Globally, 52% of consumers trust artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare applications, leading people and brands to leverage chatbots as wellness guides (KPMG, 2025). However, general-purpose chatbots may lack the security features and best practices to discuss health concerns, prompting smart brands to develop versions that are trained on holistic health best practices.

Nights out, dance parties and raves are becoming bona fide health-conscious activities for connection, movement and relaxation – building off themes introduced in Spaces: Cultivating Connection. Shrewd brands are concocting supplements to speed post-night out recovery, while others are reimagining wellness venues as nightclubs (and vice versa).

Wellness’s optimisation culture is launching new healthcare approaches that marry alternative and conventional practices to help individuals fine-tune their internal and environmental wellbeing. While some protocols address emerging concerns – like cleansing blood of microplastics – others take experimental approaches to long-standing issues, such as mental health struggles.

Echoing trends outlined in Wellbeing Futures: Tools for Better Living, consumers worldwide want to balance and tune into their emotions. For some, small acts are key: think sensory-soothing dark showers or gardening as therapy. However, others are considering (or reconsidering) medication as a tool for finding equilibrium.

While 70% of global consumers now use health-monitoring wearables, only 9% report making significant lifestyle changes as a result (PWC, 2025). Wearable tech brands are bridging this gap with comprehensive blood tests that pair clinical biomarkers with the mountains of biometric data users generate, alongside tangible suggestions for improvement.

In 2026, consumers will have increasing difficulty finding trustworthy, science-backed wellness information, accelerating trends outlined in 10 Wellness Trends to Watch 2025. Between shifting government health policies (notably in the US) and social media wellbeing misinformation, people are struggling to identify reliable wellness advice. Cue an interest in self-diagnostics, crowdsourced health information and myth-debunking media.

Globally, $2.6bn was invested in women’s health start-ups in 2024 – a nearly $1bn increase from 2023 (SVB, 2025). However, consumer knowledge still lags, leaving many women unprepared to manage concerns from fertility to menopause. Forward-thinking brands are positioning themselves as care teams, offering education, novel medications or supportive services.

Longevity has become a mainstream obsession since we started tracking it in 2023. Across the US, UK, Germany and China, 60% of consumers consider healthy ageing a priority (McKinsey, 2025), while the global longevity therapies market is expected to reach $8tn by 2030 (UBS, 2025). Now, everything from dental care to pet health has a longevity-enhancing lens.

Although a whopping 96% of Europeans say they care about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, only 51% admit they follow through, with lack of motivation and time being the most common barriers (Stada, 2025). Cue products designed to simplify wellbeing-conscious behaviours, be it interior maps that mimic sunlight or supplements that imitate the process of fasting.

As sports and fitness participation surges globally – see The Sports-Leisure Landscape Update – exercise enthusiasts are leveraging wellness therapies to supercharge their recovery. Many are borrowing therapies trusted by professional athletes, whether that’s blood testing for inflammation, preventative physical therapy or sports-centred vacations.