INDUSTRY VIEWS
THE FUTURE OF FITNESS IS WELLNESS
WIN BIG IN THE WELLNESS SHIFT HOW RECOVERY SERVICES CAN DOUBLE YOUR MARKET
With a single strategic move, you can double your market potential. That may sound bold, but the numbers don’t lie: by adding wellness and recovery services to your facility, you unlock new revenue streams and secure long-term relevance in a shifting industry. Consider these figures from Statista: Year Global Fitness Industry Global Wellness Industry 2017 $87.23 billion $4.2 trillion 2028 (est.) $1.4 trillion $9 trillion By 2028, the wellness industry is expected to outpace fitness nearly sevenfold. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a consumer pivot from aesthetics to healthspan. People want to live better, not just longer, and they’re taking more responsibility for their wellbeing, turning to proactive, lifestyle-based solutions. Wellness modalities once seen as niche, like infrared saunas, cold plunges, hyperbaric chambers, and compression therapy, are now flooding social media feeds and piquing mainstream interest. Consumers seeking better sleep, pain relief, or more energy aren’t searching ‘gym near me’, they’re searching ‘infrared sauna’, ‘red light therapy’, and ‘cold plunge’. The US is already witnessing a surge in wellness-first concepts. Franchises like StretchLab, Restore, Perspire Sauna, The Covery, and The Plunge are expanding rapidly, while independent wellness centres are gaining traction. Forward-thinking gym chains are responding. Planet Fitness, Crunch, LA Fitness, and EoS Fitness are integrating massage chairs, HydroMassage, red light therapy, cryotherapy, and other recovery tech into their offerings. These services support premium upsells, new membership tiers, and stronger retention. Independent operators have a significant opportunity to differentiate by doing the same, offering short-term wellness programmes that address real-world issues like diabetes, poor sleep, fatigue, anxiety, and chronic pain. These programmes attract a broader audience and foster deeper engagement that turns into long-term membership. Since the fitness industry’s formal start in the 1970s, the UK’s gym membership penetration rate has only reached 16.6%. In the last 30 years, while market penetration has doubled, the number of fitness offerings has quadrupled. Traditional fitness alone is no longer enough to capture or retain market share. Wellness and recovery is the Blue Ocean. Step outside the crowded competitive space and meet consumers where their needs are. When you help people feel better, function better, and live better, you don’t just gain a new member, you create a lifelong advocate.
‘Make Yourself Healthy Again’ by Casey Conrad is a ground- breaking guide that explores the most effective natural healing modalities, empowering you to restore vitality, balance, and wellness from within.
Wellness and recovery is the Blue Ocean CASEY CONRAD International Author and Consultant
Understand the principles of energetic wellness and recovery.
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Discover modalities being added to facilities to attract new prospects and add revenue from existing members.
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2025
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