According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the wellness economy will continue its robust growth and expand its share of consumer spending and the global economy over the next several years. In spite of the temporary setbacks from the pandemic, the underlying forces that propel the growth of wellness remain as compelling as ever, including population aging, the rise of chronic disease, the unsustainable costs of the sick-care model, widespread mental unwellness, and expanding awareness of healthy lifestyles and wellness modalities.

According to GWI, the wellness economy is expected to reach nearly $6.3 trillion in 2023, and march toward $8.5 trillion in 2027. 

Personal care and beauty is the largest sector in the wellness economy (just slightly larger than the second-ranked sector—healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss), and it accounted for 19.4% of all wellness spending globally in 2022. Consumer spending on personal care and beauty was hit hard by the onset of the pandemic, falling by 13.3% from 2019-2020 (a contraction much steeper than the 4.8% decline in overall consumer expenditures, notes GWI. However, by 2021, this sector recovered quickly, growing by 13.4% globally from 2020-2021. In 2022, the sector continued its positive growth trajectory and reached a new peak of $1,088.7 billion, exceeding its pre-pandemic level. The recovery and growth of personal care & beauty from 2020-2022 (8.5% annual growth) has mirrored the growth of overall consumer expenditures during this time period (8.6% annual growth).

See graphic below for more details on the wellness economy and projected average annual growth rate by sector from 2022-2027, according to GWI.

Source: GWI