perelel landing $27 million in funding. They’ve also stuck to their love for health-tracking wearables, with Oura Ring now worth $11 billion.
Where wellness fits in with the beauty world, however, remains a question with evolving answers: while Ulta Beauty has been all-in on the category, Sephora recently confirmed it’s backing out. But supplements at beauty retailers have proven to be popular in some markets such as South Korea, showing that the potential is there, especially with the imminent global expansion of wellness-heavy K-beauty retailer Olive Young.
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