INDUSTRYLEADERSFORECAST

The2023

PredictionsReport

Lookingaheadwithsomeof

thebiggestnamesinwellness

COVID-19recovery,politicalinstability,

soaringinflation—thebusiness

landscapeischangingatarapidpace.

So,whatdoesthefuturehold?

Weaskedleadersoftopwellness

brandstosharetheirpredictions

for2023andbeyond.Whiletheir

perspectivesvaried,theyshareda

commonthreadofoptimism.Evenin

thefaceofcomplexity,theyagree

thattheopportunitiesforgrowthand

impactareendless.

Contents

Themetaversewillexpand 1

Personalizationwillbeanexpectation 3

Musicstrategieswillbecomekeyretentionstrategies 7

Companyculturewillbemoreimportantthanever 9

Consumerswillseekawhole-humanapproach 13

Wearableswillmakefitnessmoreinclusive 16

PREDICTION|01

Themetaverse

willexpand

1

It’sthecontinuumoftheevolutionoftheinternet.It’sgoingtobethemeetingplaceforallrealitiesandit’sgoingtocreatequiteanintoxicatingenvironment.

It’sgoingtogetreally

EmmaBarry,ChiefCreativeSoul,

GoodSoulHunting

good.Don’tjudgeitbeforeyou’vetriedit.

they’regoingtopopinandnevercomeoutagain,buttelevisionwasthesamewhenitwasintroduced,”Barryclaims.“Isitgoingaway?No,becauseit’sthecontinuumoftheevolutionoftheinternet.It’sgoingtobethemeetingplaceforallrealitiesandit’sgoingtocreatequiteanintoxicatingenvironment.”

Buthowwillitimpactin-personexperiences?“Idon’tbelieveit’sgoingtocannibalize,orifitdoes, it’sgoingtocannibalizeaspartof thegreaterecosystem,”saysBarry.“It’sgoingtogetreallygood.Don’t judgeitbeforeyou’vetriedit.”

Streamingworkoutswereonce

seenasthewaveofthefuture.

Today,animmersivegamification

ofthefitnessindustryisunderway.

Theadoptionofaugmented

reality(AR)andvirtualreality(VR)

willcontinuetogrowatarapid

pace.Infact,

researchers

predict

growthofmorethan$125billion

globallyby2024.Asaresult,

leadingfitnessbrands,like

TRIB3

,

willcontinuetojumponboard.

ChiefCreativeSoulof

GoodSoul

Hunting

EmmaBarryisexcited

aboutthefutureofAR/VR.“Right

now,[thetechnology]isclunky.

It’salittlebitscary.Andwekeep

hearinghoweveryone’sworried

2

PREDICTION|02

Personalization

willbean

expectation

3

Wellnessbrandsshouldstart tothinkofhowtheycan‘Netflix-ize’or‘TikTok-ize’

theirconsumerjourneyandexperience,leveragingdataandAIalgorithmstoproactivelysuggesthowclientsshouldinteractwiththeirservice(orproduct)basedonauser’sstatedwellnessgoalsandtheirongoingbehavior.Thistype

BryanMyers,PresidentandCEO,[solidcore]

oftailoredandpersonalizedexperiencewillhelpclientsachievetheirgoalsmorequicklyandconsistentlywhilealsodrivingretentionandrevenueforthebusiness.

In2023,personalizationwillbeincreasinglyimportant.Accordingtoarecent

McKinseyarticle

,over70%ofconsumersexpecttohavepersonalizedinteractionswithbrandstheyinvestinandoverthree-quartersgetfrustratedwhentheydon’t.

Inthewellnessindustry,apersonalizedapproachisperhapsevenmoreimportant.Asecond

McKinseyarticle

showsconsumersareincreasinglywillingtogivetheirpersonaldatatoreceivemorepersonalizedwellnesstreatmentsandservices.

4

Forwellnessbrandslike

HydrationRoom

,apersonalapproachisnothingnew.“Personalizationhasbeenthedrivingforcebehindourbusinessstrategysinceday

one.Ourhealthandwellnessareinherentlyindividual.Whatisgoingtoworkforyoumightnotalwaysbethecaseforanyoneelse.Withpersonalizationandcustomization,youreceiveamuchmoreengagedcustomer:onewhovisitsweekly,iseagertotrynewservices,andbecomesachampionofyourbrandonlineandin-person,”claimsFounderandCEODr.BrettFlorie.“Ofcourse,thisallleadsbacktocustomerservice—makingsureyouhavededicatedemployeeswhoarewillingtoputinthetimetoeducateyourcustomers.Thatwillalwaysyieldareward.”

Intheyearsahead,

solidcore

[]willalso continuetoprioritizepersonalization.“Personalizationinordertohelpclientsachieveresultsismorethanabusiness strategy—itisabusinessimperative.Without it,clientsareapttomoveonuntilthey

findsomeonewillingtohelpthemlayoutaroadmapmoreclearlyandpersonally,”explainsPresidentandCEOBryanMyers.

Myerssuggestsleveragingartificialintelligencetohelpcustomersachievetheirgoalsmoreeffectively.“Wellnessbrandsshouldstarttothinkofhowtheycan‘Netflix-ize’or‘TikTok-ize’theirconsumerjourneyandexperience,leveragingdataandAIalgorithmstoproactivelysuggesthowclientsshouldinteractwiththeirservice(orproduct)basedonauser’sstatedwellnessgoalsandtheirongoingbehavior,”heshares.“Thistypeoftailoredandpersonalizedexperiencewillhelpclientsachievetheirgoalsmorequicklyandconsistentlywhilealsodrivingretentionandrevenueforthebusiness.”

Withpersonalization,however,comesconcernsaboutprivacy.Althoughconsumerswantpersonalizedexperiences,theymayobjecttotheirdatabeingcollected.“Withthat,Ibelieveit’simportantthatusershavetransparentvisibilityintowhatdataisbeingcollectedwhen,andhowit’sbeingused.Theyshouldhavetheopportunitytooptinoroutoftheexperiencebasedontheirpersonallevelofcomfort,”Myerssuggests.

Ourhealthandwellnessareinherentlyindividual.Whatisgoingtoworkforyoumightnotalwaysbethecaseforanyoneelse.Withpersonalizationandcustomization,youreceiveamuchmoreengagedcustomer:onewhovisitsweekly,is

Dr.BrettFlorie,FounderandCEO,HydrationRoom

eagertotrynewservices,andbecomesachampionofyourbrandonlineandin-person.

6

PREDICTION|03

Musicstrategies

willbecomekeyretentionstrategies

7

I’vehearditoncesaidthatmusicisessentiallyalegalperformance-enhancingdrug.Boutiquefitnessstudiosthatdonotemphasizetheimportanceofmusicwithinthecustomerexperiencemissoutonacrucial,foundationalpiecethatdrivestheir

LeahSeacrest,VPofFitnessandOperations,Co-Owner,

RegymenFitness

customers’motivation—andtherefore,results.Intheend,resultsdriveretentionandbrandloyalty.

andtheirnewChiefMusicOfficer

SteveAoki

.

Fitnessbrandsthatdon’thaveathoughtfulapproachtomusicmayseemotivation—andretention—takeahit.“Boutiquefitnessstudiosthatdonotemphasistheimportanceofmusicwithinthecustomerexperiencemissoutonacrucial,foundationalpiecethatdrivestheircustomers’motivationandthereforeresults.Intheend,resultsdriveretentionandbrandloyalty,”accordingtoLeahSeacrest,VPofFitnessandOperationsof

RegymenFitness

.

Agoodplaylistisessentialtokeep

peoplemotivated—andcoming

back.Accordingtothe

2022

MindbodyWellnessIndex,71%of

consumerssaymusicmotivates

themduringmovementandover

40%saytheydiscovernewmusic

throughtheirwellnessroutines.

In2023,industryleaderswill

needtoprioritizeplaylistsand

theirimpactonthecustomer

experience.Strongermusic

strategiesmayincludeshared

playlists,music-centeredevents,

andpartnershipswithcelebrity

artists,àla

OrangetheoryFitness

8

PREDICTION|04

Company

culturewillbe

moreimportant

thanever

9

10

Therealityis,ifyoudon’t

focusonhavingapositiveculture,you’renotgoingtoretainemployees.Theworkforcehaschangedandifyoudon’tchangewithit,you’renotgoingtohaveabusinessthatcangrow.

KristinKidd,VicePresidentofOperations,TheLashLounge

MarkSchlossberg,CEOandCo-founder,PAINTNailBar

Thestaffistheheartbeatofthebusiness—anditbeginswiththefirstinterview,whichisintenselypsychologicallyoriented.Wedifferentiate

ourselvesbymakingclearexactlyhowweviewtheirroleand[reiterating]thattheyarefoundationaltothesuccessofallthatwedo.Secondly,weover-train,over-support,andover-empowerthemwithoutcondition.Theirfamiliesandchildrenareequallyimportanttoours.Ourstaffmembersknowtheyareourpriority,aboveallelse.WemakereadilyavailabletothemopportunitiesforgrowthandIhavelearned,withoutexception,itisthecounterintuitiveaspectsofleadingstaffthatmakesallthedifference.

Blohasabrandpromise:We’reheretomakeyoushine.Wedeliverthatpromisetoourguestsaswellastoourstaff.WearefocusingoncreatingopportunitiesforourteammemberstoenhancetheirskillsetsasBloaddsservicestoourmix.Wealsooffertheopportunitytosellproducts

VanessaYakobson,CEO,

BloBlowDryBar

andupgradedservicestoenhancetheirearnings.Wewantourteamtoshineinafunenvironmentwheretheyfeelvaluedandappreciated.

Today’semploymentmarketisuniqueanddifficultfororganizationstonavigate.Accordingtoa

recentstudyby

FRANdataandIFA

,nearly90%ofrespondentsreportedfranchiseesarehavingtroublefindingskilledworkers,unskilledworkers,orboth.Anotherstaggeringfigure:Arecent

McKinseyarticle

claims40%ofemployeesarelikelytoleavetheircurrentjobinthenextthreetosixmonths.

Whythesignificanttransition?“[Duringthepandemic],peoplehadareallygoodlookinthemirror,andtheyreprioritized,”accordingto

GoodSoulHunting

ChiefSoulOfficerEmmaBarry.

“It’snotallaboutthedollaranymore.Peoplewanttoknowtheymatter.”

So,whatcanbrandsdotoattractandretainhigh-qualitytalentin2023?

Newresearch

11

12

showsflexibilityandcompanyculturewillbeincreasinglyimportant.

“Therealityis,ifyoudon’tfocusonhavingapositiveculture,you’renotgoingtoretainemployees,”says

TheLashLounge

VicePresidentofOperationsKristinKidd.“Theworkforcehaschangedandifyoudon’tchangewithit,you’renotgoingtohaveabusinessthatcangrow.”

ForMarkSchlossberg,CEOandCo-founderof

PAINTNailBar

,hiscompanycultureisstaff-centric.“Theclientnevercomesfirst,norshouldtheycomefirst.Thestaffcomesfirst,”hesays.“Thestaffistheheartbeatofthebusiness—anditbeginswiththefirstinterview,whichisintenselypsychologicallyoriented.Wedifferentiateourselvesbymakingclearexactlyhowweviewtheirroleand[reiterating]thattheyarefoundationaltothesuccessofallthatwedo.”

Whenhiring,RegymenFitnessleansontechnologytoensuretherightfit.“We’veinvestedinsoftwarethatallowsustobettermatchcandidatestothepositionsweare

lookingtofill,”sharesVPofFitnessandOperationsandCo-OwnerLeahSeacrest.“Thisworksequallytobenefitusasacompanybutalsoforthecandidatetomakesuretheyarewellsuitedtotheexpectationsofthejob.”

Seacrestalsosays,“Thissamesoftwarehasallowedustoalsobetterunderstandourexistingteamandleveragetrainingopportunitiesgearedtobuildastrongerculturethushavingapositiveeffectonouremployeeretention.”

Toretaintoptalent,SchlossbergemphasizesPAINTNailBar’sonboardingprocessandemployeebenefits.“Weover-train,over-support,andover-empowerthemwithoutcondition.Theirfamiliesandchildrenareequallyimportanttoours.Ourstaffmembersknowtheyareourpriority,aboveallelse.WemakereadilyavailabletothemopportunitiesforgrowthandIhavelearned,withoutexception,itisthecounterintuitiveaspectsofleadingstaffthatmakesallthedifference.”

Similarly,VanessaYakobson,CEOof

BloBlowDryBar

,knowsthevalueofinvestinginherteamwithcontinuingeducationandfaircompensation.“Blohasabrandpromise:We’reheretomakeyoushine.Wedeliverthatpromisetoourguestsaswellastoourstaff,”sheshares.“WearefocusingoncreatingopportunitiesforourteammemberstoenhancetheirskillsetsasBloaddsservicestoourmix.Wealsooffertheopportunitytosellproductsandupgradedservicestoenhancetheirearnings.”Yakobson’sultimategoal:“Wewantourteamtoshineinafunenvironmentwheretheyfeelvaluedandappreciated.”

PREDICTION|05

Consumers

willseeka

whole-human

approach

13

AmandaCarlson-Phillips,SeniorVP/HeadofPerformance

Innovation,EXOS

Aholisticapproachtowellness

isbeingadoptedbymanyoftheplayersinthemarkettoday,oftenstartinginonedomainofserviceandslowlyexpandingtothenext.Companieswanttodrivelong-termengagementandimpact,thechallengebeingthatnewservicesandofferingsdon’tsimplypileoneachotherwithmoretodoforthemember.Theymustbethoughtfullyintegratedandconsiderateofthemember’sexperience.Theservices,

plans,andcoachingshouldcomplement,notcompete,witheachother—allworkingtogethertomovethemembermoreefficientlytowardtheoutcomesthey’restrivingfor.

14

15

Consumershaveexpandedtheirdefinitionofwellness—itnowencompassesawholelotmorethanjustbeinginshape.It’sreducingstress.It’sfeelingconfident.It’sfindingasenseofcommunityandbelonging.Itspansmental,physical,andspiritualdimensions—and,accordingtorecent

Mindbodyresearch

,consumerswillprioritizementalwellnessmost.

Motivationsformovementhaveshifted,too.Pre-pandemic,thetopreasonsconsumersexercisedweretocontrolweightandfeelgood.Today,consumerssaytheyexercisetoreducestressandfeelbettermentally.In2023,fitnessandwellnessbrandswithstayingpowerwilltapintothesedeepermotivationsandexpandtheirservicestobettersupportthemind-bodyconnection.

For

EXOS

,providinganintegratedapproachtohelpclientsachievetheirgoalsisnothingnew.“ThishasbeencoretoEXOSsince1999.

Infact,itwasafoundingpromisewemadetobreakdownwallsbetweenpractitionersandvariousdomainstosupportthewholehumantowardtheachievementoftheirmeaningfulgoals,”saysSeniorVP/HeadofPerformanceInnovationAmandaCarlson-Phillips.

TheEXOSleadershipteamrecognizesashifthappeningintheindustry.“Aholisticapproachtowellnessisbeingadoptedbymanyoftheplayersinthemarkettoday,oftenstartinginonedomainofserviceandslowlyexpandingtothenext.Companieswanttodrivelong-termengagementandimpact,thechallengebeingthatnewservicesandofferingsdon’tsimplypileoneachotherwithmoretodoforthe

member.Theymustbethoughtfullyintegratedandconsiderateofthemember’sexperience,”Carlson-Phillipssays.“Theservices,plans,andcoachingshouldcomplement,notcompete,witheachother—allworkingtogethertomovethemembermoreefficientlytowardtheoutcomesthey’restrivingfor.”

Carlson-Phillips’adviceforbrandslookingtoexpandtheirofferingsinthefuture?“Thestudiosthatwillwinwillhelpindividualsmakesenseofthebroaderarrayofthetypesofmodalitiesthatweknowarecriticaltolong-termsuccess,”sheshares.“Whenexpandingofferings,weneedtoconnectbacktoacentralmethodologythat’sdeliveredbyexpertswhoaresteepedinandevolvingthatmethodology.Ifthisisn’tthecase,thememberispresentedwithfurtherrandomnessandahighpotentialforconfusion.”

16

PREDICTION|06

Wearableswill

makefitness

moreinclusive

Asfranchisesinthewellness

JenellRiesner,Director

ofMarketingandBrand,

iLoveKickboxing

industry,we’renolongerexclusivelyinthefitnessvertical.Aswelooktothefuture,technologyanddatamanagementwillbecomeasecondaryfocusforourstudios.Justaswemakedata-drivendecisionsformarketingandsales,boutiquestudiosshouldbeconsideringwearabletechnologydatawhenmakingfitnessprogrammingdecisionsandmorepersonalizedrecommendationsforourmembers’goals.

Accordingtothe

American

CollegeofSportsMedicine

(ACSM)

,wearabletechnologyisthetopfitnesstrendthisyear.Andwithover60%ofMindbodyappuserswhodonsomeformofwearable,we’renotatallsurprised.1Headinginto2023,wearableswillcontinuetoimproveresults—andaccessibility.

“Wewantfitnesstobeaccessibletoeveryone,atalltimes,andthe

moreit’sinfrontofourclients,thebetter,”says

SPENGA

Co-founder

HeatherRuff.

Franchiseorganizationsareteamingupwithiconicbrands—

OrangetheoryandApple

,forexample—tohelpconsumersconvenientlykeeptrackoftheirworkouts.“Ibelievewe’regoingtoseemoreandmoreofthesecollaborationsbetweenfitnessandbigbrands—andit’sa

17

1.February2022,MindbodyAppConsumerSurvey,Mindbody

greatthing,”saysRuff.“Theco-brandingandcollaborationswithbiggertechbrandsmakeiteasierforstudiosandgymstofocusonwhattheydobest—trainingclients—whiletakingadvantageoftheinnovationsatechcompanyhascreated.”

AccordingtoRuff,wearableswon’tjustbefor trackingst