If 2020 taught us anything, it was that looking after your personal health – both physical and mental is critical. What better way to start 2021 then by looking at what is going to be popular in the wellness and wellbeing space?
We’ve scoured the many lists across the internet and have narrowed it down to these key trends. It’s no surprise that many of the trends have started from our time in home lockdown – “iso” was clearly 2020’s word of the year for a reason!
Focusing on our mental wellbeing
We predict people to more consciously seek out ways to actively care for their mental wellbeing. Corporate partnerships give weight to this movement, for example with American Express offering free Calm Premium memberships to cardholders. Guided meditation app Headspace has partnered with Netflix on a meditation series. It’s exciting to see the ‘taboo’ around talking about mental health being removed and activities like yoga and meditation becoming more mainstream!
Conscious eating
Working from home irreversibly changed our attitudes to what we eat, how we prepare it and where we source it from. We predict the home dining trend to continue with people getting more adventurous in their kitchens but also seeking out unique home-based activities like virtual cooking classes. We also expect plant-based and sustainable food to become much more popular, as the aisles in our supermarkets are already beginning to reflect, with more people exploring vegetarianism (or flexitarianism) and the impact their eating has on the environment.
Going digital
Even though gyms have reopened, it’s likely many of us will continue to rely on popular YouTube channels and fitness apps to stay fit at home. Channels such as Yoga with Adriene and influencers like Kayla Itsines exploded in popularity in 2020 and the ‘digital personal trainer’ is likely to continue to grow in popularity this year, as a cheaper, more convenient and more private fitness option. The Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF) also predicts that wearable technology, such as Garmin watches and Amazon’s Halo, which enable us to track our activity, sleep and even metabolism, to be a key 2021 trend.
Travel – just not overseas
While we don’t expect international travel (except to New Zealand and maybe a handful of other countries) to resume in 2021, we expect domestic wellness retreats to become more popular as people continue to look for a break from their everyday life. The rise of “slow travel” and more “human powered travel” are also great trends that will help both our physical and mental health, by forcing us to travel more mindfully and literally take the time to smell the roses. Peoples’ desire for travel has clearly not ended, and in 2021 we will find more creative ways to holiday.
Self-care takes centre stage
Pinterest, which correctly predicted 8 out of 10 of 2020’s trends, is predicting people to indulge in sleep and bathing rituals in 2021. This trend of self-care is also fuelled by the ongoing travel restrictions – instead of spending our money on overseas holidays, we’ll be investing in beauty products to look after our skin and hair and actively looking after our immunity and physical health.
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