In the U.S., 81 million residents belonged to a gym or fitness facility in 2025 — a record — up 5.2% compared to 2024, according to the Health & Fitness Association’s 2026 U.S. Health & Fitness Consumer Report. More than a quarter (26.1%) of people aged 6 or older had a membership in 2025. All told, […]
Archive | Wellness
Don’t Sleep on This Opportunity
Over the last decade there has been a growing realization of how important sleep is, along with exercising and eating right, to overall health and wellness, not to mention performance in work, sports, and daily life. A diverse range of licensors and licensees are creating products meant to help address the need for more and […]
Putting Weight Behind GLP-1 Friendly Foods
GLP-1 is changing the way Americans and global consumers eat, and is just starting to give rise to opportunities for licensing and collaborations. The benefits of the hormone GLP-1 were discovered in the mid-1980s. The first FDA approval came in 2005, when Byetta became available for patients with type 2 diabetes; Ozempic followed much later, […]
Extreme Refreshment
Ice baths, cold water therapy, and contrast therapy, which combines cold-water or ice baths with saunas, have collectively been increasing in popularity over the past few years to become one of the top wellness trends globally in 2025. This is true for ice baths in particular. Wellness spas are adding ice baths to their offerings, […]
Brain-Boosting Beverages
Nootropics are chemical substances, natural or synthetic, that are believed to improve concentration, memory, self-control, wakefulness, and mental acuity. They have been growing as an ingredient in powdered supplements (often in a collector’s bundle, with a shaker) and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, and have become an expanding area of interest for collaborations and celebrity investment. Nootropic […]
Protein Powder Deals Bear Fruit
Protein powders have been a very active category for licensing of late. While a variety of properties are represented, from celebrities and characters to sports IPs and videogames, food-related brands have dominated the sector. And most have been of the sweet sort, encompassing candy, cookies, cereal, restaurant offerings like pancakes and fountain drinks, and more. […]
Luxury Brands Run Toward Barefoot Shoes
An increasing, albeit still small, number of collaborations—especially in the luxury space—are focused on barefoot shoes, a type of footwear that took off with runners in the 1970s and is making a comeback of sorts today. With thin, even soles and no elevation at the heel; a lightweight and flexible construction throughout; no padding or […]
Hot and Steamy Spin-Offs
By Karen Raugust on January 9, 2025 in Design and content themes, House and home, Licensing, Lifestyle, Wellness
Sauna and public bath culture, historically important in places like Finland and Japan, is on the rise globally of late, including in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and China. Most researchers forecast annual growth rates for the global sauna and bath industry of between 3% and 6%, with the U.S. market pegged at the high end […]
Taking Care of Tattooed Skin
As tattoo art has become a ubiquitous form of self expression, a lengthening list of specialist companies have come on the scene to fill the need for tattoo aftercare. This sector encompasses everything from products to heal and comfort the skin just after getting a new tattoo to products that rejuvenate the skin and protect, […]
Drink Up
Premium-priced, high-tech, fashion-forward drinkware aimed primarily at an adult consumer base interested in fitness and sustainability has been trending for close to a decade, with individual brands taking turns hitting it big on Tiktok and attracting crowds for new releases at retail. Most of the leading players have relied heavily on collaborations as a strategy […]