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By their very nature, health and wellness brands occupy a more important place in our lives. The impact of COVID-19 will only accelerate this situation. As the wellness category continues to grow twice as fast as the rest of the economy (according to Global Wellness Economy Monitor) and more brands adapt a brand positioning strategy through a wellness lens – consumer expectations will continue to rise. Key to brand success begins with health and wellness branding.

Building A Brand That Cuts Through

All health and wellness brands – regardless of size, available budget or price – have access to the same toolbox of brand assets. They can all construct a unifying brand idea brought to life through brand strategy and storytelling across design, communication, digital and experience. But some brands have mastered the practice of brand building better than others, starting with powerful wellness branding.

Playbook of Behaviors and Attitudes

The result is that when faced with a choice, consumers are magnetically drawn to these more potent brands. Their powerful pull is based on very specific behaviors and attitudes, deliberately designed and carefully managed over time, that make them a more enticing choice. These brands leave nothing to chance, and leverage these traits to drive performance in terms of share, love and loyalty. These wellness branding practices include (in alphabetical order):

• Aligned: consistent in look, message and emotion across touch points
• Emotion: building instinctive attraction beyond rational “system 2” brain reasons for purchase; connecting with our fast “system 1” brain that drives much of our daily decision-making
• Purposeful: makes a positive difference by being being a brand that’s good for people, community and planet
• Self: helps every step of the way on someone’s daily health and wellness journey
• Social Circle: makes consumers feel connected to others and part of a “tribe” through conversation and participation
• Symbolism: language of emotion and key set of triggers for decisions by our fast, intuitive brain; understanding that there’s symbolic meaning in everything
• Trusted: honest in actions and communications, being evidence-based with understandable and believable claims

These brands also understand that for today’s consumer, wellness goes beyond the “physical”, to encompassing mental, social and purposeful wellness.

5 Wellness Branding Examples That Rise Above

These five brands span five different wellness segments. While they dial up or down behaviors and attitudes based on their specific segment, they are all outstanding brand-building role models.

1. VINTNERS DAUGHTER (Beauty & Body Segment)

Vintners Daughter was launched in 2014 by April Gargiulo, who doesn’t come from the world of beauty. Instead, her foundational principles of extreme quality and efficacy (and basis of trust-building) were inspired by her family’s background in the world of fine winemaking and its uncompromising standards. Therefore “Vintners Daughter.”

It’s a clean brand attracting informed, empowered wellness-motivated consumers who are taking a more holistic approach to their health. In a world where fast beauty dominates the marketplace, Vintners Daughter has chosen a more purposeful path, guided by the belief that performance, quality, and safety can, and must, co-exist.

These ideas are reinforced through natural ingredients, functional properties and sought-after eco-friendly practices; supported with understandable and believable claims.

2. THE CLASS (Fitness Segment)

The Class was launched in 2011 by Taryn Toomey. Offering transformative workouts for mind and body, the company grew from four studios to a virtual phenomenon amid the global shift to digital. Beyond physical wellness the brand resonates with clients seeking more holistic, spiritual, and reflective forms of fitness that cater to self-care rather than just physical intensity.

The brand reaches beyond “the class” to help clients feel connected to others and part of a “tribe”, through events like The Immersion.

The Class also does a masterful job of building connection through consistency in look, message and emotion across touch points.

3. PARSLEY HEALTH (Empowered Health Segment)

Launched in 2016 by Robin Berzin, Parsley Health offers a unique approach to medicine that blends cutting-edge testing, nutrition and wellness with conventional medicine. With a more holistic and empowered approach to primary care, Parsley caters to people who want to take charge of their health and make proactive changes in line with “prevention rather than cure.”

Their personalized propositions put patients in the driver’s seat – reinforced through relatable language, a simplified process, breaking down barriers to entry and evidence-based (trust-building) claims.

4. GINGER (Mental Wellness Segment)

Founded in 2011 by four partners, Ginger is one of the brands leading a revolution when it comes to how people view and engage with therapy. Through its virtual therapy platform, the Brand provides a refreshing and on-demand approach to mental healthcare for today’s mobile-first world. Having opened up access to millions of people around the world, its direct-to-consumer offering meets the skyrocketing demand for mental health care at a fraction of the cost of traditional care.

Ginger’s purpose, story and look and feel flow naturally and honestly from its name.

While the technology is sophisticated, brand voice is simple, inviting, aspirational and empowering.

Trust is reinforced by providing help every step of the way on someone’s mental wellness journey, providing great value beyond the service itself. But this is also a vehicle to help consumers (by way of Ginger) connect and create meaningful relationships with others through sharing and subsequent conversation.

5. SEED (Nutrition & Supplements Segment)

Seed is a microbial sciences company founded in 2007 by Ara Katz and Raja Dhir. The company has a big purpose of developing clinically-studied probiotics to impact human and planetary health.

The brand has done a brilliant job of creating an aspirational lifestyle around their products and they do a masterful job of blending emotion, reason and symbolism.

They very effectively build trust by taking an unfiltered approach to transparency and education, delivering great value beyond their products. They’ve gone to extreme lengths to account for all of their developmental research and science on their website and clearly detailing every note on their label for curious consumers to understand. This is especially pertinent, given that many probiotic and prebiotic products in the U.S. are marketed as “dietary supplements,” which means that they don’t require FDA approval to be sold.

Beyond establishing new health transparency standards, Katz and Dhir worked to source highly sustainable packaging and materials. The amount of sustainability in their packaging also plays a fundamental role in the company as they believe human and planetary health are one and the same.

Building a Wellness Brand That Matters

Wellness remains synonymous for growth opportunities. Consumers have clear expectations that brands should contribute to their wellness, and every brand has the opportunity to play a role as a true partner on their wellness journey.

Beyond physical wellness, mental, social and purposeful are the new must-have aspects. Brands that show how they support these goals – heightened in the midst of the pandemic – will thrive in the growing wellness economy.

To quote Charles Darwin – It is not the strongest of species that survives nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change. These five companies certainly exemplify this trait.

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Since 1999, Trajectory has partnered with clients across the health and wellness continuum to help their brands rise above the noise to move businesses and customers forward. Reach out for a no-obligation consultation.