We have explored numerous economic, cultural and wellness trends that will rise from COVID-19 in past issues, including less meat, less oil, more activism, a fiercer US/China rivalry, and more EU integration. Here are three wellness trends that will reshape the future: (1) dramatically less business travel, (2) permanent working-from-home (WFH), and (3) a surge in “behavioral” wellness technology. There will be fewer flights forever:…
Laughter may be effective medicine for these trying times —New York Times, October 2, 2020 Some enlightened doctors, nurses and therapists have a prescription for helping all of us to get through this seemingly never-ending pandemic: Try a little laughter. Studies show laughter releases nitric oxide, which reduces blood pressure, and people who laugh more have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and live longer.…
Are mushrooms the future of wellness?–New York Times, September 18, 2020 No, not another article on the booming magic mushroom research and market, but rather how that vast “other” world of fungi—whether reishi, lion’s mane or chaga—is one of the biggest trends in wellness. Eastern cultures and medical systems (including TCM and Ayurveda) have long used mushrooms to boost health, and this looks at key…
Next week, the GWS holds a Wellness Master Class with Amrutha Shridhar, research consultant at Euromonitor International, on how health and wellness behaviors and desires are now changing for different generations. Shridar will present on new trends, such as the blurring of categories and competitors within the health and nutrition industries, drawing on insights from Euromonitor’s 2020 Health and Nutrition survey. Any company that wants…
Funding for mental health-focused startups rises in 2020–TechCrunch, August 26, 2020 This is a summary of research group CB Insights’ recent analysis of venture capital funding trends for wellness-focused start-ups. While in the tough economic climate of the pandemic, sleep and fitness tech saw fewer deals and dollars in the first half of 2020 than they did at the same time last year, one sector…
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”—although an overused quote during the pandemic, COVID-19 has proven Lenin right. It’s been and will continue to be a formidable accelerator and catalyst of existing trends. Here are several trends in the wellness space being fed by systemic connectivity. One overarching trend that will enormously benefit wellbeing in the post-pandemic era: COVID-19…
