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The sheer size and growth profile of the consumer health and wellness market render it attractive. It represents nearly one-fifth of all nonfood sales at retail and is growing rapidly and scaling in the e-commerce channel given the vast and critical range of consumer need states it addresses. And over the past five years, the segments have grown at compound annual rates in the mid- to upper single digits. In addition, product demand is recurring in nature and recession resilient. As a result, the industry offers greater visibility with fewer peaks and valleys, particularly across economic cycles.
Separately, brands matter in a market where safety and efficacy are paramount. And strong industry profitability holds merit on its own, while supporting reinvestment in innovation and marketing, which in turn further reinforce brand equity. Lastly, the industry remains relatively fragmented, which creates consolidation occasions for strategic investors and market disruption openings for emerging brands. Overall, we believe these characteristics render the consumer health and wellness market attractive for industry participants and investors, whether those be venture capital seeding promising early-stage start-ups looking for proof of concept, private equity funding growth of midstage businesses looking to scale, and public market capital allocators looking to create value for shareholders.
In our report titled Brand Matters, published periodically, we address topical issues in the consumer industry. The report seeks to illuminate demographic and lifestyle factors, purchase influences and shopping behaviors, scientific and technological developments, and go-to-market models and demand generation strategies that have the potential to sway the industry. In this volume, Brand Matters: Consumer Health and Wellness, we focus on the consumer health and wellness market in three main sections.
For purposes of this report, we conducted a survey of 500 adult men and women in the United States to provide insight into their attitudes and uses of consumer health and wellness. In addition, we analyzed third-party point-of-sale data to gain visibility into market trends. This syndicated data covers measured retail channels such as food retailers, drug stores, mass merchants, and convenience stores, but excludes data from channels such as e-commerce and certain club and specialty stores. Except where otherwise noted, the true market sizes may be as much as 30% larger than many presented here, and the total market growth rates will typically be higher than those presented in this report. Still, we believe the measures contained herein provide good directional indications of important consumer health and wellness market dynamics. Lastly, our report contains insights gleaned from conversations with industry participants.
For a copy of the “Brand Matters: Consumer Health and Wellness” report mentioned in this article or information on any of the companies in Jon Andersen’s research coverage list, please contact your William Blair salesperson.
Information contained on the internet is not subject to William Blair & Company’s control or review, and may not be accurate.
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