Nielsen Global Health And Wellness Report Worldwide
Hanne Rylaarsdam
In contrast to the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, consumers are being very deliberate with their choices. 2021 has been a year of recalibration, reflection, and resilience. What matters to consumers, now? Meaningful and purposeful living, health management, strength and wellness, mental health and stability, happiness, social connection, environmental betterment, balance, and fulfillment.
Well-being in definition is far more comprehensive than health or wellness, as it considers a broader universe of personal factors and speaks to the goals of a well-rounded life. Fueled by the informed ideology and mass influence of younger generations like Gen Z, who are hyper-aware of social and environmental issues, the expansive future of consumer health and wellness is proactive, highly personal, mindful, and motivated towards well-being. While maintaining your bar of excellence for value, taste, efficacy, and convenience, how will your company show up in this next chapter?
In this new NielsenIQ Global Health and Wellness report, we explore consumer sentiment across 17 diverse global markets and dive deep into NielsenIQ data to help companies better understand the global state of health, wellness, and well-being. We uncover how consumer needs have been reshaped around the world, what is trending, and what the budding opportunities are across the new, broadened spectrum of global well-being. This report brings to light a full view of total consumer health and wellness.
It all starts with understanding the baseline state of total consumer health and wellness as it stands, today. Despite mass vaccination efforts across countries, the world is still in a pandemic, with millions still being infected and impacted by COVID-19. However, the virus is just one force driving change in the global health and wellness landscape.
As the cost of health care rises, socioeconomic issues build and consumers determine their own health and wellness journeys, businesses and governments become increasingly more interconnected. Coupled with the enduring COVID-19 impact, this trifecta of forces is paving the path forward.
Much like the expanse of factors that have impacted the global state of health and wellness, there are equally many ways in which consumers are re-inventing how they approach health-related decisions.
Following the onset of COVID-19, what do consumers deem to be important today? While we recognize that there is no blanket answer for this question, we do believe there is one universal hierarchy that empowers a deeper understanding of how consumers are currently prioritizing their health and wellness needs.
This hierarchy, applied to the current state of health and wellness, brings to light a total view of consumer health needs. It highlights unique differences in the innate order to which consumers are prioritizing their health needs: those that are protective, preservation-focused, aspirational, evolving, and altruistic in nature.
The hierarchy framework is fluid across consumer segmentations, geographic regions, key demographics, cultures, and categories. In practice, it will align with any personal health and wellness journey. The opportunity for companies looking to meet and exceed the growing expectations of health-conscious consumers is to figure out where your brand fits and sits along this fluid path. If most consumers prioritize more than one hierarchy level, so should companies. What are the current and future opportunities that exist for your company both up and down this hierarchy?
Biological advancement pertaining to DNA testing, the modification of lab grown ingredients, exploration of plant-based alternatives, and the emergence of lab refined supplements will propel health and wellness innovation to new heights.
In this new report, NielsenIQ explores consumer sentiment across 17 diverse global markets and dives deep into data to help companies better understand the global state of health, wellness, and well-being. The insights uncover how consumer needs have been reshaped around the world, what is trending, and what the budding opportunities are across the new, broadened spectrum of global health and wellness.
As the cost of health care rises, socioeconomic issues build and consumers determine their own health and wellness journeys, businesses and governments become increasingly more interconnected. Coupled with the enduring COVID-19 impact, this trifecta of forces is paving the direction of the CPG landscape.
We estimate the global wellness market at more than $1.5 trillion, with annual growth of 5 to 10 percent. A rise in both consumer interest and purchasing power presents tremendous opportunities for companies, particularly as spending on personal wellness rebounds after stagnating or even declining during the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, the wellness market is getting increasingly crowded, creating the need to be strategic about where and how companies compete.
Each of these six categories is important for consumers across our survey countries. Better health consistently appears as the most important wellness dimension (and the one with the highest level of spending) across every market we researched.
In overall spending, consumers expect to increase their purchases of both wellness products and services over the next year. We expect a greater shift toward services, especially those (such as personal training, nutritionists, and counseling) that emphasize physical and mental health (Exhibit 3).
Potential strategy for companies. Reevaluate your development road map to consider whether you have more opportunities to introduce natural or wellness-oriented products or to acquire natural/clean product lines. This strategy could look different by segment: in apparel, products designed with organic/natural materials and sustainability in mind; in consumer health, natural/clean beauty products; in retail, merchandising with an eye to products that resonate as authentically natural.
We do see traditional channels holding for certain product categories: fortified foods, multivitamins, and skincare still largely sell through brick-and-mortar stores. Other breakout categories (such as fitness wearables) are almost entirely online native. Consumers in China report the highest share of wellness spending online, followed by those in Japan and trailed by those in Europe, the United States, and Brazil.
The global wellness market is healthy and growing. In every category we surveyed, more consumers said they were going to spend more on wellness than those who said they would spend less. The majority of consumers planning to increase their spending was especially large in some categories, including memory/brain enhancers, anti-aging products, beauty supplements, noninvasive cosmetic procedures, nutrition (sports nutrition, juice cleanses, nutrition coaches, fortified foods), and meditation/mindfulness offerings.
Food manufacturers and retailers get a tremendous opportunity to lead healthy eating habits of their consumers. Moreover, consumers are ready to shift towards sustainable, organic, and healthy foods. This article investigates how obesity problem changes worldwide nutrition habits.
The Nielsen Global Health and Wellness report shows that half of global respondents believe that they are overweight and half are trying to lose weight. Consumers have become more aware of what they eat. People seek fresh products, which are natural, organic and minimally processed. On a global level, youngsters are most willing to purchase premium goods due to health attributes. As far as it goes, they are learning from mistakes of the previous generation and are ready to change their habits towards healthier nutrition. The fact that respondents claim that they are ready to pay more for the quality of the product shows the shift in the eating habits.
* From 2015-2017, the wellness economy grew 6.4% annually, nearly twice as fast as global economic growth (3.6%).*
* Wellness expenditures ($4.2 trillion) are now more than half as large as total global health expenditures ($7.3 trillion).**
* The wellness industry now represents 5.3% of global economic output.
Valued at $47.5 billion, the workplace wellness market remains very small in comparison to the massive economic burden and productivity losses (10-15% of global economic output) associated with an unwell and disengaged workforce. Only 9.8% of world employees are covered by a workplace wellness program (321 million people), and programs are heavily concentrated in high-income countries in North America, Western Europe and Asia.
About the Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is considered the leading global research and educational resource for the global wellness industry and is known for introducing major industry initiatives and regional events that bring together leaders to chart the future. GWI positively impacts global health and wellness by advocating for both public institutions and businesses that are working to help prevent disease, reduce stress, and enhance the overall quality of life. Its mission is to empower wellness worldwide.
To gain better insight into the factors that influence consumer sentiment and purchase behavior, Nielsen polled 30,000 consumers in 60 countries across the globe. Consumers were asked how much influence factors such as the environment, packaging, price, marketing, and organic or health and wellness claims had on their consumer goods purchase decisions.
Consumers are looking for products that are both good for them and good for society. A product's health and wellness benefits are influential purchase decision drivers for more than half of survey respondents (59%). Products made with fresh, natural, and/or organic ingredients carry similar weight with consumers (57%). Finding opportunities to bridge the two is a powerful and impactful way to connect with consumers.
The findings from the retail sales information included in this report are collected from stores using electronic point-of-sale technology and/or teams of local field auditors. The data represents a cross-section of 1,319 brands among 13 categories (both consumable and non-consumable categories) across an average of 13 countries* for the 12-month period ending December 2014. On average, the brands measured in this study represent 73% of 2014 value sales (USD) in each country-category analyzed (private label brands were not included). Stores within Nielsen's worldwide retail network include grocery, drug, convenience and discount retailers, who, through various cooperation arrangements, share their sales data with Nielsen.
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