Well Up: The Weekly Update 6/28
Oral Photoprotectants, Pinterest’s hold on Gen Z and Premium wellness clubs. Explore the emerging consumer trends shaping retail, beauty and wellness.
Should You Get Your Spf From a Supplement?
It’s been over two decades since the FDA has approved a new active ingredient for SPF products.
While this has stalled sunscreen R&D, it’s also paved the way for all kinds of new sun protection like UV-protective clothing, exposure-tracking wearable tech — and oral supplements.
In fact, a new wave of ‘oral photoprotectants’ are now being used to complement traditional sunscreens, and seem poised to usher in a trend towards holistic, multi-step UV-protection.
Couple this with one report that claims 75% of today’s sunscreens “fall short of adequate sun protection” and you have an audience that’s likely more than ready to start spending on new, innovative sunscreen regimens.
Pinterest Can Help Brands Reach Gen Z, Here’s How To Capitalize:
Late last year, Luxury brands turned to Pinterest with renewed focus. Now, the platform seems to have ensnared another audience: Gen Z.
Glossy recently flagged that multiple luxury brands had told the publisher Pinterest was “emerging as an important marketing channel,” and added that it’s now seeing other companies turn to the platform for its “Gen-Z audience and organic growth potential.”
Meanwhile, in May 2024, Pinterest released its own report that highlighted Gen Z as the company’s “fastest growing audience.” The report centered around six core takeaways with actionable advice for brands who are looking to reach this audience as efficiently as possible. Read it here.
Wellness is Restructuring Luxury — And the Price Tag is Climbing
Many were shocked by Equinox’s $40,000-per-year “EQX Optimize” program. Now, in June 2024, Continuum opened a $10,000-per-month wellness club in Greenwich Village.
Similar to EQX Optimize, a Continuum membership begins with a “thorough onboarding assessment.” This includes biometric screening, performance-based testing and lifestyle interviews that help the team develop a “bespoke prescription for each member.”
Both Continuum and EQX Optimize center around premium access to personalized, real-time health data — which users are more than happy to pay for.
These kinds of programs are helping redefine ‘personal luxury,’ which consumers value highly, judging by the price tag.
SoulCycle capitalized on the trend by partnering with Fountain Life to host its recent ‘Wellness Weekend.’
Fountain of Life claims to deliver, “the most advanced diagnostics and vetted therapeutics to those who seek a longer, healthier, and more vital life.”As time goes on, we can expect to see other brands partner with these kinds of HealthTech companies. Living 100 healthy years doesn’t happen inside of a doctor’s office. It happens in your daily decisions," said Jonathan Swerdlin, cofounder of Function Health, EQX Optimize partner. How people are thinking about - and spending on - health and wellness is realigning it as a personal luxury.
Other noteworthy headlines:
- The Guardian examined How Eyelashes Became Beauty’s Biggest Business
- Elle covered TikTok’s new obsession with Sunbeds, and whether they’re safe to use
- Allure spent six weeks with seven preteens to explore, When did tweens become beauty experts?