Spafinder Wellness 365™, a leading marketing and media company for the spa and wellness industry, has issued its 12th report on the top spa and wellness trends impacting the segment.
“In our 12 years of trend-tracking, we have never seen spa/wellness concepts go so deep and global, be so meaningful and move in so many surprising, provocative directions,” said Mia Kyricos, Spafinder Wellness, Inc.’s chief brand officer. “Our goal is to provide an in-depth resource and help the industry make informed decisions by analyzing the social, cultural and economic shifts that fuel each trend.”
Its top 10 global spa and wellness trends for 2015 are:
FOREST BATHING: Mindfulness Meets Nature – This Japanese concept revolved around the practice of “quietly walking, with a mind intent on the sounds, scents, colors and ‘feel’ of the forest.” Example: Blackberry Farm’s (Tennessee, U.S.) “Deep Healing Woods” program.
CANNABIS: Growing legalization of medical/recreational marijuana use is leading to growth in the “cannabusiness” market, including the spa and wellness segment. Example: Primal Wellness (Denver, CO), the first “cannabis day spa.”
WELLNESS TRADITIONS FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD: Increasing numbers of people will seek the “advanced food-as-medicine and nature-based beauty and healing practices, refined for 1,000 years,” in the Islamic World (Middle East, Africa and Asia). Example: The “Baobob Feel Good” treatment at London’s K West Hotel & Spa.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: Bluecollar Wellness – Expect to see more wellness programs as employers battle the chronic disease, obesity, pain, musculoskeletal and mental disabilities that can hit blue collar workers the hardest. Examples: Volkswagen’s “Industrial Athlete” fitness program and PPG’s “Creating a Culture of Health Initiative.”
WELLNESS HOMES, COMMUNITIES & CITIES: The wellness living market has recovered from the 2008-2009 Recession and its aftermath, and new developments taking the concept of healthy homes/living are hot. Examples: Delos Signature Homes (U.S.), which have dozens of wellness features “baked in” including air/water purification systems and circadian rhythm lighting; and Lake Nona, a wellness community in Orlando, FL, which offers every aspect of a well-lived life.
MY FITNESS, MY TRIBE, MY LIFE: Super-Social Fitness – More people’s boutique fitness brand/studio has become their “life,” in response to the “global loneliness epidemic, fueled by a surge in urbanization, single-person households, longer work hours, and lives spent in front of screens.” Example: Boozeless morning dance-fitness parties like Morning Gloryville (London, UK) or Daybreaker (Los Angeles, CA).
SPA ON ARRIVAL (& EN ROUTE): 2015 will see the spa/wellness service explosion at airports continue to grow; more hotels/spa resorts serving up free massages at check-in; more online apps and concierges that make booking on-arrival massages/classes easy; and more spas open later, earlier and even 24/7. Examples: Jet Lag Recovery massage at the Cheval Blanc Randheli (Maldives); and the opening of a Sha Wellness Clinic (Spain) this March in the Madrid airport.
HYPER-PERSONALIZED BEAUTY: Look for more beauty brands using in-store computer technology to create personalized solutions and products for customers; more online skin coaching; and more spas letting clients create bespoke everything. Examples: Skin Authority’s online “Skin Coach on Demand” program; and Mink, a personal 3D makeup printer using cosmetic-grade inks.
GUT REACTION: Look for an ongoing focus on the science of the gut (stomach, intestines, digestion, etc.) and efforts to prove that by altering its make-up (aka microbiome) health and beauty can be taken to new levels, immunity and resilience improved, obesity reduced and happy, healthy minds created. Examples: Canyon Ranch’s “Gut Feelings: Gastrointestinal Health and Immune Function.”
BEYOND THE STARS: Fueled by extraordinary affluence, an appetite for the new and different, and the search for solitude and silence, the luxury travel industry, including spa resorts, will be challenged to top itself with even more spectacular offerings and experiences. Examples: The Fregate Island Resort (Seychelles) and Amenoi Resort (Vietnam).
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