What’s Happening In The Wellness Space?
3 minute read…
One thing that is changing every day is the wellness space, an industry that we as a studio at Unfound are particularly interested in. We're seeing some great brands emerging and we're fortunate enough to be working with some forward thinking founders and teams in creating brands that aim to disrupt their category. Like a women's supplements brand that aims to engage a younger audience and a coaching and mentoring brand that seeks to come alongside professional athletes through culturally-relevant counselling.
I got to spend some time at Balance Festival last week at The Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, and it truly was 'The Ultimate Destination for Wellness'. The team at Balance did a remarkable job at bringing inspiring trainers like London Fitness Guy, whose workouts helped me get through lockdown, wellness experts like Michael James Wong whose thoughts on reducing stress I enjoyed, amazing chefs (shoutout to my brothers on the salad) and forward-thinking, next generation food & lifestyle brands under one roof.
The atmosphere was incredible, you could hear the trainers instruction and the beat of the music in the distance as you walked in, the energy and the vibe in the room made me regret not turning up in my gear ready to participate in some of the classes! However, I know where to get by bearings for the day, my first stop was La Marzocco where I not only enjoyed a delicious flat white, but I made it myself - yeah that's right! A quick lesson, and I was a pro.
Back to next gen food & lifestyle brands - there was a vast array on offer. This space is becoming more and more competitive which was clear to see and is exciting. This is a great sign that we are looking after ourselves more that we ever have, but challenging in the sense of how do brands and businesses in this space separate themselves?
As an avid Wotsits (Giants) lover, I was blown away by The Curators, ‘supercharged snacking’ -high protein, plant based cheese puffs. Two worlds colliding in a snack that could easily become my favourite. I not only enjoyed the product and the innovation, but I love their focus on the power of savoury snacks. High-protein, low calorie, gluten-free, keto-friendly and a compelling brand - something for everyone.
I loved the Dirtea brand. We’ve been speaking about this brand as a studio recently, and their activation was a stand out for me. Bold & beautiful colours, with their clean, contemporary typeface everywhere you looked. Their focus on story & narrative was apparent when I spoke to the team - these guys know what they're doing.
As exciting as some of the brands that I saw were, I saw a lack of compelling creative, or disruptive activations that might speak to a younger audience. I saw some great fashion brands in this space that had remarkable propositions, however few people gathered at their stands. If your potential customers are scrolling past your ad or walking past your activation and not stopping, are there some gaps in your brand that we need to think about? Here's something exiting in the category that we've seen recently that has stood out, Gymbox’s clever use of SEO. The contemporary gym brand have used tongue in cheek copy and tactical search engine optimisation to playfully call-out their biggest competitors.
We know that brands speaking their minds like this resonates with a new customer. For one of our clients we've been deep into the minds of Gen Z and something that has stood out for us is the importance of meeting those guys where they are at. The Gen Z report by Oliver Wyman Forum talks about how Gen Z have moved health and wellness brands to the front of their priorities, unashamed of talking about their health and confident in crushing taboos, these guys speak their minds and they expect wellness brands to do the same.
We would love to sit down with some more brands in this space to think through how they might show up in the world to connect with a new wave of consumer, but perhaps most importantly, how they might speak their minds. Drop me an email at hello@unfound.studio, the coffee is on me.
See you around,
Tebo
