The rise of wellness brands provides an increasingly viable sponsorship target market for rights holders

This article covers why wellness brands should be in your prospecting lists.

Wellness is an increasing lifestyle trend which is all about people actively pursuing healthier, more balanced lives by focusing more on their physical health and mental wellbeing. Consumers are spending more than ever on Wellness, with the market estimated to reach US$9 trillion by 2028, with Millennials and Gen Z consumers leading this trend.

The trend toward Wellness means there is a lot of innovation by companies in producing products and services beyond traditional fitness ones such as gym memberships and running shoes. These include:

• Wearable health technology (example brands in full article)
• Fitness apps and connected platforms (example brands in full article)
• Nutrition, supplements and hydration (example brands in full article)
• Telehealth and mental health services (example brands in full article)

Wellness and Sport: A natural connection
This proliferation of new products and services means competition for visibility has never been higher among consumer-facing Wellness brands.

Naturally, sports is a great fit with the rise in modern wellness due to characteristics around consumers pursuing active lifestyles, self-improvement, and community. For instance, online sports services directory Sporting Bounce found that sports fans are more likely than average to:

• Prioritise fitness as a part of a healthy lifestyle
• Be active users of wearables, training apps, and nutrition platforms, and
• Engage heavily with health-related content on social media.

For example, wellness brands are flocking to the hugely popular Hackney Half (an annual half marathon event in London, England) including:

• Hoka: the activewear/sports shoes brand hosted a post-race party, set up Instagram-friendly photo spots, and offered race-day support stations with essentials like plasters and energy gels
• More example brands in full article

Clearly, fitness-focused events such as the Hackney Half are a great example of brands using high participation events to connect with consumers through related and engaging experiences. However, even rights holders who don’t have a strong participation angle, can benefit from the fact that sports fans are typically heavier consumers of wellness products and services.

Some examples of recent deals where Wellness brands are using sporting platforms to engage people around related health benefits include:

• BetterHelp x New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces and Dallas Wings: to drive conversations about the importance of mental health awareness among athletes
• More example brands in full article

However, there are also opportunities for non-sport rights holders if they can align with the less physical elements of wellness such as mindfulness, movement, mental health, and community. This can be wellness-themed content, onsite activations, or partnerships that can help Wellness brands promote generally healthier lifestyles.

caytoo has identified a range of brands operating in the Wellness space increasing marketing spend, launching new products, expanding into new markets or making senior hires – all indicators that they may be primed for new sponsorships:

• Example brands in full article

More wellness brands feature in caytoo’s news-based lead generation platform with new brands being added all the time.