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McKinsey identifies 5 wellness consumer archetypes in a $2.7T market; GLP-1 drugs boost supplement spending; Richard Laver bets on longevity gummies.
McKinsey's new $2.7 trillion wellness segmentation and Italian pharmacy data on GLP-1 supplement uplift are the two frameworks health marketers need this week. Plus: a serial founder's longevity gummy play.
In this episode:
The Health Marketing Daily is a concise briefing for marketers and founders in supplements, functional food and consumer health, hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every day.
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Also from Marco & Klara: The FMCG Marketing Daily · The Digital Commerce Daily
The daily briefing for professionals in health, nutrition, and wellness marketing. Every episode covers an ingredient of the day, the latest science and regulatory updates from EFSA and beyond, and the brand and market moves shaping the nutraceutical industry. Hosted by Klara and Marco — evidence-based, no hype, no bro-science. Built for formulators, brand managers, regulatory affairs teams, and anyone building in the health and nutrition space.
Marco: Today's show is packed — four stories worth clearing your schedule for.
Klara: We're starting with a McKinsey breakdown of the five consumer archetypes reshaping a $2.7 trillion wellness industry.
Marco: Then GLP-1 drugs and what they're doing to supplement spending across Europe.
Klara: A serial founder making a big longevity bet with a new gummy brand.
Marco: And broccoli — fighting a genetic disease. Seriously.
Klara: Let's get into it.
Marco: McKinsey has mapped out five consumer archetypes reshaping the global wellness industry — and for health marketers, the implications are significant.
Marco: The wellness market is now worth $2.7 trillion worldwide. That number reflects years of post-pandemic growth, with consumers spending more on health, supplements, nutrition, and self-care than ever before. But the audience is not one uniform block.
Marco: McKinsey partner Anna Pione co-authored a new report identifying five distinct consumer archetypes driving the market today. The core argument is straightforward — brands that understand which archetype they're speaking to will build sharper positioning, better messaging, and stronger product strategy. Those that don't risk talking to everyone and reaching no one.
Marco: From a commercial standpoint, this kind of segmentation is overdue. European markets are especially fragmented. A supplement buyer in Germany's dm-drogerie markt is not the same person browsing Holland & Barrett in Manchester. Even within a single category — say, protein powders or magnesium supplements — the motivations are completely different. Personalisation is no longer optional.
Klara: I think the framework is useful, but I'd urge caution about how marketers apply it. Segmentation tools are only as good as the claims you build around them. If you identify your target archetype as a performance-focused consumer and then pile on unsubstantiated health claims to match their aspirations, you're in regulatory territory that EFSA — the European Food Safety Authority — will not look kindly upon.
Marco: That's a fair challenge. The archetypes should shape how you communicate, not what you invent.
Klara: Exactly the distinction. Know your audience, yes. But the science still has to hold.
Marco: Now let's move to our next story.
Klara: GLP-1 drugs — the weight-loss and diabetes medications like Ozempic and Wegovy — are quietly reshaping what people buy in pharmacies and health stores.
Klara: These medications suppress appetite dramatically. That changes how users eat, what they can tolerate, and what nutritional gaps they're left managing. When you're eating significantly less, your micronutrient intake drops too. Protein, vitamins, minerals — all of these become harder to get from food alone.
Klara: Italian pharmacy data, reported by Pharmaretail, shows that GLP-1 users are spending measurably more on supplements and wellness products alongside their prescriptions. This isn't anecdotal — it's showing up in purchase data at the retail level. The article frames brands that act on this insight now as holding a real competitive advantage over those who wait.
Klara: From a science standpoint, this makes complete sense. Reduced caloric intake creates genuine nutritional risk. Products addressing protein sufficiency, bone health, B-vitamins, and electrolyte balance have a legitimate role here. The key word is legitimate. Any brand positioning around GLP-1 users needs to stay firmly within EFSA-authorised health claims. You cannot say a product "supports Ozempic users" or "optimises GLP-1 outcomes" — those claims would have no regulatory basis whatsoever.
Marco: Understood, but commercially this is a significant moment. We're talking about a consumer cohort that is already health-engaged, already spending, and actively looking for support products. Pharmacies in Germany, France, and the UK are perfectly placed to capture this. I'd expect dm and Boots to develop dedicated shelf sets around this within eighteen months.
Klara: I'd actually slow that enthusiasm slightly. We need robust real-world data on what GLP-1 users genuinely lack before brands build entire ranges around assumptions. Italian pharmacy data is a useful signal — it's not a clinical blueprint.
Marco: Up next, our third story.
Marco: A serial founder with two successful better-for-you brands is now placing his bet on longevity supplements — in gummy form.
Marco: Richard Laver built Kate Farms, a medical nutrition brand, and then Lucky Energy. Both required navigating complex claims environments while building real consumer brands. When someone with that track record moves into a new category, it's worth paying attention.
Marco: Laver is now preparing to launch a longevity-focused supplement gummy brand. No launch date has been confirmed publicly, but the signal is clear — experienced operators who know how to scale better-for-you products are treating longevity as the next serious commercial frontier. The gummy format is deliberate. It consistently outperforms capsules and powders for new supplement launches because consumers find it accessible, familiar, and easy to build into a daily habit.
Klara: I want to flag something important here. Longevity is one of the most claims-sensitive categories in supplements. EFSA — the European Food Safety Authority — has not authorised any health claim for "longevity" as a concept. That means a brand cannot say its product extends life or slows ageing. Full stop. Any European launch in this space has to anchor claims to specific, authorised functions — things like normal cell division, oxidative stress reduction, or energy metabolism.
Marco: That's a real constraint. But notice that seasoned founders tend to solve this through positioning rather than explicit claims. The branding tells the story. The clinical-sounding ingredients do the implied work. That's the commercial playbook in this category, and European regulators will need to watch it carefully.
Klara: Which is exactly why regulators should be watching it carefully.
Marco: Europe has strong longevity brands already — but no dominant one at scale. That's the gap Laver's move should prompt European operators to think hard about filling first.
Marco: Our final story is up next.
Klara: A compound found in broccoli may have a role to play in fighting Friedreich ataxia — a rare but devastating genetic disease that progressively damages the nervous system.
Klara: Friedreich ataxia has no cure and very limited treatment options. It causes muscle weakness, coordination loss, and serious cardiac complications over time. Research into plant-derived compounds that could slow or interrupt that damage is genuinely significant, even at an early stage.
Klara: New findings published via Science Daily report that a naturally occurring compound in broccoli shows measurable promise against this disease. The research builds on existing scientific interest in sulforaphane — a compound from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts — for its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. This study adds a specific, rare-disease data point to what is already a growing body of brassica compound research.
Klara: From a science standpoint, the distinction between early-stage research and established efficacy matters enormously here. This is promising work. It is not a clinical blueprint for a supplement claim. EFSA has not authorised any health claim connecting sulforaphane to neurological health in humans. No brand can responsibly say their broccoli extract product protects your nervous system.
Marco: That's true, but the commercial implications are still worth unpacking. Consumer interest in food-derived ingredients for brain and nerve health is accelerating fast. Brands building cognitive or longevity positioning — like the gummy play we just discussed — are already watching the brassica ingredient story carefully. Research like this adds credibility to that category narrative, even if it stays in the background.
Klara: That's the line I'd hold — background credibility, not front-of-pack claims. Use the science to build internal confidence in the ingredient. Let the authorised claims do the actual communication work.
Marco: A disciplined approach, but the right one for this market.
Marco: The common thread today is fragmentation — different consumers, different drugs, different diseases, different formats — and the brands that thrive will be the ones precise enough to meet each one where they are.
Klara: And precision only holds up if the science behind it does.