How Wellness Culture Influences Packaging Design

These days, consumers are more interested in health and wellness than ever before, and they’re especially interested in products that offer full-spectrum benefits.

According to recent market research reports on health management trends, almost half of adult consumers have increased their focus on stress management, good quality sleep, strengthening their immune system, and taking more time for themselves, so they rest and relax.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a big role in this shift. After more than a year of living with so much stress and uncertainty, it makes sense that people have become more health-conscious.

This increased interest in wellness products that cover both physical and emotional needs has prompted manufacturers and marketers to change their approach. As a result, key players in this sector are embracing marketing strategies that emphasize self-care and holistic ingredients.

Consumers now have a better understanding of what goes into the products they put on and into their bodies thanks to smart technologies. This influences their purchasing decisions. They want healthier products that also look the part. Study after study shows that product packaging is the most important element driving consumer decisions today.

Brands know that the old saying “never judge a book by its cover” doesn’t apply when you’re trying to increase sales. That’s to say that if you’re selling a wellness product derived from fulvic acid, it’s not enough to highlight the benefits of fulvic acid minerals. You also need the earthy, neutral colors and minimalistic design that consumers have come to expect.

Wellness and Wellness Culture

Wellness is broadly defined as a movement that promotes the active pursuit of activities that enhance mental and physical wellbeing. This movement has been a decade-long trend that shows no signs of slowing down. It accounts for more than half of the total health expenditures, and it’s one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, boasting double-digit annual growth since 2010.

The main factors driving this growth are technology, social media, millennials, and an increased awareness of how lifestyle can influence health.

Smartphones and other new technologies have given people easy access to a wealth of information anytime, anywhere. Moreover, with nearly 5 billion people using social media platforms worldwide, the wellness industry has quickly jumped on board, using both direct marketing and influencers to promote their products.

An increased awareness of how lifestyle can influence health has also increased the demand for wellness products. On the one hand, technology has helped us gain easier access to health information, but on the hand, it has had a negative effect on our health. Social media and binge sessions on streaming platforms have made us even more sedentary and encouraged poor eating habits. In response, some consumers want to regain control over their health.

That takes us to the subject of Millennials. With a tendency to place greater importance on wellbeing and health than on material possessions, this generation has played a significant part in the rise of the wellness culture.

The Power of Packaging

Many factors influence a customer’s purchasing decision, but packaging is on top of that list. According to a national study conducted by the Paper and Packaging Board and IPSOS, seven out of ten (72%) consumers think that packaging design has an impact on their decision to buy a product. Almost two-thirds of consumers admit that they choose their products based on the packaging, and 71% say they feel more inclined to purchase from brands that package their products in paper or cardboard.

Because of a number of interconnected aspects, product and packaging design are widely regarded as the most important drivers of consumer purchases, so to suit consumer demands, wellness branding has shifted away from gender-specific packaging and more toward showing that they understand and care their customers’ needs and expectations.

Additionally, brands are also using their packaging to draw attention to the natural ingredients in their products and their efforts to promote sustainability in a context of increasing concerns regarding our impact on the environment. In general, brands are gravitating toward natural, minimalistic designs.

Retailers set themselves apart from standard healthcare by focusing on wellness

When it comes to health management needs, consumers frequently rely on retail health locations and drug stores. This provides retailers with the opportunity to influence their customers’ choices by displaying healthy items on-shelf and bundling products together that will promote both physical and emotional wellbeing.

Mintel research found that more than one in four adults feel their trust in retail health clinics has improved, reflecting the growing trend toward being more customer-focused. To set themselves apart from traditional healthcare providers, retailers are emphasizing healthy living, preventive care, and popular concerns like immune system building.

We can see this trend in how over-the-counter medications are being repositioned to encourage consumers to regard them as part of the wider self-care plan. For example, manufacturers are including ingredients that meet changing consumer demands for natural ingredients, immune system strengthening, and quality sleep.

Another strategy is to stand out by catering to a narrower target audience. Pain is universal, and practically everyone uses an over-the-counter pain reliever from time to time. This has resulted in a few hero products that consumers are very familiar with. If they experience pain, their impulse is to use the same products because they know they’ll work.

However, by personalizing products and marketing to appeal to a specific audience like young women looking for products that will help them with discomfort and pain related to menstruation, brands can add an element of personalization and empathy, which research shows is very effective – about 40% of women between the ages of 18 and 34 report that they’d be willing to try a new OTC pain reliever if it was tailored to their particular needs.

While the term “wellness” has become ubiquitous, societal perceptions of what health and wellness entail continue to shift. Consumers are becoming more aware of the dynamic connections between the body and the mind under the influence of an uncertain and anxious national mood. This plays a major role in their purchasing decision.

Everyone tries to prioritize their needs and wants according to their resources, so when we go shopping, we often find ourselves making trade-offs. We use cues like price, packaging, and product description to get the healthiest products we can within the limitations of our resources.