In case you missed it... we kicked off the year by publishing the 2019 Fitt Insider Outlook. From fitness to food and wellness to wearables, we surveyed the landscape to get a sense of where consumer behavior was tracking. Then, we drilled down into the business implications of what’s happening and why.

Now, as we near the halfway point in the year, we’re revisiting the main takeaways to see where we stand and what’s next. 

Our key findings were on target

• Plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are disrupting Big Food.
• Connected/on-demand fitness is changing the way we exercise. 
• Cannabis/CBD is becoming a pillar of wellness. 
• Wellness tourism and real estate are reinventing how we live. 
• Healthcare is being redefined by wellness and self-care.

But we missed some stuff…

File these under, should have seen that coming. Or, we had eyes on these developments, we just underestimated the rate at which they’d gain steam or the significance of their impact. Either way, we’re taking note now. 

Non-alcoholic is the new cool: With beer sales slumping and more millennials choosing to forgo booze, global beverage brands are taking aim at the “sweaty consumer.” As consumer behavior shifts, new entrants are seizing the opportunity — see Kin, Seedlip, and Haus. Meanwhile, a subculture of sober-friendly bars, social clubs, festivals, and retreats is taking shape, signaling the staying power of this trend.

Selling sleep: Pulling an all-nighter isn’t a badge of honor anymore, it’s hustle porn. As we place a higher value on sleep and recovery, WHOOP—a wrist-worn tracker—stands out from the pack. Analyzing heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and sleep, WHOOP provides users with a daily recovery score. In doing so, the company is reframing sleep as a competitive advantage in athletics, fitness, and in life.

DTC healthcare: From generic Viagra to hair loss treatments and birth control to anti-anxiety meds, we’ve seen an onslaught of direct-to-consumer healthcare companies — hims and hers, Roman and Rory, Keeps, Nurx, and The Pill Club, to name a few. Going forward, the healthcare industry will be remade by telemedicine, the full-stack pharmacy (like Truepill or PillPack’s Pharmacy OS), and startups reinventing primary care.

Looking ahead

Building on the key takeaways from the 2019 Outlook and keeping the misses top of mind, here are a few areas we’ll be exploring the second half of the year.

• Women's health, fertility startups, and sexual health entering the mainstream.
• The impact of an economic downturn on fitness and wellness. 
• How competition, innovation, and disruption will hit fitness booking platforms.
• Consolidation across connected equipment and on-demand/audio fitness. 
• How significant of an impact AR/VR will have on health and fitness.

Finally, beyond tracking specific trends and developments, we’ll be working to build out a framework that helps explain the motivations and root causes behind the broader shifts taking place across fitness and wellness. We hope you’ll stay tuned! 

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