In conversation with The Future Laboratory’s Alex Hawkins
Learning from other sectors; flipping the narrative on loyalty; growing new categories. How can fitness brands lead the way in the $1.8 trillion global wellness market? We speak to Alex Hawkins, Strategic Foresight Editor at The Future Laboratory…
Without: “Fitness is a core part of my identity”. That’s a strong statement from US consumers in McKinsey’s new Future of Wellness report. What’s driving this shift? And are we seeing it outside the US, too?
Alex: I do believe quite firmly that consumers’ focus on health and wellness is here to stay, in Europe and the UK, too. Health has obviously risen to the top of the agenda in the last few years off the back of the pandemic. That’s not really a surprise, but even if those initial health anxieties are no longer there, looking after ourselves has been embedded into people’s lifestyles and routines in a much more significant way.
Other driving factors we should be mindful of – that are less about health and more about aesthetics – are, firstly, social media, which continues to play a big role in changing standards and ideals when it comes to our bodies. Younger people especially can be susceptible to that. Secondly, you have wellness and fitness becoming a more aspirational part of a much bigger lifestyle and leisure movement. Look at the rise of athleisure and gorpcore, for example, where we’ve seen the blurring of lines between sport and fashion.
That blurring goes beyond fashion. The expansion of the sports drink category as seen by the likes of Local Weather, for example, or FaceGym in beauty. Even supplements brands like Puresport, which was founded by an ex-professional athlete, is positioned as part of a way of life.
That being said, when you see a trend in one direction, would you expect to see movements in the opposite, too?
Yes. Trends are either an evolution of or a counter to existing movements. There’s always another side of the same coin. So, while wellness is a priority, people also want to pursue pleasure and new forms of hedonism. I think what’s interesting is when you start to see those two worlds converge. Food and drink brands like Olipop are a prime example of this. A lot of functional food and beverage categories, and “better-for-you” products, are being branded in a much more appealing and aesthetically-driven way, and in some cases, even borrowing from the traditional codes and cues of what was junk food before. And it’s not impossible that we could see similar overlap in other categories. In beauty, the emphasis has been on scientific and effective formulas, but at the same time, there’s a desire for play. Byoma comes to mind. Its skincare is built around microbiome chemistry but is offset by vibrant packaging.
Trends are either an evolution of or a counter to existing movements. There’s always another side of the same coin… What’s interesting is when you start to see those two worlds converge.
Tell me about the crisis of loyalty… The McKinsey report says that part of the challenge for fitness brands will be to retain customers amid an increasing suite of choice.
We have too much choice and it becomes overwhelming. As a result, there’s a crisis of loyalty when it comes to brands in general. And loyalty is such a consistent theme for service-related brands, like gyms and health clubs. The allegiances that people once had aren’t as strong because there’s always a challenger brand, a disruptor, a new name coming onto the market. So, in terms of fostering loyalty, first you need a unique point of difference. Secondly, you really have to bake in the benefits for the consumer. In travel, for example, where traditionally we’ve had loyalty schemes and points systems, a new company called Dis-loyalty – an offshoot of Ennismore – is offering discounts to hotels across their portfolio, rather than to always the same one. To encourage consumers to explore new destinations, they’re flipping the narrative on loyalty and recapturing the benefits of being part of a brand ecosystem.
How can fitness brands foster that loyalty?
They need to ask themselves how they are supporting their core offering with additional benefits and services that set them apart from the competition. This is about how you bookend the fitness experience. Sauna & Plunge in London offers heat exposure through infrared and steam saunas, but also plunge pools for cold exposure and Wim Hof-style breathwork classes. We’re seeing more features like this starting to trickle into gyms. Virgin Active is rolling out ice baths. There’s also a social dimension to wellness, so gyms need to lean into their role as third spaces. Lastly, it’s about excellence. By doubling down on quality, you’ll come out all the better in the long run. That might be investing in the quality of your equipment or the design of your spaces – not just functional, but appealing and engaging, for a more holistic experience.
The allegiances that people once had aren’t as strong because there’s always a challenger brand, a disruptor, a new name coming onto the market.
In your own report, Beauty, Health & Wellness Futures, you point to the influence of the global wearable technology market, expected to reach $283bn in 2027. Does this offer new opportunities for fitness brands?
The challenge with wearable technology is adoption rates, but more and more, we’re part of an ecosystem of connected products. I have a pedometer built into my phone. And there are many well-known wearables now, like Aura, the sleep-tracking app. Whether or not you opt in to self-tracking is a personal choice, but for those who do, there’s an opportunity for strategic partnerships between wearables brands and fitness spaces to connect the dots of some of that data and personalise the experience.
But you believe the area that is yet to be properly addressed in the fitness space is sustainability…
We still need to see a lot of progress when it comes to fitness apparel, which is made from petroleum-based materials and shed an inordinate amount of microplastics every time you wash them. By extension, with fitness spaces and health clubs, because they’re high-touch high-use spaces, there’s a tendency to prioritise plastics and synthetic materials, but is there an opportunity in terms of material innovation and experimentation to start trialling some new things in that realm? We’ve seen some innovation in things like mycelium yoga mats but they’re yet to reach mass adoption. So whatever brands can do to accelerate some of that will be a real point of difference.
And there’s an intersection between health and sustainability, which fitness brands could lead on…
Plastic is not just a sustainability concern. It has a significant personal health impact, from the food we eat to the air we breathe: particles so small they easily become airborne. That’s another conversation that hasn’t really hit the mainstream consumer yet, but once people make the health connection, we might see more progress in that arena too.
[Plastic is] another conversation that hasn’t really hit the mainstream consumer yet, but once people make the health connection, we might see more progress in that arena too.
Your report points to the importance of quality of life over anti-ageing and longer living. Tell me about Longevity Lifestyles and the untapped opportunity of supporting older generations.
Longevity Lifestyles outlines a more preventative, progressive, and long-term way of looking at healthspan rather than lifespan. Among fitness brands, something that isn’t spoken about very much when it comes to longevity is the role of strength training. We tend to lose a certain percentage of muscle every year after a certain age, so strength training helps to counter that and retain mobility. Generally speaking, we have seen a significant uptake in strength training, but what we haven’t seen is fitness spaces and opportunities created for older generations. Today, for the most part, gyms aren’t age-inclusive; there are a lot of people who feel intimidated by those spaces. So, what are we doing to make gyms inclusive and accessible?
Which are the brands to watch in the health and fitness space?
I’d say Iron Roots for its focus on plastic-free athletic apparel. Puresport, which I mentioned, is also interesting not only for the way it has tapped into the fitness space via supplements for recovery, but also for building an active community around the brand with its running and fitness clubs. Remedy Place in the US, which calls itself the world’s first social wellness club, is one to watch. Lastly, hospitality concepts like SIRO – marketed as the ultimate fitness and recovery hotel – are now offering 360-degree guests experiences built around biohacking.
