Global Wellness Consumption
On the heels of the COVID pandemic, one of the industries that has surged to all-time highs is the Global Wellness Industry (GWI). In 2022, the Global Wellness Institute, the foremost authority in the industry, reported that the GWI grew its economy to $5.6 trillion, up from $4.9 trillion in 2019. When considering leading segments of the industry some of the most popular include personal care and beauty, healthy eating/nutrition/weight loss, physical activity, and wellness tourism.
This growth is even more telling when looking at the sectors that have the highest average annual growth rate from 2020-2022. The top 3 include wellness tourism (36.2%), Spas (22.3%), Wellness Real Estate (20.5%). These numbers illustrate the #1 thing many people are investing in more than ever before is the getting away, not just to vacation aimlessly, but to go away to facilities that place a bigger emphasis on their wellbeing. It’s also worth noting that most of the places included in wellness tourism also house spas, which is the second fastest growing sector and an essential part of many peoples wellness tourism activities.
America’s Wellness Conundrum
While Towards Healthcare, and other organizations, project the rapid growth of the Global Wellness Industry in the future, North America (31.26%) is positioned to grow rapidly, second only in market revenue to Asia Pacific (35.77%) by 2032.
While the rapid growth of the wellness industry may appear to be a positive phenomenon, many critics of the industry suggest that it does little to make the most important change: eliminating the root of the chronic stress and other conditions leading us to be unwell in the first place. In a recent report, Forbes named the U.S. one of top 10 most stressful nations in the world. “Gallup found that younger Americans between the ages of 15 and 49 are experiencing the most stress in the U.S. today, along with the poorest 20% of the population.” Many people attribute this to the demands of hustle culture and corporate pressure those age groups may be navigating.
In his article, “Why the Wellness Industry is So Utterly Broken”, CJ Gotcher identifies a pattern by which many wellness experts and companies hang their hats: identifying a problem, selling a hustle that fixes it, people buying the product, seller justifies the usefulness of the product. He argues that instead of producing transformative and long-lasting outcomes, they typically end up benefiting from the financial gains of desperate people buying into the latest wellness fix being presented. Instead of investing money into a trillion dollar industry, the author recommends slow grow approaches to steady transformations in wellness over time.
Holistic Approaches for Long-term Wellness
For many people looking to establish lifestyles that center their wellness, the habits they commit to are regular, daily, practices that can be sustained over time. While these may be implemented by most people for little to no money, they don’t mean never investing in the wellness industry. Perhaps both approaches are necessary for long-term wellness.
- Connecting to Nature. When it comes to regulating the nervous system and combating burnout, connecting to nature is an ancient go-to that is a lost art, especially amongst many people in urban settings. Anything from breathing fresh air and absorbing sunlight on a daily walk or jog, sitting and/or working next to a body of water, or eating a meal under a tree in a park can be a major game changer for boosting energy and reducing stress.
- Committing to Eating Whole Foods. According to a US Foods Survey, Americans spend $166 per person on fast food per month, with anywhere from 60-90% of their food being ultra-processed. Taking time to pick, prepare, and consume whole foods do not require people to buy into the latest diet fad and with its complicated rules and restrictions and branded food packaging. Quite simply, it only requires people to answer the question, “Did this come from the earth and is it as close to its original form as possible?” Taking this step away from the corporate reach of “creating food products” and committing to what nature created is one step towards increased wellness.
- Holding space for creativity/play/pleasure. One thing many adults push to the margins of their daily lives is creativity, play, and pleasure. Contrary to the joy and freedom we see naturally in children (who still thrive and enjoy all of these things daily), many adults replace joy-producing activities with the worry and concern of their responsibilities. Blocking time to connect with friends on an adult soccer team, daily journal writing, painting/cooking classes, adult dance classes, sexual exploration, and any other plan to just do things they enjoy can be a regularly embedded vehicle to increase the quality of life.
- Engaging in Mindfulness. Many people believe that expensive yoga studios or wellness retreats are the entry points to practicing mindfulness, but that is a myth. Free yoga, meditation, breathwork courses via YouTube and other websites can be utilized by individuals, families, and groups of friends, right in the comfort of their own homes. These practices have been the cornerstone of many cultural groups for stress reduction, and groundedness for centuries.
While there are no shortage of industry titans that will always be positioned to make money in the wellness space, its important for people to be empowered by the fact that even those in the most vulnerable populations deserve access to wellness practices that are the first line of defense against chronic illnesses and stressed-induced lifestyles that decrease their quality of life. As we go into the next decade, community-based approaches to wellness that bring people together as natural support systems will no-doubt be the best investment of resources for those looking to cultivate health and wellness that is transformational for all.
