The consumer self-care industry is shifting in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with both consumers and retailers focusing on wellness.
According to the University of California, Davis, “Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness; it is a dynamic process of change and growth. It is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
As wellness became a priority during COVID-19-related lockdowns, retailers shifted product sets in appearance to emphasize items aimed at immunity, microbiome health, better sleep, anxiety/stress management, weight control, and appearance improvement (such as products for hair, skin, and nails). As a result, retail sets in self-care aisles and online look very different than they did only a couple years ago.
Target Beauty Nutrition product set, May 2021
The retailers’ efforts hardly went unrewarded. As consumers take a more holistic approach toward health and wellness, a trend that was heightened during quarantine, many areas of self-care have experienced strong growth. This includes the “beauty from within” segment, which will complement other wellness priorities such as joint health and healthy aging. Even in traditional OTC categories such as cough and cold, digestive health, and pain management, major retailers are now featuring OTC drug, non-drug, and nutritional supplement offerings for consumers to consider.
Kline & Company offers multiple studies that analyze these trends and provide five-year growth and sales forecasts. Beauty Nutrition was most recently published in June 2021 and provides an assessment of this segment as consumers explore new areas of beauty centered around improving health and wellness. Our Nutritional Supplements study covers a wide variety of segments including vitamins, herbal products, minerals, and specialty supplements for joint, brain, heart, eye, and health. Finally, Kline PULSE Consumer Healthcare Industry Trends covers a wide variety of topics pertinent to the consumer healthcare market including immune support, digestive health, sleep aids, prevention versus treatment, recent Rx-to-OTC switches, and more. For details, contact us.
