Vivere Data Study · The Wellness Economy in the UK
The Wellness Spend Index: What Britain Pays to Feel Well
Published: 8 September 2026 · Next scheduled refresh: September 2027
In one sentence: UK consumers now spend an estimated £9 billion a year on the three things they most often buy to feel well, dietary supplements, health and fitness wearables, and at-home tests, which works out at roughly £168 per adult or £320 per household, and it sits within a record £35.5 billion of household health spending that has more than doubled since 2005.
At a glance
- What we measured: UK consumer spending across three "buy to feel well" categories, dietary supplements, wearable technology and at-home or self-testing, triangulated from published market data and official statistics for 2025.
- Headline figure: About £9 billion a year across the three categories (roughly 11.6 billion US dollars).124
- Per person: About £168 per UK adult, £320 per household, or £133 for every person of all ages.1617
- Biggest category: Wearable technology at about £4.6 billion (51% of the index), just ahead of supplements at roughly £4.1 billion (45%).12
- Fastest-growing category: At-home or self-testing, about £430 million now but compounding at roughly 7% a year.4
- Health spending is at a record: ONS Consumer Trends shows UK households spent £35.5 billion on health in 2025, up from £23.1 billion in 2020 and £13.3 billion in 2005.14
- Vitamin D, both ways: Beyond what people buy, the NHS prescribes about 30 million vitamin D items a year in England, costing roughly £118 million, up 12% since 2022.21
- Demand is broad and seasonal: A PA Consulting survey found 78% of consumers plan new wellness or fitness purchases, and Experian and Reward recorded a 6% rise in nutrition and fitness spending in the six weeks to 20 January 2025.1011
- Who spends most: Younger adults. 83% of under-35s take a supplement against 65% of over-55s, and 18 to 34-year-olds are more than twice as likely to own a smartwatch as the over-55s.67
- Search demand is booming: UK searches for "gut supplements" are up around tenfold since 2016 and "NAD supplement" about 79-fold since 2019, according to Google Trends.9
- Wider context: This £9 billion is about 5% of the UK's much larger wellness economy, valued at 224 billion US dollars and the fifth largest in the world.5
- Ethical approach: Only public, aggregated data, no personal or patient information, method and limits disclosed, and reviewed by a registered dietitian.
Feeling well has become something Britain actively pays for. Alongside the NHS and the weekly food shop, millions of us now spend our own money on vitamins, a smartwatch that counts our steps, or a kit that posts our blood off to a lab. This study asks a simple question: how much does that habit add up to, and what does it cost the average person?
To answer it, we built the Vivere Wellness Spend Index. We triangulated published market data and official UK statistics to size three categories that sit at the heart of everyday wellness spending: dietary supplements, wearable technology, and at-home testing. We then divided the total by the UK population to put a per-person figure on it.
How we approached this ethically. This study uses only publicly available, aggregated data: published market-sizing reports, official statistics from the Office for National Statistics, national health surveys, and anonymised, scaled card-transaction analysis. We used no patient records, personal accounts or identifiable information, and no individual's data was analysed. Where sources disagree, we report the range and cite each one, and we clearly label every figure that is a triangulated estimate rather than a single measured total. The full method and its limitations are set out below, and the analysis was reviewed by a registered dietitian before publication.
Key Takeaways
How much do Brits spend on supplements and wellness?
About £9 billion a year across supplements, health wearables and at-home tests, which is roughly £168 for every UK adult.124
What is the single biggest wellness purchase?
Wearables, narrowly. UK spending on wearable technology, about £4.6 billion, just edges dietary supplements at roughly £4.1 billion.12
Is wellness spending in the UK growing?
Yes, strongly. Official ONS data shows household health spending has more than doubled since 2005 to a record £35.5 billion in 2025, and card data from Experian and Reward shows nutrition and fitness spending rising further in the new-year period.1014
Do these purchases actually improve health?
Some do, some are unproven. The one supplement with clear UK backing is vitamin D, which the NHS advises most people should consider taking in autumn and winter.18
Who spends the most?
Younger adults. Under-35s are the heaviest supplement users and 18 to 34-year-olds are the most likely to own a wearable.67
Is this the whole wellness economy?
No. This is the slice people actively buy to feel well. The full UK wellness economy is far larger, at 224 billion US dollars.5
How much do Britons spend on supplements and wellness each year?
UK consumers spend an estimated £9 billion a year on the three things they most often buy to feel well: dietary supplements, health and fitness wearables, and at-home tests. Spread across the population, that is about £168 for every UK adult, or around £320 per household.124
These are not Vivere's own sales figures. We built the number by adding up published market values for each category in 2025, then dividing by ONS population and household counts. The chart and table below show the three categories that make up the index.
Sources: Grand View Research (supplements and self-testing), Mordor Intelligence and MarketDataForecast (wearables). Values converted from US dollars at about 1.28 dollars to the pound.
| Category | UK value (£) | UK value (US$) | Share of index | Annual growth | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wearable technology | ~£4.6bn | $5.9bn | 51% | ~15% | Mordor Intelligence; MarketDataForecast |
| Dietary supplements | ~£4.1bn | $5.19bn | 45% | ~8% | Grand View Research |
| At-home / self-testing | ~£0.43bn | $0.55bn | 5% | ~7% | Grand View Research |
| Total index | ~£9.1bn | $11.6bn | 100% | n/a | Vivere triangulation |
Growth is the reported compound annual growth rate for each market.124
Two things stand out. Wearable technology is now the single biggest slice, narrowly ahead of supplements, and at-home testing is much smaller but growing quickly. Together they show a country that is willing to put real money into tracking and improving its own health.
"These numbers show a shift in mindset. A generation ago, health was a topic only when you got ill. Now, people are taking proactive action and investing in their health to track and support their wellbeing. That is a positive and encouraging change."
Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD, Head of Nutrition at Vivere
How much does the UK spend on supplements?
The UK dietary supplements market is worth about £4.1 billion a year, around 5.19 billion US dollars in 2025, and it is growing at roughly 8% annually.1 Vitamins are the largest part, making up about 37% of the market, and almost three-quarters of sales are everyday over-the-counter products rather than anything prescribed.1
Taking a supplement is now a mainstream British habit, and it skews young. According to Mintel's 2025 research, 83% of under-35s take a vitamin or supplement, compared with 65% of over-55s.6 That pattern helps explain why interest in longevity supplements keeps climbing, a trend we tracked in our companion study on how Britain searches its way to a longer life.
Not every supplement is backed by strong evidence, but vitamin D has clear UK public-health guidance behind its use. The NHS advises that everyone should consider taking a daily 10 microgram vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter, because the UK sun is too weak in those months for our skin to make enough.18
That advice matters because low vitamin D is common. The latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey, covering 2019 to 2023, found that about 18% of adults aged 19 to 64 and 12% of those aged 65 and over have blood vitamin D below the level needed to protect bone and muscle health, rising to as much as 38% in some groups during winter.19 The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition set both that 25 nmol/L threshold and the 10 microgram daily recommendation.20
| Group | Below the 25 nmol/L threshold | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Children aged 11 to 18 | 23% | Highest of the groups measured; up to 38% in winter |
| Adults aged 19 to 64 | 18% | Roughly one in five working-age adults |
| Adults aged 65 and over | 12% | Around one in eight older adults |
| Children aged 4 to 10 | 10% | Lowest of the groups measured |
Source: National Diet and Nutrition Survey, 2019 to 2023. The 25 nmol/L threshold indicates risk of deficiency for musculoskeletal health.19
Does the NHS prescribe vitamin D too?
Yes, and at a large and growing scale. Beyond the vitamin D people buy for themselves, English prescribing data recorded around 29.8 million vitamin D prescription items in 2025, with a reported cost of approximately £117.8 million on the measure used by OpenPrescribing data drawn from NHS Business Services Authority records.21 That is up about 12% by volume since 2022.
| Year | Prescription items | Cost to the NHS |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26.5 million | £108.6m |
| 2023 | 27.3 million | £105.7m |
| 2024 | 28.8 million | £109.4m |
| 2025 | 29.8 million | £117.8m |
Source: OpenPrescribing.net, using NHS Business Services Authority data for England. This is NHS-funded prescribing and sits alongside, not inside, our consumer index.21
This tells the same story as the shop-shelf data: vitamin D is the wellness nutrient the UK takes most seriously. It is also a recognised health-disparity issue. In 2022, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities launched a review into raising vitamin D intake, noting that around 1 in 6 adults have levels below government recommendations, that only about 1 in 6 adults actually take a daily supplement, and that older people, the housebound and people from Black and South Asian communities are most at risk.22
"In a scenario where you can only buy one supplement, it would be vitamin D. It is affordable, the need is well established for many people, it is supported by research and backed by NHS guidance, and it is prescribed by healthcare professionals where appropriate."
Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD
For readers who want to go deeper, our guides explain seven evidence-based ways to slow biological ageing and the science behind the NAD+ supplement range, one of the fastest-growing corners of the longevity market.
How much does the UK spend on health and fitness wearables?
UK consumers spend an estimated £4.6 billion a year on wearable technology, about 5.9 billion US dollars in 2025, which makes it the largest category in our index.2 Two independent analyses put the market at close to the same level, and both expect it to grow at around 15% a year, faster than supplements or testing.23
Ownership is now widespread. A March 2025 YouGov survey of 2,090 UK adults found that 30% own a smartwatch and 18% use a fitness tracker such as a Fitbit or Garmin, so close to half of British adults wear some kind of device.7
Source: YouGov Surveys, 2,090 UK adults, March 2025. Respondents could own more than one device.7
Like supplements, wearables skew young. Nearly half of 18 to 34-year-olds own a smartwatch, against fewer than one in five of the over-55s.7
Ownership has also climbed over time. YouGov's biannual wearable-devices tracker shows the share of GB adults who own and use a wearable rising from about 19% in 2019 to around 35% by 2024, and once those who own one but do not use it are included, close to 45% now own a wearable, up from roughly 27% in 2019. The share of those who have never owned one has fallen from about 67% to 44%.23
A note on scope. Market figures for "wearable technology" include some devices bought for reasons other than health, such as smart glasses and audio hearables. Even on a conservative reading that strips those out, wearables remain one of the two largest categories in the index, because smartwatches and fitness trackers dominate the market.
"Wearables have done something genuinely useful, which is to make people curious about their own bodies. My only caution is to remember what a wrist device actually is. It is a helpful nudge and a rough guide, not a diagnosis. A resting heart rate or a sleep score can start a good conversation with a professional, but it should not replace one."
Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD
How much does the UK spend on at-home health testing?
At-home testing is the smallest of the three categories but the fastest-growing, worth about £430 million a year, 550.9 million US dollars in 2025, and rising at roughly 7% annually.4 It covers self-collected kits for things like blood biomarkers, gut health and hormones, usually with results returned to a phone or computer.
The wider market is moving the same way. The global direct-to-consumer laboratory testing market is growing at nearly 9% a year, with Europe making up about a fifth of it.8 These reflect growing availability and consumer interest in measuring specific aspects of health outside traditional healthcare settings, rather than guessing.
Vivere's own advanced gut microbiome test sits squarely in this category, using at-home sample collection and laboratory sequencing to provide information and insights about the gut microbiome. You can read more about the method behind it in our overview of how gut testing works.
"An at-home test is only ever as good as what you do with the result. Ask what decision the result will actually help you make before you spend."
Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD
What does the average person spend to feel well?
The average UK adult spends about £168 a year across these three categories, which is roughly £320 per household or £133 for every person of all ages.1617 These are averages spread across the whole population, so they include people who spend nothing at all.
| Measure | ONS denominator | Annual wellness spend |
|---|---|---|
| Per UK adult (aged 18 and over) | ~54.0 million | ~£168 |
| Per household | 28.4 million | ~£320 |
| Per person (all ages) | 68.3 million | ~£133 |
Population and household counts from ONS mid-2023 estimates. The adult figure is derived from the UK total.1617
To put that in context, ONS figures show the average UK household spent £676.60 a week in the year to March 2025.15 So wellness products and devices are a small but real and growing part of the household budget, and the £320 per household is an average that a committed wellness buyer will exceed many times over while a non-buyer contributes nothing.
How fast is UK health spending growing?
UK household spending on health has more than doubled in twenty years, reaching a record £35.5 billion in 2025. ONS Consumer Trends data shows it rose from £13.3 billion in 2005, dipped during the pandemic, then climbed 53% from £23.1 billion in 2020 to 2025.14
Source: ONS Consumer Trends (household final consumption expenditure on health, current prices, seasonally adjusted). Health here includes medical products, appliances and equipment, out-patient services and hospital services.14
| Year | Household health spend | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | £13.3bn | Start of the series |
| 2019 | £28.1bn | Last full year before the pandemic |
| 2020 | £23.1bn | Pandemic dip |
| 2024 | £33.2bn | Strong post-pandemic recovery |
| 2025 | £35.5bn | Record high, up 167% since 2005 |
Source: ONS Consumer Trends, current prices, seasonally adjusted.14
This official measure is broader than our index, because it includes medical products, appliances, out-patient and hospital services, not only the products people buy to optimise their own health.14 Read together, though, the two figures point the same way: Britain is spending more on health, and a growing share of it is discretionary, self-directed spending.
Our £9 billion index sits inside a still-larger picture. The Global Wellness Institute values the entire UK wellness economy at 224 billion US dollars, the fifth largest in the world and about 7.3% of GDP.5
| Measure | Value | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Vivere Wellness Spend Index | ~£9.1bn | The products and devices people actively buy to feel well (supplements, wearables, testing) |
| ONS household health spending | £35.5bn | All out-of-pocket household health spending, including medical products and services |
| UK wellness economy (GWI) | ~£175bn ($224bn) | The whole wellness sector, including fitness, beauty, tourism and property |
Sources: Vivere triangulation; ONS Consumer Trends; Global Wellness Institute. The GWI total is for 2022; dollar figure converted at about 1.28 dollars to the pound.5
When do Britons spend the most on wellness?
British wellness spending peaks in the new year, as health resolutions turn into purchases. Analysis of 1.4 billion UK card transactions by Experian and Reward found a 6% rise in nutrition and fitness spending in the six weeks to 20 January 2025, covering gyms, home meal services and organic groceries.10
The pattern is planned in advance. Gym sign-ups rose 11% in December, followed by a sustained 4% rise in fitness spending through January, which suggests people commit to their goals ahead of time rather than on a whim.10
| Sector | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|
| Home meal services | +7.3% |
| Nutrition and fitness (overall) | +6.3% |
| Gyms and fitness | +6.0% |
| Specialist grocery products | +2.1% |
Source: Experian and Reward, based on scaled card-transaction data from about 10% of UK households.10
Demand looks set to keep growing. A PA Consulting survey of 4,000 UK and US consumers found 78% plan to make new wellness or fitness purchases, and 71% would pay more than 100 pounds or dollars for fitness technology.11 Separately, Clearpay research found 49% of UK adults, and 76% of Gen Z, had bought a hybrid beauty and wellness product in the past year, spending an average of £72.12
"The January spike is one of the most relatable patterns in this data. The start of a new year often motivates people to make changes and invest in their health. That motivation can be valuable when it is channelled towards sustainable choices: a supplement you will take consistently, physical activity you genuinely enjoy and can maintain, or a health test that provides information you are prepared to act on. The most effective health investments are not necessarily the most expensive or ambitious, but those that can become part of your long-term routine."
Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD
Who spends the most on wellness in the UK?
Younger adults spend the most on wellness, a pattern that shows up consistently across surveys and card data. Under-35s are the heaviest supplement users, 18 to 34-year-olds are the most likely to own a wearable, and younger households drove the biggest new-year spending rises.6710
| Behaviour | Younger adults | Older adults | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take a vitamin or supplement | 83% of under-35s | 65% of over-55s | Mintel, 2025 |
| Own a smartwatch | 46 to 47% of 18 to 34s | 19% of over-55s | YouGov, 2025 |
| New-year rise in home meal service spend | +13% (18 to 34) | +9% (65+) | Experian & Reward, 2025 |
Older adults are catching up, though, especially online. Experian found a 9% rise in home meal services and a 6% rise in specialist food purchases among the over-65s, and just a 1% gap behind younger consumers in overall e-commerce growth.10 The Deloitte Consumer Tracker likewise lists health among the categories where UK consumers report spending more, across age and income groups.13
Regional spending data for these specific categories is limited, so we treat geography with caution and lead on age. Where region does appear is in need rather than spend: low vitamin D is more common in northern parts of the UK and at the end of winter, which is consistent with less sunlight at higher latitudes.19
Which wellness habits are Britons searching for?
Search demand for wellness products has climbed steeply over the past decade, and the fastest-growing terms map straight onto this study's three categories. Google Trends data for Great Britain shows UK searches for "health supplements" up around threefold since 2016, "vitamin D supplement" around threefold, "gut supplements" roughly tenfold, and "NAD supplement" up about 79 times from a near-zero base since 2019.9
Source: Google Trends (GB), relative search interest, annual averages. Terms exported separately, each scaled to its own peak.9
| Search term | Category | Growth in UK search interest |
|---|---|---|
| NAD supplement | Longevity | About 79 times higher than 2019, from a near-zero base |
| Gut supplements | Gut health | About 10 times higher than 2016 |
| Health supplements | Supplements (general) | About 3 times higher than 2016 |
| Vitamin D supplement | Vitamin D | About 3 times higher than 2016 |
| Protein | Nutrition | About 2 times higher than 2016, peaks every January |
| Home gut test | At-home testing | Emerging: negligible before mid-2023, now at record levels |
| Fitness tracker | Wearables | Peaked in 2017; interest shifted to brands and smartwatches |
Source: Google Trends (GB), relative search interest. Each term is scaled to its own peak.9
Wearables are the exception, and it is worth stating plainly. Searches for the generic term "fitness tracker" peaked in 2017 and have fallen since, even as ownership rose, because buyers now search for brands and smartwatches such as Fitbit, Garmin and Apple Watch rather than the category name.9 Rising search interest signals demand, but it is not proof a product works. Where we make health-related claims, we cite relevant UK public-health or government sources.
Regionally, Northern Ireland shows the highest relative search interest for most of these terms, including protein, home gut testing, and gut and vitamin D supplements, while Scotland leads on NAD.9 Related searches point the same way: "NAD supplement" sits next to "NMN", gut searches lead into "gut health supplement" and "best gut health supplement", and "best vitamin D" resolves to "vitamin D supplement UK".9
| Search term | Highest relative interest |
|---|---|
| Protein | Northern Ireland |
| Home gut test | Northern Ireland |
| Gut supplements | Northern Ireland |
| Vitamin D supplement | Northern Ireland |
| NAD supplement | Scotland |
Source: Google Trends (GB), relative interest by nation.9
This matches our companion study, Biohacking Britain, where Britons increasingly search for specific, measurable habits rather than a vague trend. It also shows in Vivere's own space, where interest in the NAD+ range and in at-home gut testing is rising in step with the wider trend.
What does this mean for people in the UK?
The clearest message is that Britain is now willing to invest in feeling well, and that the smart move is to spend on what the evidence supports. The table below turns each finding into a practical takeaway.
| Finding | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Wearables are now the biggest wellness purchase | A device is a useful nudge, but the number on your wrist is an estimate, not a diagnosis |
| Supplements are a £4bn habit, but the evidence varies | Vitamin D in autumn and winter is recommended for consideration by UK public-health guidance18 |
| At-home testing is growing fastest | Choose validated tests and make sure the result is properly interpreted, ideally with professional support |
| Spending peaks in January | Channel New Year motivation into durable habits, not a gym membership you will use twice |
| Spending skews young | Older adults, tend to spend the least |
How did we carry out this study?
We built the Wellness Spend Index by triangulating published market-sizing data and official UK statistics for 2025. For each category, we took the reported UK market value: dietary supplements from Grand View Research, wearable technology cross-checked across Mordor Intelligence and MarketDataForecast, and at-home or self-testing from Grand View Research.1234
We converted values reported in US dollars to pounds at about 1.28 dollars to the pound, the approximate average rate for 2025, then summed them into a single index. To produce the per-person figures, we divided the index by ONS mid-2023 population and household counts.1617
For context and corroboration, we added official ONS Consumer Trends data for total household health spending, card-transaction analysis from Experian and Reward for seasonal and demographic patterns, and consumer research from PA Consulting, Clearpay and the Deloitte Consumer Tracker for demand.14 We used ONS Consumer Trends for the household health figure because the detailed Family Spending health category was suppressed for 2024 and 2025.15 For vitamin D, we also used OpenPrescribing.net data from the NHS Business Services Authority for prescribing in England, and a 2022 government review for policy context.21 Search-demand context came from Google Trends (Great Britain) exports for the study's key terms, and the wearable-ownership trend from YouGov's biannual wearable-devices tracker.923 All health claims were sourced separately to the NHS, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and SACN, then reviewed by a registered dietitian.
What are the limitations of this data?
Triangulation is powerful for sizing a habit, but it has real limits, and being clear about them matters on a health and money topic. The table below sets out the main ones and how we handled each.
| Limitation | Why it matters | How we handled it |
|---|---|---|
| Market-sizing estimates vary between analysts | Different firms use different scopes and methods, so no single figure is definitive | We used published figures, cited each source, and cross-checked wearables across two independent analyses |
| "Wearable technology" includes non-health devices | Smart glasses and hearables are not bought to feel well | We flagged this and noted wearables stay in the top two even after a conservative haircut |
| Currency conversion | Sources report in US dollars, and the pound figure moves with exchange rates | We converted at about 1.28 dollars to the pound and note a few per cent either way does not change the picture |
| Per-person figures are averages | Real people either buy nothing or spend far more than the mean | We show per-adult, per-household and per-person side by side and explain they are averages, not typical baskets |
| ONS Consumer Trends is broader than the index | It includes hospital, out-patient and medical-product spending, so it is not the same as the three categories | We present the £35.5bn as context for the direction of travel, not as the index total |
| Card and survey data are indicative | Experian is scaled from about 10% of households and covers nutrition and fitness, while PA Consulting mixes UK and US consumers and Clearpay covers beauty-wellness | We use these for seasonality, demographics and demand direction only, never to size the index |
| NHS prescribing is a separate channel | It is funded by the NHS and covers England, so it is not UK-wide consumer spending | We report it alongside the index, clearly labelled, and never add it to the consumer total |
| Regional spend data is limited | Robust category-level regional spend is not published | We treat region cautiously, lead on age, and use vitamin D status to show where need is greatest |
| Google Trends shows interest, not sales | It is relative search interest, and each term is scaled to its own peak | We use it to show the shape and growth of demand, never to size the market |
| Market value is not the same as benefit | High spending does not prove a product works | Every health claim is sourced to the NHS, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey or SACN |
Frequently asked questions
How much does the average Brit spend on supplements and wellness?
About £168 a year per adult across supplements, health wearables and at-home tests, or roughly £320 per household. Added up across the UK, that comes to an estimated £9 billion a year. These are averages, so committed buyers spend much more, and non-buyers spend nothing.
What do people spend the most on, supplements or wearables?
Wearables, just. UK spending on wearable technology is around £4.6 billion a year, narrowly ahead of dietary supplements at roughly £4.1 billion. At-home testing is much smaller at about £430 million but is growing the fastest.
Is wellness spending in the UK growing?
Yes. ONS Consumer Trends shows household health spending at a record £35.5 billion in 2025, more than double the 2005 figure, and Experian and Reward card data shows nutrition and fitness spending rising in the new-year period. All three of our index categories are also forecast to keep growing.
Are wellness supplements worth the money?
It depends on the supplement. Vitamin D in autumn and winter is backed by the NHS and worth it for most people in the UK, because we cannot make enough from sunlight in the darker months. Many other supplements have weaker evidence, so it pays to be selective rather than to buy everything on the shelf. The need for vitamin D is well established: the NHS prescribes around 30 million vitamin D items a year in England, on top of what people buy for themselves.
Is at-home health testing growing in the UK?
Yes. At-home or self-testing is the fastest-growing category in our index, worth about £430 million a year and rising at roughly 7% annually. It reflects a wider shift towards people wanting to measure something specific about their own health and act on it.
When do Britons spend the most on wellness?
In the new year. Card-transaction analysis by Experian and Reward found a 6% rise in nutrition and fitness spending in the six weeks to 20 January 2025, with gym sign-ups rising 11% the previous December, as health resolutions turn into purchases.
Where does the data in this study come from?
Market values come from Grand View Research, Mordor Intelligence and MarketDataForecast; adoption and demand data from Mintel, YouGov, Experian and Reward, PA Consulting, Clearpay and the Deloitte Consumer Tracker; official statistics from the ONS; and all health guidance from the NHS, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and SACN. The full method and limitations are set out above.
Final Thoughts From Our Experts
If you take one thing from this study, let it be that spending money on health and improving your health are not necessarily the same thing. Britain now has a substantial market for products designed to support wellbeing, while household expenditure on health overall has reached £35.5 billion. The opportunity is to make those investments meaningful by choosing products and behaviours that are supported by evidence and can be sustained over time.
The fundamentals remain the foundation: a balanced diet, regular physical activity, sufficient sleep and, where appropriate, vitamin D supplementation in line with UK public-health guidance. Wearables can provide useful insights and motivation, while at-home tests can help answer specific health questions, provided their results are interpreted in context and followed up appropriately.
What stands out most in this data is the timing and the difference between age groups. Spending and engagement tend to increase around January, while younger adults show higher participation across several of the wellness categories measured in this study. At the same time, health priorities can change with age, making it important that wellness spending reflects individual needs rather than trends alone.
My advice is simple: prioritise choices with a sound evidence base, buy from reputable sources, focus on habits you can maintain beyond the January rush and use health products as tools to support, rather than replace, the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle. Ultimately, the goal is not to buy more products, but to make informed choices that contribute to better health over the long term.
Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD, Head of Nutrition at Vivere
About this study. This data study was produced by the Vivere research team and reviewed by Yusra Serdaroglu Aydin, MSc RD, a registered dietitian and Head of Nutrition at Vivere. It triangulates public market-sizing data and official UK statistics, and draws its medical context from the NHS, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and SACN. The figures are refreshed annually. For related reading, see our overview of the science of the gut microbiome and our guide to NAD+ and healthy ageing. You can also see all our research in one place.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a health condition, speak to your GP or pharmacist before starting any new supplement or test.
