HEALTH & WELLNESS

How the wellness industry is riding the COVID-19 wave to major growth

By Sheree Gomes Gupta
19 January, 2022

The Indian wellness industry is experiencing a meteoric rise, with virtual formats taking centre stage and mental health fast becoming a priority

If you go through my phone book, in addition to numbers of my GP, my endocrinologist, my nutritionist, my fitness coach and my dermatologist, you’ll find those of my counsellor, my psychiatrist, my psychic holistic healer, some numerologists, access bar healers and even a hypnotherapist, all added in the last few years. A few years ago, I’d never have revealed such personal info for fear of sounding messed up. Speak to anyone today though and you’ll find they have a similar list of health and wellness experts/apps/coaching etc. 'Black books' have undergone a transformation, and the good part—unlike with the original version, everyone’s ready to share numbers on this list.

Here are some eye-opening statistics. According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI)—recognised as the leading source for authoritative wellness industry research—the global wellness economy, including spiritual healthcare, is valued at a staggering $4.5 trillion. These numbers continue to grow at breakneck speed with the pandemic showing no signs of coming to an end.

In India, the latest estimate released by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) pegs the wellness industry at a whopping ₹490 billion. A survey by Numb Research reveals India’s 443 million millennials spend an average of ₹4,000 per month on health and wellness services and products, clearly indicating the changing priorities of the new generation, perhaps explaining why many have been quitting their jobs lately, citing burnout, and taking time out to recuperate, relax and recharge.

Spiritual and mental health have become as important as fitness and nutrition.

Image: Getty

By 2023 the market for global fitness trackers will reach $62.128 million

Image: Pexels

Weight loss takes a back seat, wellness and immunity take precedence

COVID-19 has brought in a huge shift from just weight loss and body image to general wellness, immunity and self-care. "Not only are we receiving more queries around health, immunity, diabetes, hypertension, pre-existing lung conditions, prevention, but people are willing to make changes in the lifestyle," says Luke Coutinho, well-known holistic lifestyle coach, integrative and lifestyle medicine, and founder of YouCare-All about YOU. Last year, Reset Tech—co-founded by Coutinho—raised a seed funding of ₹30 crore. The AI-based health tech start-up provides therapeutic health solutions to lifestyle diseases using natural, sustainable and traditional methods of yoga and meditation, among others. "There has been growth in all dimensions for us," says Coutinho, “After seeing the kind of suffering due to the pandemic and how the medical system failed, people are more proactive towards their health. There is a shift in focus from sick care to preventive care," he adds.

A new reality

Virtual formats continue to see success even with countries easing restrictions, and the industry is pivoting quickly to meet current demands. Mumbai-based nutritionist and founder of SelfCare Health Design Suman Agarwal has two clinics in India as well as an online presence globally. Since the last year or so, her digital business has boomed with her client base in the US and Dubai increasing. The current health scenario has prompted her to launch specific Instagram handles by Selfcare dealing with diabetes (partly on the rise due to steroid use for COVID-19 treatment), PCOS, elder care, pregnancy and lactation and one specifically for brides-to-be in addition to adding a counsellor to the panel of doctors and nutritionists given the importance of mental health and wellness. "What we're most happy about is parents reaching out to us to help kids build their immunity," says clinical nutritionist Dr Juhi Agarwal, who works with her mum at SelfCare and specialises in diabetes management. This SelfCare app is scheduled to launch later this year. “As an added service, we want to give our clients easy access to their personalised diets, counselling sessions, recipes, workouts, their blood reports and progress etc.,” says Agarwal.The key to drawing in clients though has been personalisation. Take the Faster Way To Fat Loss by Amanda Tress—the fastest growing digital nutrition and fitness programme in America—for instance, it grew exponentially the last two years. “The biggest differentiator is the daily one-on-one support you get with your coach unlike other apps—that’s the reason the Faster Way…has exploded internationally during the pandemic,” says Jas Gill, a popular coach with their VIP programme with several Indian clients on her roster.

Health app downloads surge

Adjust—a mobile marketing analytics platform in India—reported that installs in digital fitness solutions increased by 67 per cent in March 2020, followed by a boost of 48 per cent in May. Despite gyms slowly opening, this growth has not slowed down. Home workouts—cheaper, more convenient, saving time and money—seem to be here to stay, forcing even the bigger establishments to produce their own apps. The App Annie’s State of Mobile 2021 report estimated that in 2020 over 71,000 health and fitness apps were launched globally (24,000 in the Apple App Store and 47,000 in the Google Play Store).

Among the meditation apps, local apps like Let’s Meditate, Wysa, the Sadhguru app and Innerhour have reportedly picked up millions of users in the country and beyond, while international apps like Calm and Headspace continue to dominate worldwide. Two-year-old ThinkRight.me that promises to "help make you healthier, happier and confident via powerful meditation and mindfulness techniques" has long crossed over one million downloads. "Not only do we have several corporates and their employees using the app, due to the pandemic, but we have also been part of shared programmes with a number of brands, take for instance Crompton Greaves, Bajaj Electricals," says Rajan Navani, Founder of ThinkRight.me app, and vice-chairman and MD, JetSynthesys revealing an 80 per cent increase in installations during the first wave of the pandemic.

“We want to give our clients easy access to their personalised diets, counselling sessions, recipes, workouts, their blood reports and progress."
Dr Juhi Agarwal

'Tele-health' also saw a surge— McKinsey & Company reports consumers choosing telehealth options increased from 11 per cent in 2019 to 46 per cent in 2020. While this was solely because of the COVID-19 restrictions, it's interesting to note that projections show telehealth will continue to provide stiff competition to physical wellness centres even once the pandemic ends.

The rise of wearables

Who'd have thought the simple pedometer tracking step count would lead to the tech revolution we're now seeing in this space. Like with apps, there are wearables to track everything health and wellness including water intake, sleep quality, heart rate and macros. The Amazon Halo Band launched towards the end of 2020 contains an accelerometer, temperature sensor, heart rate monitor and two microphones. Apple's latest smartwatch features, among other things, an ECG monitor and blood oxygen measurement. We could go on with the kind of innovations and features on offer today.

The Allied Market Research study claims that by 2023, the market for global fitness trackers will reach $62.128 million, growing at the CAGR of 19.6 per cent. In India, more specifically, smartwatches grew 463.8 per cent year on year to become the fastest-growing category in wearables—a total of 1.4 million watches were shipped in quarter one of 2021, the second quarter in a row to record over a million shipments for watches, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) India. But we don’t need surveys to tell us this—even in your own social circle, you’ll find more than half wearing smart watches or fitness trackers.

The global wellness economy is valued at a staggering 4.5 trillion dollars.

Even before the pandemic hit, spendings on mental health were on the rise

Wellness retreats get a boost

While travel took one of the worst blows in 2020-2021, GWI forecasts the average annual growth rate of wellness tourism at 20.9 per cent from 2020-2025, outpacing the trajectory of every other sector of the wellness economy including personal care and beauty.

"Wellness retreats, especially the ones that take you outdoors, always worked, but now they have more value," says well-known Mumbai-based yoga guru and founder of Tangerine Arts Studio and Yoga Station Tanvi Mehra Mangalorkar. For years now, she's been taking a small group of wellness enthusiasts, once every month, for different kinds of retreats to the Maldives, Himachal Pradesh and since the last two years, in and around Maharashtra, that combine yoga with either diving, trekking or other outdoor adventures. "Since the pandemic hit, requests for such retreats have increased—people are longing for interaction, laughter, fresh air...it's amazing to see the growing interest," she adds.

In fact, this year, one of the most favoured ways to ring in New Year 2022 was to relax and rejuvenate at the various wellness retreats in India—popular destinations included Vana in Dehradun, Auroville in Karnataka, Ashiyana in Goa, Amanbagh in Rajasthan, Heal Farm in Uttarakhand and Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kumarakom, all offering holistic experiences much needed after the stress, anxiety and uncertainty of the last two years.

"After seeing the kind of suffering due to the pandemic and how the medical system failed, there is a shift in focus from sick care to preventive care."
Luke Coutinho

One of the most favoured ways to ring in New Year 2022 was to rejuvenate at a wellness retreat

Spiritual and mental health become integral components

In India, spirituality has always had a place. And even before the pandemic hit, spendings on mental health were on the rise. The last two years, however, have seen businesses in these sectors scale to meet different kinds of demand and a rising clientele seeking peace and happiness over all else. "With fewer external distractions and outside noise, people have had the time to introspect and become more aware of the importance of mental well-being and their own personal challenges around it," says therapist, life coach and founder of Inner Growth Healing Aekta Brahmbhatt.

Some of the major issues she has been helping clients with include anxiety/ panic attacks, depression, increased friction in interpersonal relationships, hypochondria, PTSD and insomnia. "There has also been an increase in coaching clients who want to upgrade themselves and their relationships through personal development, improved communication, finding their passion, vision and life purpose," says Brahmbhatt, who has incorporated several techniques like NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), narrative practices and Shadow Work popularised by psychoanalyst Carl Jung as well as started weekly support groups to help clients improve their mental well being.

Not everyone has been comfortable with orthodox therapies though, given that they can sometimes be accompanied by other implications including shame, judgement and insecurity. Grasping to spiritual practices and rituals that help bring calm is a route many have preferred through the pandemic as well. "Be it for a predictive reading or for healings, the increase in clients and client sessions in the last two years has been phenomenal despite the disruption in cash flow—along with diet and nutrition, holistic health has also become extremely important," says psychic holistic healer Danesh Kumar, "In the lockdowns, we've become hypersensitive and hyper intuitive. COVID-19 has taught us that it's not only about us but also about how we are impacting others mentally, physically and emotionally," he adds.

What the post-pandemic world will look like, no one can predict. Like workplaces though, the wellness industry has also accepted that the hybrid model is here to stay—ever-evolving to meet demands. For the consumer, wellness has taken on a whole new meaning. The pandemic has woken us up to several learnings, and hopefully, these wellness trends indicate we're ready to respect our mind and body.

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