Top Health + Wellness Trends for 2025

 Dan Stanek

 Kate Fisher

Looking ahead, our Health + Wellness Practice Leaders share their insights on the top trends shaping healthcare and consumer wellness behaviors in 2025 and beyond.

Pharmacy Reimagined

The retail pharmacy business is in a period of dramatic change and stress. Leading drug chains are being attacked by online players like Amazon and Mark Cuban Cost Plus, forcing them to accelerate home delivery while removing the need for store trips and as much in-store inventory and processing. In addition, Large Pharmacy Benefit Managers are being questioned by regulators over price transparency and pricing policies. With a new administration coming in, the eyes on pharma companies and pressures on these businesses will only increase.

In response, pharmacy chains and grocers who operate pharmacies will need to rethink their positioning and operating model. This may include shifting the responsibilities of the pharmacist and getting them out from behind the counter to provide more consultation, including integrating solutions from OTC and natural options. They will also look to promote more clinical services like vaccinations and prescriptions for low acuity conditions as that becomes legal in some states. These changes will require a fresh look at the space and configuration of the pharmacy environment and experience.

Reactive to Proactive Health

Consumer interest in personal health will increase substantially in the coming year. Greater information and social sharing are leading consumers to seek more control and agency of their own health, which will cause a shift in health mentality from “reactive” treatment of health issues to more emphasis on “proactive” maintenance or optimization of one’s health. Technologies and wearables to measure health continuously, along with a plethora of alternative holistic and functional solutions, social wellness treatments, and nutritional supplements, will provide a wide array of avenues for people to test and share stories about. Self-empowerment for health and wellness and whole-body health will be key topics to avoid chronic disease later in life and manage chronic disease for those that have it. Healthcare providers and retailers of health solutions would be wise to take advantage of this interest and promote ways to support consumers on this journey.

Food Is Medicine (FIM) Integration Into Grocery

Changes in consumer attitudes toward self-care along with overall health and wellness industry changes will create avenues for grocery to play a greater role. Most Americans buy their groceries from a grocery store, so it only makes sense for major retail grocers to take an active role in promoting Food Is Medicine in their businesses. With their assortment of healthy products and strong frequency pattern, grocers have the capabilities to become health providers by leveraging their scale, products, and services to direct consumers toward healthier options for specific their needs. As the need for access to care increases in the coming year, integrating healthcare into the customers shopping experience will lead to increased visits and greater shopper loyalty while helping to make people healthier in the process. This may be actualized by utilizing a variety of avenues including in-store programs, information and merchandising, and physical and digital personalized programs.

Learn more about how the Food Is Medicine approach can transform healthcare here.

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