Wellbeing

But wellbeing has a completely different set of connotations. It's got a psychological element: it implies a modicum of happiness as well as physical health. It's positive rather than negative. Wellbeing implies activity, vibrancy and energy - a positive outlook on life. It's intimately connected with lifestyle: what you eat and drink, how hard you work, how much you earn, how good your personal relationships are, and so on.

No wonder consumers want more of it. In fact, there's both a carrot and a stick behind the rise of wellbeing brands. The stick is that to be able to afford a decent pension and necessary health care, you need to be relatively wealthy. And in order to generate this wealth yes, you need to work hard, but you also need to be healthy. Wealth and health are two sides of the same coin.

Enter the new yearning for 'whealthcare'.

But it's not all compulsion. There's a big juicy carrot there too. After all, what better way of getting the most out of life than being healthy and wealthy? 'Whealth' is becoming a powerful positive ideal to strive for.

Few markets are going to be immune from the trend to whealthcare. By definition, it crosses industry, product and category boundaries, embracing food, pharmaceuticals, financial service and fitness all at the same time, for example. It also seeps deep into the details of value offered by each of these industries: if your brand hasn't got a 'whealthcare' aspect, it's probably missing something.

We can see early signs of this influence everywhere. Look at the rise of 'functional foods' such as Yakult's milk drink which contains 'friendly bacteria' to help maintain a positive balance in the intestinal flora of the digestive system.

Likewise, 'skingestibles': foods and drinks which promote 'beauty from within' by delivering positive benefits for the skin. For example, SkinCola is a 'superoxygenated' drink that promises to aid in hydrating and beautifying skin.

Meanwhile, the borders between the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries are crumbling as brands race for the cosmeceutical high ground: cosmetics which work partly by using pharmaceutical ingredients. One hot spot at the moment is anti-aging and anti-wrinkle products.

Another category-crossing trend is healthy holidays, whether it's being pampered at a health spa or learning yoga and meditation on a Greek island or mountain resort. Even insurers are joining the bandwagon. 'Discriminatory' pricing is already common in some dimensions: life insurance is cheaper if you are a non-smoker. But now the same theme is being extended into new areas such as lower premiums for those with a positive health and fitness regime.

But these are just early signs of a much bigger phenomenon. By definition, whealthcare is a 360° concept. It ranges across health and beauty, work and leisure, money and lifestyle - so watch for new offerings (from new and old brands) which focus on particular market segments to offer 360° whealthcare services.

Look out for more brand alliances between, say, financial service, health and food companies.

Expect more offerings which include a range of different lifestyle, health and financial elements, all integrated into a single package. Recognise the need for superb targeting, not only particular life stages such as working couples with kids or empty nesters, but attitudinal and psychographic segments too: the cautious versus the carefree; explorers versus cocoon builders. The basic notions of whealth and wellbeing can take many forms.

It's still early days. The notion of 'whealth' has yet to be fully articulated; the boundaries and definitions of whealthcare markets have yet to be defined. But don't let uncertainty become an excuse for inactivity. Consumers want whealthcare, and brands that are first to recognise this desire are well set to catch the rising tide.

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