With numerous buzz words and ‘health’ trends increasingly infiltrating our everyday life, it comes as no surprise that the term wellbeing is breaking away as a consumer category of its own. And one that is permeating all markets; from food, drink, health and fitness, right through to fashion, beauty and consumer technology.
Wellbeing is everywhere, and we are all taking an interest. Analysts predict that spending on wellness will grow 20% by 2020, with total spending forecast to reach £209bn. Even the Office of National Statistics are using the term as an additional measure to demonstrate economic growth. Across all demographics, at varying levels of interest and purpose, we are becoming a nation that cares about being healthy and happy; physically and mentally. This is the emergence of Generation F; the generation that is taking a proactive interest in their own health and wellbeing PR.
Generation F cannot be defined as a set demographic, as our understanding, and interest in wellbeing products and services has penetrated all age groups. We are all part of the Generation F movement. However the areas of interest, what is fuelling each age group, and how we interact with brands varies enormously.
The younger Generation F’ers have become accustomed to this trend. For them it’s everyday life, much like technology. For the older Generation F however, a shift of mindset has been spurred by education and interest in improving health. The latest Purple Paper by Escapade PR, Introducing Generation F: A Consumer Behaviour Insight into the Growing Wellbeing Market, explores wellbeing in the consumer space, and how brands and marketers can tap into the growing phenomena that is Generation F.
Rhianon Williams, Associate Director at Escapade PR, said: “Across all age groups, the last four years has been the period that people cite as the time when their interest in wellbeing has grown. Notably nearly half of all 18-24 year olds stated that their interest has been for as long as they can remember, a number which gradually declines as age increases. For 57% of 18-34 year olds, fitness is predominantly fuelling their interest in wellbeing activities, products and services, whereas two thirds of all those over 35 are more interested in improving health.
“When it comes to the type of people that influence Generation F, our research shows that it is less about celebrity and more about expertise and transparency. The older Generation F are more trusting in sportspeople, friends and family, whereas the younger Generation F are influenced mainly by bloggers and Instagrammers. It seems that importance of celebrity influence in the wellness market is clearly diminishing for marketers. This is demonstrated by the huge awareness of a number of social media born experts such as Joe Wicks and Kayla Itsines. For marketers and wellbeing PR’s, this presents both a challenge and opportunity; wellness is a mass, growing market, but not all consumers in this space are playing the same in terms of purchase and influence.”
For details on how you can access the full data from Escapade PR’s latest Purple Paper, please visit www.escapadepr.com or email escapade@escapadepr.com.
Our consumer lifestyle PR team specialise in connecting everyday brands with everyday people across four core sectors; Consumer Lifestyle PR, Food & Drink PR, Consumer Technology PR and Sport, Health & Wellbeing PR. More information on these areas of knowledge can be found at www.escapadepr.com/about-us.