Gen Z Wisdom of Wellness | dentsu Z
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The accelerated trend in how young people value their health, wellness, and lifestyle.
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dentsu Z team, as DENTSU CREATIVE's pioneering force of Gen Z creatives, proactively make strategic plans and propose solutions for clients, explore innovative ideas by putting cutting-edge technology into practice and create profound cultural experiences. As both consumers of generation Z and young creatives, dentsu Z deliver direct insights, create connections between the brand and the consumers of the next generation.
Post-pandemic stress and life pressure have pushed Gen Z to join the conservation movement around “wellness,” which was once only a concern for the middle-aged and elderly. On the flip side of overnight parties and binge-watching, the Zoomers rush to replenish their bodies after too much indulgence, for example, by drinking goji-berry tea to get some comfort and a sense of well-being.
Here’s the accelerated trend in how young people value their health, wellness, and lifestyle.
GEN Z WISDOM OF WELLNESS: BY THE NUMBERS
83.7%
Young people are becoming the predominant purchasers of wellness products, with those between the ages of 18 and 35 making up 83.7% of the total, according to a trends report on Gen Z’s wellness consumption published by Xinhua Net. Approximately half of Zoomers (49%) keep a daily intake of nutrition supplements, as indicated in an online survey by Wisdom Data Technology and KuRunData in March 2023.
4/5
Four out of five young people have once tried massage therapies, 63% of whom are monthly visitors and 13% are frequent weekly visitors. The National Survey on Young Consumers of Massage Therapy, Polaris Youth, May 2022.
7.6B
Anxiety, anger, and depression have topped the list of young people’s wellness problems. Research conducted by Bilibili shows that topic searches around mental health reached 90 million times on this platform, with 7.6 billion views. What’s more, over 34 million people have watched videos of psychological growth, and videos of mental internal frictions have garnered over 140 million views and 26.4 million interactions.
GEN Z WISDOM OF WELLNESS: WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
HEALTHY AND YUMMY SNACKS
Gen Z snackers are into beauty jelly, gummy vitamins, black sesame pills, and dietary juice to make every bite appetizing, healthy, and easy. While brewing beauty herbal tea has become an old fashion, today’s Zoomers favor wellness products that can benefit their digestion, bedtime and hair.
With probiotic powder added to their daily intake, Zoomers are also skipping dinners with prune juice and yogurt bowls. Since its launch in April 2022, INBAYJAN’s prune drink, which aids in fat loss and digestion, has become the best-selling fruit and vegetable drink on Douyin, JD.com, and Tmall. Furthermore, Blueglass Yogurt and More Yogurt, which are sold at a somewhat expensive price of between 30 and 40 yuan per cup, still greet long queues of young people, thanks to their brand propositions of being low-calorie and high-probiotic. A three-million-cup monthly seller, More Yogurt’s avocado smoothie created a daily in-store sales record of 290,000 cups. Blueglass, crowned “the Hermès of yogurt” on the Little Red Book platform, has a monthly turnover of over one million yuan across its stores in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.
KUNG FU OF WELLNESS
Alright, for the sake of their wellness, Zoomers are now practicing real Chinese Kung Fu.
A video named Ba Duan Jin (a fitness Qi Gong), published by the General Administration of Sports of China, has become a hit with over 10 million views on Bilibili. Originating from the Song Dynasty and primarily designated as an exercise for seniors, Ba Duan Jin is now widely practiced by young people to relieve dark under-eye circles and restore receding hairlines. Instead of “How are you?”, “Have you practiced Ba Duan Jin today?” is becoming a greeting in Zoomers’ social life.
Besides, some of Gen Z’s go-to gadgets to relieve fatigue can be comprehensively enumerated, from hair scalp brushes to leg massagers, acupressure tools, neck and shoulder massagers, and you name it.
WELL-BEING FROM INSIDE
Lifting gym dumbbells to build muscles and boxing punch bags to vent tension, Zoomers reward themselves with the feel-good hormone and endorphin after a workout, to cultivate mental strength.
According to statistics from the app Keep, around 300,000 users have been searching the keyword “meditation” every month since 2022. After mindful breathing and body scanning, meditation can boost brain wellness.
OUR WORK...
LOOK UP!
Brand: Voltaren
Creative Agency: DENTSU CREATIVE
Voltaren, an expert topical pain reliever, partnered with the fitness app Keep to unlock new occasions for professionals to stay fit and active at the workplace. With the viral video “China’s First-Set Radio Gymnastics at Workplace” and the creation of six head postures, Voltaren frees the pain for professionals from getting trapped behind a desk all day. Meanwhile, the brand launched customized PUGC video lectures on Keep to fully showcase its product usage occasions. With fitness influencers joining Voltaren’s workplace gymnastic exercises, netizens were pulled into the heads-up craze. During the campaign, Voltaren observed a 22% increase in sales and a record market share of 4.6%.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR BRANDS...
01
FOODSTUFF MATTERS
Life starts with food. As the old saying goes, we are what we eat, and Zoomers follow. While satiety is their minimum demand, they also take nutrition, quality and flavor into account. Zoomers made themselves the main purchasers of wellness products (46%), and healthcare investment ranks TOP3 on their budget, as a trend report published by Wisdom Data Technology and KuRunData shows.
02
NEXT STOP FOR MENTAL HEALING
Tired of the ebbs and flows in their lives, Zoomers are embracing the great outdoors. In parallel to the “Broke Girls” fashion of JK, traditional Han and Lolita dresses, camping, fishing and surfing are prevailing among “Broke Boys.” The market size of light outdoor activities has hit 500 million and is expected to expand to 730 million. While the great outdoors brings Gen Z out of the workplace for a brief hiatus, a bit of workout can also unleash their bad emotions and reinvigorate their mental fitness.
03
KOC ECONOMY
According to McKinsey’s report for 2022, 31% of Chinese consumers, with a prominent proportion made up of young people, are fitness fanatics who are willing to splash out on tryouts. Zoomers are also keen trend followers driven by internet influencers and celebrity effects. Therefore, many wellness regimens, recipes and products are coming into vogue through short videos or social media blogs.
Spot Gen Z’s wellness issues and entice them with new offerings, and you’ll win.