The pandemic has sparked some serious wellness conversations in each of our minds, for the aware, it is loud, for the less aware, it’s subtle. I have been decoding the same since 2017 and have understood that personal well-being is the most important aspect of our life. Interestingly our ancestors have decoded this, as a way of living. I see a major change in mindsets that will change the business of Wellness, globally. Mckinsey predicts the estimate of the global wellness market at more than US$ 1.5 trillion, with annual growth of 5% to 10%. The major trends that will dominate this growth are as below. I am sharing trends that are based on the Global Wellness Institute report.
WELLNESS PRACTICES REVIVED
People have started treating personal wellness as the new luxury and know that it’s a luxury that cannot be bought. This Wellness consciousness in our Indian consumers will define the growth of personal wellness, supplements, nutrition, and Ayurvedic recipes. The art of well-being is known to us as generations of sages have documented the way of life. There are brands peeking into those treasures and redefining Wellness offerings. The Ayurvedic brands like Ohria Ayurveda, Kama Ayurveda are an example of how the old-age practices have been revived as an offering, the use of kansa for massage, bath ubtans, are all testimony that consumers are moving by the trend of wellness is a new luxury. Every seven out of ten people is considering some wellness regime, panchakarma, appointing a yoga teacher, joining a gym, visiting a healer all and more are on the radar. All Wellness resorts are offering revived Wellness potions based on our Ayurveda, naturopathy principles.
METAVERSED WELLNESS
Wellness is a sector that will get metaversed sooner, as fitness–from workouts as virtual multimedia events to an explosion of gamified models that pay you to move. The first acquisition Meta (formerly Facebook) made was to buy Supernatural, a virtual reality platform for high-intensity workouts set in otherworldly worlds. Metaverse and fitness have unique synergies, where lifelike, super immersive worlds (that blend music, extraordinary visuals, wearables, star practitioners, etc.) can ramp up people’s engagement with movement in new ways.
Gamification is the hot fitness trend now. Companies like Mulu and Play Pulse use gaming to keep people motivated to compete with themselves and others. The Whealth project, developed by Limoverse, involves lifestyle plan creation based on personal genomics and metabolic analysis. Users will be able to complete an EPLIMO (Epigenetic Lifestyle Modification) to receive a breakdown of their geno-metabolic condition and a personalised plan to improve their lifestyle. Users will also be able to work with a certified lifestyle coach through Limoverse to improve their health and wellness comes at a fraction of the cost compared to today’s traditional means and with much more convenience.
CERTIFIED HEALTH AND WELLNESS COACHES
The world spends US$ 8.3 trillion a year on healthcare and US$ 4.4 trillion on wellness, and we still can’t stem the tide of chronic disease. That’s where the new certified wellness coaches come in: trained in evidence-based conversational techniques that get people to discover their internal motivation to hit realistic wellbeing goals, certified wellness coaches, unlike doctors, spend real time with people. Having science-based training in helping people spark and stick to healthy changes is a skill anyone in health and wellness should have. More fitness and yoga practitioners are now getting certified in this coaching practice and even making it their new career. The future for certified health and wellness coaches is more and more collaboration. They will increasingly work with doctors, insurers, employers, physical therapists, fitness trainers, nutritionists, mental health professionals and people independently. The future of healthcare, wellness, and fitness, is increasingly a multidisciplinary team approach.
INDIAN SPA CERTIFICATION AND ETHICS
The Indian Spa Industry will also go through the churn and it is a now or never moment as there will be a lot more training and certifications that will be needed to attract global visitors. The Industry also needs to purge to be a professional employer that actually has health benefits, right now spas are serving as an undercover for other activities. There will be certifications that we will have to roll out, stringent appointment norms and recognise certified spas and only promote them among our global visitors. We will have to take this moment to redefine our Spa Industry and raise the bar and chisel ourselves into a world-class industry. There are a few visionary players in the market to help this transformation; I see this as a trend that will actually help businesses make their spas profitable professionally. We will also be building our talent base that is certified, trained that is showcaseable. Spa owners will resist initially but this is the best time to evolve and create a niche business that will be respected and empowering, as spas are a very critical pillar of the Indian wellness story.
URBAN ‘WELLNESS PLAYGROUNDS’: BRINGING FITNESS TO ALL
The pandemic exposed just how unwell cities are. And now they’re rethinking their centuries-old landscapes: moving away from cars, pollution, and endless consumerism and retail to develop far more green and communal spaces. They’re rewilding their concrete jungles into urban forests, farms and wildlife oases. Cities—in diverse, powerful ways—are being reimagined around accessible and affordable Wellness. There are so many examples of the new “urban playgrounds,” where nature meets wellness and fitness. New manmade beaches and boardwalks, free pop-up wellness and fitness classes, and even water sports are hitting some very unexpected cities. This democratic trend will provide an alternative to pricey boutique fitness/wellness classes for urbanites. This trend will also kick off some valuable community lessons in Sustainability, this is increasingly happening in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram.
The author is the publisher of Luxury Wellness and a wellness evangelist who represents India on Global Wellness Forums. All views expressed are her own and inputs from GWI.