Health and entrepreneurship: startups that drive innovation in the wellness industry
The end of summer and beginning of September is a time of year when many people choose to pick up healthy habits again or start new ones to improve their wellbeing. Self-care, healthy eating and sports are three of the leading sectors within this new paradigm, with a growing number of startups are opting for entrepreneurship.
A healthy mind in a healthy body. One of the hottest industries today is built on the premise of this famous expression. Wellness, an all-encompassing expression for all activities that help improve personal well-being, is a multi-billion-dollar concept that has taken hold on a global scale. In its latest report, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a non-profit organisation that works to empower wellness worldwide, estimated the value of the industry at US$4.4 trillion and projected that it will grow 9.9% annually to reach a value of US$7 trillion by 2025. Another study, conducted by McKinsey, puts the industry’s growth at 10% between now and 2027.Â
These figures reflect a trend that has been on the rise over the last decade, one given a further boost by the pandemic. According to the ‘What the Future: Wellness‘ report by the consulting firm Ipsos, 62% of Americans now prioritise their health more than they did before the pandemic. This paradigm shift has spurred the creation and growth of startups that offer solutions for enhancing wellness, focusing on three key sectors: healthy eating, self-care and fitness, which, according to GWI, account for more than 60% of the global wellness market.
1. Opt for healthy eating
âPeople have become considerably more aware of what they eat: they pay attention to ingredients, nutritional content and the effects that food and beverages can have on their well-beingâ, says Beatriz Magro, CEO and co-founder of Komvida. This foodtech company specialises in making and selling kombucha, a tea-based fermented drink. Originally from Asia, kombucha has become enormously popular in recent years: in Spain alone, sales are up 580% from 2020 and 2022 and its value is over 21 million euros.
âSince itâs a drink with probiotics, regularly drinking it helps improve the microbiota and strengthen the immune system. It also provides a boost of energyâ, explains Magro. Komvida, for example, is made with âreal, 100% organic ingredientsâ.
Beyond this commitment to natural ingredients, Komvida is also all about the rural world, since its factory is located in Frenegal de la Sierra (Extremadura), the village where its two founders are from. âWe wanted our project to help boost the local economyâ, says Magro. With this formula, Komvida, which was launched in 2017, has become one of Spainâs leading kombucha producers, with a turnover of nearly nine million euros in 2021 and sales in more than 15,000 stores nationwide, as well as in several European countries. For Magro, âthe growth weâve had reflects societyâs growing demand for healthy productsâ.
Besides Komvida, many other startups, like Heura Foods, which produces plant-based foods, and Isauki Foods, which develops alternatives to seafood products based on micro and macroalgae, are also focused on healthy eating.
2. Innovation in sports
The wellness industry isnât limited to food: some eleven sectors are included under this umbrella, ranging from the spa industry, medicine, mental health and wellness tourism.
Companies like Playtomic, specialised in paddle tennis court rentals, Tuvalum, which sells second-hand bikes, and INDYA, which offers personalised nutritional plans for athletes, all focus on physical activity. These companies can be included not only in wellness, but also in the booming sportech sector, which applies technology to the world of sports. This sector reached a value of more than $12 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow to $46.25 billion by 2029.
âThe sports industry has started to go pro not only at for professionals, but also at the amateur level, which means the industry is experiencing tremendous growthâ, explains Javier Guerrero, CEO and cofounder of INDYA. âSports and health are two safe values: their investment will continue to grow because the brakes are off and theyâre now global issuesâ, he says.
Guerrero, who co-founded his company in 2014, believes that technology and harnessing data will be key to the sector’s future. âTechnology and monitoring devices are going to be fundamental in the sectorâs global turnover. We’ve already seen it in recent years and it’s going to continue to grow. The other issue is what you do with the dataâ.
Extracting value from the data is where INDYA comes in, offering users an application with its own software where they can get a personalised nutrition service for athletes to improve their physical performance. âThe challenge isnât about giving a generic recommendation or talking about healthy recipes, but rather delivering user-specific recommendationsâ. His concept, which for now only operates in Spain, has the support of elite athletes including Pau Gasol, Rudy FernĂĄndez and Iker Casillas and is weighing going international in 2024.
3. Health at home
While some companies like INDYA focus on sports, there are many others that address a different area related to health and physical wellbeing. One such company is Urban Fisio, which offers home physiotherapy services in Spain and is founded on two principles: the need for home health services and local, personalised physiotherapy. âThe idea came from the macroeconomic trend of ageing and the need for home healthcareâ, explains Miguel de Santiago, CEO and co-founder of Urban Fisio.
Urban Fisio operates in nine Spanish cities, although it plans to expand its operations going forward. “In the short term we are focused on consolidating where we already operate, but we have plans to expand both in Spain and internationally”, says De Santiago. The company, which opened in 2016, closed out 2022 with a net turnover of 1.3 million euros, a solid start that De Santiago chalks up to the lack of this type of services.
Looking ahead, physiotherapy will, in his opinion, play a fundamental role in improving the well-being of users. âIt will play a central role in guaranteeing the sustainability of our healthcare system, both in terms of improving peopleâs quality of life and doing it from their homes, allowing people to stay as long as possible in their own homesâ, says De Santiago.
Committing to healthy lifestyle habits not only directly impacts physical health, but mental health as well. âFeeling good physically is the key to feeling good mentallyâ, says De Santiago. With consumersâ mindsets shifting, an increasing number of companies will be focusing on health and wellness and striving to improve people’s quality of life.
