Self-care is a growing thing as people face increasing health care costs, declining access for services and certain products (think: drug shortages and wait times for specialist physician consults), and increasing consumer competence in sourcing information on health care — whether through AI-assisted on-ramps or greater digital literacy in seeking and finding help online.

McKinsey has tracked the expanding landscape and value of the global wellness market — and evolving consumer segments — in The $2 trillion global wellness market gets a millennial and Gen Z glow-up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I covered wellness and retail health in yesterday’s post published on 3rd June based on a survey conducted by NielsenIQ. In today’s post you’ll read about McKinsey’s riff on the consumer-facing wellness market. I’ll dive even more into this theme in my next post which will focus on food-as-medicine insights from a surprising new source for my work, Escoffier — the food gurus and educators.

‘Tis the season, or moment, for self-care and broadly speaking, retail health, because patients-as-consumers have developed savvier sensibilities to taking on health care choices and purchases.

To that point on purchases, the first vertical bar chart illustrates what we economists call “inelastic demand” for certain wellness and self-care products for which people pay largely out-of-pocket. We know food, here as groceries, are at the base of our personal hierarchies of needs. In the McKinsey consumer survey, fielded in November 2024, we see that several other categories of consumer spending are even less sensitive to peoples’ economic circumstances: namely, menstrual-care products, infant care products, corrective eyewear, and close behind groceries contraceptives, analgesics, cough/cold/allergy meds and vitamins/minerals/supplements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While McKinsey’s focus in this report was the so-called “glow-up” for wellness by generations Z and Millennials, we nonetheless can see in this second graph from the study that “overall” generations are keen on many wellness areas.

Heart health and cognitive function rank highest for all consumers, with sleep health a shared area of importance, as well. Where the younger consumers rank higher are for sexual health, skin and hair care, and managing stress and anxiety.

There’s some concordance for aging prevention for about 1 in 3 consumers overall — noting the fast-growing market for “longevity” products and services which right now are in a sort of exuberance phase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A major driving force among consumers taking health into their own hands and wallets is food, which grew in importance and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. McKinsey updates our understanding of consumers’ top benefits sought from food purchases, shown in the horizontal bar chart here topped by energy-boosting foodstuffs, gut health, immunity, weight loss, and sleep.

These findings comport with other recent studies which quantify consumers’ growing attention to food-for-health and food-as-medicine among patients dealing with, say, IBS, cancer, and osteoporosis and athletic injuries as examples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  And just like that overnight, we see that Pyx Health acquired FarmboxRx — bringing together two organizations that together can address the growing challenges of food security, “eating alone,” and medically-tailored meals. This alliance bolsters the non-medical drivers of health that can make a huge difference in people’s individual health outcomes in in driving communities’ population health, separate from medical care.

This kind of collaboration is what I’ve been trying to foster in my work across the health/care ecosystem where, in the words of that great mantra from Burkina Faso,

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”