The $2 trillion global wellness market is evolving rapidly, shaped by shifting generational priorities and new consumer segments. According to McKinsey & Company’s newly published report, “The $2 Trillion Global Wellness Market Gets a Millennial and Gen Z Glow-Up,” six wellness subcategories are poised for significant growth: functional nutrition, healthy aging, appearance and aesthetics, in-person wellness services, weight management and mental health.
“Younger consumers are conceptualizing wellness in new ways, and wellness is showing up in new places,” the report stated.
McKinsey’s findings are based on a survey of over 9,000 consumers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, and mark the firm’s fourth year tracking wellness market trends.
Younger generations drive wellness spend
Millennials and Gen Zers are reshaping the market. Although they comprise just 36% of the U.S. adult population, these generations account for more than 41% of annual wellness spending.
“Nearly 30% of Gen Zers and millennials in the United States report prioritizing wellness ‘a lot more’ compared with one year ago,” McKinsey reported, compared to around 23% of older generations.
These consumers are not monolithic in their wellness priorities. While both groups rank sleep and health as top concerns, Gen Z placed more emphasis on “better appearance” while millennials prioritized mindfulness, according to McKinsey.
Compared to older consumers, the report continued, younger cohorts also reported significantly higher interest in sexual health, skin care and hair care.
Six growth subcategories
McKinsey highlighted six key subcategories showing heightened consumer interest and spending:
Healthy aging and longevity
Current offerings in this space include “skin care products targeting long-term skin health and wrinkle prevention, supplements that claim to slow cellular aging, epigenetic age-testing kits, virtual physical therapy solutions, and more,” McKinsey report authors highlighted, but these offerings are agnostic in their target demographic.
Instead, the demand for longevity-focused products extended across all age groups. “Up to 60% of consumers across markets report that healthy aging is a ‘top’ or ‘very important’ priority,” the report stated.
The authors further noted that younger consumers are adopting a proactive approach to aging, driving demand for products such as supplements that target cellular aging, cognitive function and energy.
Beauty and aesthetics
The boundary between beauty and wellness continues to erode. Gen Z has elevated “better appearance” to one of its top wellness priorities, and 53% of U.S. Gen Z respondents reported increasing their spending on cosmetic procedures in 2024.
This growth is reflected in year-over-year numbers, the authors added, as “‘better appearance’ shifted from the sixth-most-important dimension of health and wellness for U.S. Gen Z consumers in 2023 to the third-most-important dimension in 2024.”
Consumer demand has driven a rise in the number of beauty products featuring multifunctional active ingredients with associated health benefits, including anti-inflammatory arnica or calming CBD.
Additionally, the beauty-from-within trend remains strong, with a growing number of consumers reporting interest in “ingestible beauty supplements that promote wellness from within (such as collagen gummies for skin, hair and nails).”
Weight management
Younger generations reported difficulty staying motivated to exercise and managing their weight. In the United States, 44% of Gen Z respondents reported struggling with exercise motivation.
This subcategory is being reshaped by growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss medications, spurring demand for “protein- or nutrient-fortified foods, gut health products intended to address digestive discomfort and workout programs focused on building and maintaining muscle mass,” the report confirmed.
Specifically, it noted that since 2023, there has been a 12% increase in respondents using the services of a nutritionist to follow a weight management program and a 6% increase in respondents taking weight loss supplements. This growth could indicate a growing consumer demand for nutritional or dietary supplements to support and maintain weight loss or management.
Mental health and mindfulness
Mental health remains an unmet need, particularly for younger consumers, despite 42% of Gen Z and millennials in the United States saying mindfulness is a “very high priority”.
While older consumers often associate mental health with traditional therapies, younger cohorts are incorporating fitness, skin care and sleep hygiene into their mental wellness routines.
The report acknowledged that one of the greatest challenges for industry stakeholders in this space is scaling. For example, report authors illustrated, “while digital mindfulness apps have made mental health solutions more broad-reaching and accessible, competition is steep and barriers to entry are low.”
Specifically, when fitness or nutrition apps add mindfulness or meditation content to their platforms, such as guided video or audio tracks, timers or trackers, these offerings “compete directly with mental health players,” the authors noted.
To reconcile these issues, the report suggested that stakeholders in the digital mental health or wellness space “ensure they have a clear value proposition” by avoiding offerings of “general mental health support” and instead concentrating on content production that is “targeted to specific audiences and need states.”
Another recommendation was to seek out a larger player in the space to secure partnerships that “can help to boost awareness and brand equity.” As an example of the successful implementation of this strategy, the authors cited a strategic partnership between a mental health player and a global streaming platform, which “distributed content about meditation, which increased app sign-ups by 70% over a year and a half.”
Functional nutrition
Functional foods and beverages (those marketed with health benefits) are a high-growth area, especially among Gen Z and millennials.
“Energy, gut health, immunity and muscle, bone and joint support are the most sought-after benefits,” McKinsey reported.
Consumers are increasingly turning to “super greens, mushrooms, adaptogens and pre- and probiotic drinks,” with product innovation spanning everything from protein-packed snacks to cognition-enhancing beverages.
Although McKinsey reported that hormone support supplements were the least sought-after functional nutrition product benefit, with only 7% of respondents affirming purchase in 2024, this could indicate a grey space for industry stakeholders. As previously noted by NutraIngredients USA in a Lumina Intelligence study, published earlier this year, a growing number of Gen Z fitness app users are employing the technology to track ovulation, which could indicate an impending rise in demand for reproductive wellness support, including functional nutrition products.
In-person wellness experiences
Interest in services such as wellness retreats, thermal therapies and IV treatments is on the rise. According to the report, 56% of in-person service purchasers in the United States reported traveling two or more hours for a wellness retreat, and that number expected to rise over the coming year.
Consumer segments and implications for stakeholders
McKinsey identified five consumer segments in the wellness market, each with distinct behaviors and attitudes: maximalist optimizers, confident enthusiasts, health traditionalists, health strugglers and wellness shirkers.
Maximalist optimizers, disproportionately Gen Z and millennials, “represent roughly 25% of wellness consumers and more than 40% of market spend,” and are drawn to science-backed, high-quality products.
This group is also “twice as likely as the overall population to use natural and alternative products, as well as cutting-edge digital technologies and health-tracking devices—if they have confidence that the products will work for them.”
Therefore, brands targeting these consumers should “communicate the science behind their offerings in an accessible way” and build credibility through trusted channels like social media, customer reviews and expert endorsements, the report recommended.
Strategic recommendations
McKinsey advised wellness businesses to focus on three imperatives: “break barriers” by integrating products and services to solve holistic wellness needs; “emphasize expertise” by making science-backed claims and fostering consumer trust; and “deliver value” not just in price but also in product quality, efficacy and relevance.
As the definition of wellness continues to expand, nutrition and supplement brands have an opportunity to innovate and align with these evolving consumer priorities.
“Those that act now to serve unmet consumer needs, earn customer trust and deliver real value can turn today’s tailwinds into tomorrow’s competitive edge,” the report concluded.
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