Consumers are Displaying Differing Attitudes to their Health
A common question within the industry is about the lasting effects of the pandemic and its impact on consumer behavior regarding wellness. As individuals reevaluated their diets and lifestyles with a new sense of urgency, it sparked discussions about whether the pandemic fundamentally altered consumer behavior. There has been a significant focus on proactive health in recent years. This has included people seeking to minimize their susceptibility to disease.
However, the reality is that the pandemic’s influence on attitudes and behaviors toward health and wellness appears to be mostly short-term. From 2020 to 2024, there has been little change in the percentage of those who consider their health as good or excellent. Meanwhile, opinions on whether health has recently improved or worsened have become more polarized. Ultimately, the lack of substantial change in perceptions of healthiness suggests that the pandemic’s impact was short-term.
It’s Crucial to Acknowledge that Attitudes Toward Health are now Less Influenced by Fear of Illness
In 2024, a noticeable shift in attitudes toward health and wellness is that consumers are allocating less attention to the topic compared to previous years. This shift doesn’t indicate a lack of concern for their well-being. Instead, it reflects a change in focus driven by daily news that no longer emphasizes infection and mortality rates. Now consumers are preoccupied with other pressing concerns. This includes living costs, threats of war, and migration, making health a less central issue for them.
Additionally, when assessing their health, consumers are placing more emphasis on immediate health issues rather than long-term concerns. They are evaluating their well-being based on how they feel and what they see in the mirror. As a result, emotional wellness has now taken precedence over aspects like digestive health and immunity. Yet many consumers feel that there has been no improvement in these areas in recent years. This shift reflects consumers’ focus on day-to-day survival in an uncertain era.
Consumers are Adopting New Methods of Researching into their Health and Nutrition
While consumers have typically viewed themselves as proactive rather than reactive in terms of maintaining and enhancing their health, this sense of proactivity has notably decreased during the pandemic. This shift is evident in the reduced extent to which consumers engage in research on health, nutrition, and ingredients. Overall, the level of research conducted by consumers in these areas has declined. There is a greater number now indicating that they research these topics “some of the time” rather than “all of the time”. This shift suggests that instead of prioritizing prevention over cure and overall wellness maximization, consumers are more inclined to research health-related issues when they feel they have a specific health concern or are aware of a potential problem emerging. Consequently, when seeking products to address any symptoms they may be experiencing, consumers will place greater emphasis on evaluating the effectiveness of these products.
Nutrition Genetic Testing is Appealing to Over Half of Consumers
Although awareness of nutrition genetic testing has decreased in recent years, the proportion of consumers finding the concept appealing, when given a definition, has remained consistent. Furthermore, among those who find the concept appealing, there has been a rise in the proportion expressing willingness to use it. This indicates a positive trend, suggesting that the appeal and willingness observed in 2020 were not simply a reactive response to the pandemic. This instead reflects consumers’ growing openness to personalized and customized solutions due to their perceived greater effectiveness. Around half of all consumers find nutrition genetic testing appealing, and of those, three-quarters are open to using it. This suggests that approximately one in four individuals are currently open to the idea of utilizing nutrition genetic testing. This indicates an opportunity for the potential of widespread appeal rather than being limited to a niche market.