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The $1.5 trillion wellness market: What are the startups and investors making an impact?
Wellness is a fast-growing market that is driven by consumers and has a focus on social impact. This covers the top product-driven startups that have an emphasis on UX & Design, as well as the leading venture capital firms that have led investments in this space.
According to McKinsey & Company, the wellness industry has a market size of $1.5 trillion with an expected growth rate of 5–10% on an annual basis. Increasingly, we are seeing more institutional money from venture investors allocated towards wellness technology. 2021 was a record year for venture capital. What’s most exciting is that the shift towards an emphasis on early-stage investing in venture capital has dynamically impacted the wellness industry. Capital is being deployed towards mission-driven companies that improve the lives of everyday consumers. As discussed later, we will go over the venture firms that are leading this charge and the companies that are leading the first wave of innovative wellness startups.
With consumers becoming more health-conscious over the past decade, they continue to invest time and money into their physical & mental well-being. As a result of time spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers began to reflect more on how to be intentional with how they are taking care of their overall health and well-being. Many of the technological platforms around wellness are content driven ways that encourage people to improve their health outcomes. Mobile apps and physical hardware are rapidly evolving to offer “at-home” solutions to consumers, allowing them to have a multitude of options related to physical and mental health. The wellness industry and market only continues to accelerate in growth over time.
The Six Segments of Wellness
Consumers define “wellness” into six different segments: health, fitness, nutrition, appearance, sleep, and mindfulness.
