From cold-plunge alternatives to brain-health wearables, the world of wellness and recovery has never been more dynamic
As the demand for wellness grows worldwide, a crop of new technologies, ways of doing business and innovative experiences have entered the market, offering something for just about everyone.
From the proliferation of communal hot and cold experiences to the rise of sleep technology, ATN breaks down five key trends poised to shape the business of wellness and recovery in the years to come.
Wellness Gets Personalized – and Communal
Wellness is highly individual, but it’s also social.
Remedy Place, branded as the “world’s first social wellness club,” is threading that needle. The brand just rolled out Meridian, a personalized wellness program that’s built around a comprehensive profile of up to 600 biomarkers. The program also offers V02 max testing, resting metabolic rate (RMR) testing, precision mapping and personalized supplements.
According to Dr. Jonathan Leary, the founder and CEO of Remedy Place, the program is meant to address a critical gap in personal health education.
“Your body is your number one asset and most people don’t even know how it works, never mind how to take care of it,” Dr. Leary has said. “Meridian is designed to offer a real plan, grounded in evidence, to support sustainable, long-term health.”
For Jamie Weeks, the founder of contrast therapy franchise SWTHZ, the rise of personalization comes back to the concept of “whole-person wellness.”
“When I think about whole-person wellness, it’s sleep, it’s nutrition, it’s mental health, it’s weight lifting, it’s zone-2 cardio, it’s V02 max cardio. It’s all these things combined into one,” Weeks told ATN.
Wellness and recovery spaces are also becoming communal, giving people a chance to connect outside of traditional spaces like bars and nightclubs.
Othership, a sauna and ice bath studio that took off in Toronto before expanding to New York City, offers guided classes inside communal saunas that can fit up to 70 people, along with cold-plunge experiences. Before and after sessions, class-goers can gather in open areas outside of the sauna.
“People are tired of going to a bar or restaurant in order to have a social night out; there needs to be a better way,” Othership co-founder Amanda Laine has said of the concept’s popularity. “People want to reconnect with themselves, relax, drop their guard and feel safe. Othership is a way to socialize without the distractions of technology and reap the health benefits of these practices along the way.”
Concepts including Bathouse in New York, FlowHaus in Utah and Sauna House in the Southeast, offer similar concepts.
IcePass also takes a similar approach, but it’s all in on the power of cold. The Los Angeles-based brand offers communal cold plunging experiences including classes and outside-the-box social events like cold-plunge speed dating parties.
Cold Plunge Alternatives Enter the Market
Cold plunges are clearly having a moment. But they’re not for everyone.
Whether it’s operational complexity, high costs and potential legal hurdles, or people simply not wanting to submerge themselves in near-freezing water, it doesn’t always make sense to take the plunge. Brands are taking notice, developing innovative alternatives to the traditional cold plunge.
WellnessSpace Brands, makers of the popular HydroMassage, is developing the PolarWave Dry Plunge, designed to offer a full-body cold plunge experience without the water. Users can stay fully clothed, making it more convenient and accessible, while removing water from the equation eliminates the need for plumbing, a dedicated room or additional staff.
WellnessSpace Brands is aiming to start shipping the PolarWave in Q3 or Q4 of this year: high-value, low-price (HVLP) gyms could be an ideal landing spot.
Meanwhile, Perspire Sauna Studio has developed another alternative to the traditional cold plunge. Last year, the fast-growing infrared sauna and red light franchise introduced the “SNØ Shower,” a 45-second, 45-degree cold shower blast that Perspire’s members can use for contrast therapy after getting out of the sauna.
“Cold plunges are definitely popular, but from a business model standpoint, they take up a lot of space and they’re expensive. They also present some slip and fall hazards,” Perspire founder and CEO Lee Braun told ATN, adding that cold plunges can be daunting for some members. “The SNØ Shower is less of a barrier, and it’s just as invigorating as a cold plunge.”
Crunch Fitness is actively exploring potential opportunities around adding cold-plunge alternatives to its locations, the brand’s chief operating officer, Molly Long, has told ATN.
Red Light Is Everywhere, From Gyms to the Home
Red light therapy has entered the wellness and recovery conversation as a form of accessible treatment, alongside modalities like saunas and cold plunges.
Amid a growing body of research pointing to the benefits of red light – the modality has been shown in some studies to help with everything from managing pain to improving cognitive function – businesses of all types are racing to get in on the action.
“When used with proper dosing, (red light and laser therapy) could actually replace pharmaceuticals and even outdo pharmaceuticals on (reducing) pain and inflammation, with no side effects, or at least no negative side effects,” Forrest Smith, the co-founder and CEO of red-light brand Kineon, told ATN.
Gyms and wellness centers have added red light beds and booths to their locations en masse, giving millions of Americans access to the technology.
Red light is becoming popular – and increasingly affordable – inside the home, too, whether it’s a face mask from Therabody, hair mask from HigherDose or Kineon’s Move+Pro device, a band that delivers targeted red light therapy directly to the skin.
According to Smith, Kineon’s version of red light therapy is superior to others since it provides a more optimal and consistent dosage of red light.
“We’re going to be developing sensors that can sense the responses from every individual’s body and then modulate the dosing based on that so it’s more personalized,” Smith told ATN in January.
Sleep Becomes Big Business
Sleep has officially become big business, too, with new bedroom technology designed to help people get more (and better quality) shut-eye.
Eight Sleep, one of the pioneers of the sleep science vertical, just launched its Pod 5. The AI-powered mattress cover and integrated tech system offers temperature control that adapts to your biometric signals during the night, along with real-time health monitoring, personalized soundscapes and vibrational alarms.
Somnee, meanwhile, makes a headband that uses EEG sensors to help people fall asleep faster, sleep longer and improve their sleep quality. The NBA recently selected the brand to take part in NBA Launchpad, a “Shark Tank”-style program that puts a spotlight on emerging technologies.
“What we’re trying to do is figure out each individual’s optimal state for sleep. … We’re affecting your ability to fall asleep, your ability to stay asleep and your overall quality of sleep,” Somnee CEO Tim Rosa told ATN.
Luxury hotels are getting in on the action, too.
Equinox Hotels recently unveiled its Sleep Lab in partnership with Dr. Matthew Walker, who is also a co-founder of Somnee. With Sleep Lab, Equinox Hotels is investing in cutting-edge sleep technologies that it’s piloting at its Manhattan location before expanding to other properties.
Equinox Hotels CEO Chris Norton believes sleep will play a big role in luxury hospitality and wellness tourism in the years ahead.
“Our mission has always been to redefine luxury hospitality by seamlessly integrating health and performance into every aspect of the guest experience,” Norton told ATN. “Sleep, as the foundation of overall well-being, has been a core pillar of our brand since its inception.
Wearables Enter Longevity, Brain Health
Wearables are transforming from simple step-trackers and heart-rate monitors into hubs of health and wellness. They might also help you live longer – and stay mentally sharp well into your golden years.
Whoop made a big push into longevity with the launch of Whoop 5.0, a wearable that offers FDA-approved ECG readings, blood pressure insights and biological age features.
“We’re witnessing wearable technology moving to the frontline of longevity science, where continuous biometric monitoring can reveal subtle physiological changes that predict health outcomes,” Dr. Joseph Antoun, the CEO of nutrition tech platform L-Nutra, has said of Whoop 5.0.
A new crop of brain health wearables has also entered the market.
One of them, the Muse S Athena, was released earlier this year. The headband allows users to analyze their brain activity and blood-oxygen levels in real-time for advanced “mental fitness” training. Muse says that by training with the wearable, users can optimize their focus and endurance while protecting against mental decline.
“Just as physical fitness requires strength, endurance and skill, mental fitness demands the same targeted training,” said Jean-Michel Fournier, the CEO of Interaxon, Muse’s parent company.”
This article originally appeared in ATN’s report, “Wellness Room: The Art & Science of Integrating Recovery,” which maps the forces redefining how operators retain members, monetize square footage and prepare their brands for a dynamic future. Download the free report.
