McKinsey & Company’s latest wellness research found that around 40% of consumers globally reported unmet needs in those areas, even as health-related claims became more common on new products.
In the United States, a third of new consumer packaged goods launches through September 2026 carried at least one health or wellness claim. That compared with 24% in 2021.
The figures came from McKinsey’s Future of Wellness 2027 report, which surveyed more than 10,000 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and China.
The consultancy valued the global wellness market at $2.7 trillion, including more than $700 billion in the U.S. As noted in the report, the global estimate covered additional categories compared with its previous $2 trillion figure, so the two were not directly comparable.
Effectiveness takes priority
When choosing wellness products, US consumers placed effectiveness on equal footing with price, followed by quality. Among the biggest wellness spenders, however, effectiveness and quality ranked ahead of cost.
McKinsey divided these consumers into two groups, ‘maximalist optimizers’ and ‘confident enthusiasts.’ Together they accounted for 35% of wellness consumers but 55% of spending.
For both groups, clear ingredient labeling was among the five most important considerations when purchasing vitamins, minerals, supplements and over-the-counter products.
“One reason those gaps persist: the bar for what consumers consider effective keeps rising,” the authors wrote.
The report also pointed to research by the McKinsey Health Institute in New York, which examined the role of scientific evidence in purchasing decisions.
High-spending consumers were 11 percentage points more likely to say they intended to buy a longevity product when presented with evidence of its effectiveness.
The research measured willingness to purchase, not the clinical effectiveness of the products.
Nutrition habits are changing
Protein, creatine and fiber were among the ingredients attracting growing attention, particularly among consumers interested in increasing their intake of specific nutrients.
Authors referred to the practice as ‘maxxing’. More consumers said they intended to increase their consumption of all three over the next year than in the previous survey.
The ingredients span different parts of the nutrition market, from sports performance and muscle health to digestive health.
GLP-1 medication users were making changes of their own.
Among consumers taking GLP-1 medications, 35% had increased their protein intake, 19% reported adding supplements to their routines and 18% had started strength training.
The report did not specify which supplements these consumers were taking or what prompted them to start.
The findings add to a changing picture for the weight-management supplement category. As NutraIngredients reported in September 2025, traditional weight-management supplements were facing declining sales, while products positioned around GLP-1 support were attracting interest. Those sales trends and McKinsey’s survey findings measure different aspects of the market.
Interest in biohacking was also evident, with 18% of respondents saying they actively engaged in practices intended to optimize their health. Among Generation Z, that figure reached 28%.
Longevity continued to attract interest across generations. More than 40% of US consumers said they were willing to do whatever it took to live longer.
Among baby boomers, the proportion who considered wellness a priority rose by 11 percentage points to 49%.
Yet longevity was still among the areas where consumers reported unmet needs, despite the expanding selection of wellness products and services.
The report also examined where consumers sought advice when considering new wellness purchases.
Friends and family were cited by 35% of U.S. respondents, followed by healthcare practitioners at 30%. AI chatbots were cited by 8%.
