The changing nature of health and wellness and how KIC are staying ahead of the game
The changing nature of health and wellness and how KIC are staying ahead of the game
+ How F45 are pivoting, and the rise of holistic health start-ups
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The current state of the health and wellbeing industry is largely reserved for dedicated, young, fitness enthusiasts, and programs are delivered by celebrities, instructors with abs, high-profile athletes and social media influencers.
Health outcomes are often focused on superficial results and performance, which are unachievable for most, creating unrealistic expectations for many.
Improving physical performance and appearances have been a key motivator driving the health industry.
Capitalising on this phenomenon, the virtual fitness industry has proven to be highly lucrative for Australian start-ups:
Centr: sold for $200M (Chris Hemsworth)
Sweat: sold for $400M (Kayla Itsines)
28 by Sam Wood: sold for $71M (Sam Wood)
The same goes for bricks and mortar:
1 in 3 Australians have a gym membership, averaging $780 per year
Although this is the case, there are many signs suggesting that the concept of health and wellness is due to change significantly moving forward.
In 2021, Dentsu produced a “Future of Wellness” report that suggested many cultural changes are due to take place across the health and wellness industry, and the concept of health is expanding away from just the “physical” and into “social”, “mental” and “spiritual”
What’s behind this shift in health?
80% of Australian women are dissatisfied with their bodies to some degree, men are suffering too
1 in 5 Australians experience a mental health disorder, 45% will be affected in their lifetime
54% of people with mental health don’t accept treatment
$43b - $70b is the estimated cost spent on mental health conditions in Australia
The gaps between rich and poor are widening
Where’s health heading?
According to Dentsu’s report, health will continuously become a symbol of success, and “wokeness” will begin to rival aesthetic beauty in terms of social capital.
Inclusivity, body-positivity and self-expression will become a major feature in the next generation, and society will give increased importance to basic needs such as health, jobs and social connection.
We can expect to see less of:
“no pain, no gain”
sports specific training
…and more of:
Exercise for fun
Diversity and inclusion
Mind and body wellness
Prehab, rather than rehab
Data, AI, wearables
Taking note, KIC is adapting their business and brand strategy, and start-ups are popping up across the globe to fulfill society’s changing health demands.
Here’s a summary of where KIC are at in their journey, and where they’re going…
KIC by the numbers
KIC started as a recipe e-book in 2015
Since then:
500k+ app downloads
50,000+ community
700+ recipes
700+ workouts
Co-founder Steph Miller’s estimated net wealth in 2021 was $36m
Instagram following:
KIC: 322k
Steph Miller: 1.5m
Laura Henshaw: 308k
*Between the pair and KIC’s channels, the business reaches 2.1 million people via social media.
KICPOD had 400,000 total downloads in April, 161k unique downloads - the biggest month of downloads ever
KIC’s business ventures are continuously expanding:
They’ve written a book
Their health products are stocked in supermarkets across Australia
They’re expanding to the UK
KIC has grown to become one of Australia’s most successful health and wellness start-up brands.
To stay ahead of the game, KIC are now rebranding to meet society’s changing health demands
“Keep It Cleaner” is rebranding to “KIC” and they’ve launched a new brand campaign titled #kictherules.
The aim of this move is to raise awareness of the damaging impacts of toxic diet culture, perpetuated by the fitness industry, media and general society.
KIC’s head of marketing explains the rationale behind the rebrand which aligns perfectly well to Dentsu’s future predictions (see above) for society’s changing health and wellness demands.
KIC has:
Changed their name from “Keep It Cleaner” to “KIC”
Removed the word “cleaner” due to the growing stigma around the word “clean”
Launched a new mission section on their website
Launched a new partnership with the Butterfly foundation
To drive more diversity and inclusion:
They’ve launched a new brand new ambassador program
They’re diversifying and extending the KIC brand away from their own personal brands
Listen to the “Building a body positivity movement” featuring Laura Henshaw on the “You’re in Good Company” podcast as she explains KIC’s pivot further.
KIC announced their new path forward by “drawing a line in the sand” at Bondi Beach.
KIC aren’t the only ones making moves.
F45 are making some bold brand-building moves to try to appeal to a new audience.
F45 is an Australian fitness start-up that has experienced hyper-growth over the years but has been experiencing growing pains more recently.
Among many other things such as announcing Mark Wahlberg as their Chief Brand Officer (their stock price surged 24% when they did this), they’ve also made moves that align with the changing nature of health and wellness.
They have:
Launched their first ever brand campaign titled “No one trains alone” inviting everyone to join the F45 Training community and reach their 2023 fitness goals
Teamed up with Netflix and superstar comedian Celeste Barber to deliver an exclusive “Wellmania-inspired” workout in F45 studio’s around the world
It’s not just established brands who’ve recognised that new health and wellness trends are coming…
The rise of holistic health start-ups
In line with the future of wellness report, we’re now seeing a new wave of health start-ups expanding away from traditional, pure physical fitness propositions, and increasingly focusing more on a holistic mix of physical, social, spiritual and mental outcomes.
Here are a list of some interesting health start-ups:
Breathwrk's mission is to change the health of the world with breathing. The Breathwrk app, has over 1,200,000 users worldwide and offers guided breathing exercises backed by science that are shown to alleviate anxiety, promote sleep, increase energy, improve mood, help with athletic performance, and more!
Ice Barrel offers a unique way to practice cold therapy.
Love.Life is leading the convergence of food, medicine and wellness for a one-stop transformative health experience.
Othership is building the future of emotional wellness through social bathhouse experiences and an immersive breathwork.
Peoplehood is a first-of-its-kind practice designed to improve our relationships, starting with ourselves. Peoplehood is a practice, like a workout for your relationships. *Founded by founders of SoulCycle Inc.
Remedy Place is a first-of-its-kind social wellness club that has redesigned the world of social self-care, life balance, and holistic community.
SoundMind is a music therapy platform designed for students and gen-z to support their mental health and well-being.
Stretch Zone is the largest franchisor in the stretching industry and the only company that combines a proprietary stretch method with patented stretching equipment (Stretch Zone Stabilization System) to improve muscle function throughout the body.
Sunrise aims to bring simple answers to millions of people suffering from sleep disorders with a disposable, multi-night single point of contact HSAT, with algorithms powered by AI to aid in the diagnosis of sleep-related breathing disorders.
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