At our Beauty, Health & Wellness Futures Forum 2021, we presented our latest sector macrotrend, Synchronised Care, which examines how Covid-19 has taught us that taking care of ourselves is also a way to care for those around us.
As the virus has accelerated, so have our existing anxieties. This has led to a global mental health crisis. In 2020, consumers looked to brands to play a personal recuperative role in their lives, but now the foundations of wellness are starting to be rebuilt. In the future, it will be crucial for all organisations to prioritise our collective mental, emotional and spiritual needs. As Joe Holder, founder of The Ocho System, says: ‘We need to take a more proactive stance in the areas that truly impact our overall health, mental state, environment and culture.’
As health becomes a personal and public priority, a wider, more sustained and accessible narrative is taking shape. Consumers are beginning to reject the unlikely pairing of capitalism and wellness, and personal welfare practices are now becoming interconnected with every aspect of our lives and the world we live in.
As we move through 2021 and beyond, the beauty and wellness industry will need to transcend its aesthetic definition to represent something far greater. A key focus for wellness businesses will be how they can view sustainability as about more than environmental impact, and something that includes ethical, social and human impact.
Younger consumer attitudes are already shifting to be more inclusive and carefree, with Gen Z leading this reframing of beauty and wellness as more democratic pursuits. As Poonam Dhuffer, founder of YSM8, explains: ‘Black and people of colour (POC) communities understand that wellness is deeply connected to spiritual collectivism and that it is separate from capitalism.’
As enjoyment becomes a political act against the mechanisms of capitalism, brands must also move beyond static definitions of self-expression and self-actualisation, and instead start to appeal to this new-found hedonism with intersectional ambassadors, optimistic brand language and products to boost happiness.
Importantly, the role of wellness is breaking out of the industry’s traditional categories and becoming a more fundamental brand pillar, bringing with it new expectations and opportunities for all businesses to become wellness businesses. The goal will be to reflect the interdependencies between planetary, individual and intersectional values.
