Wellness can be a lot of things: calm, strength, vigor, vitality, beauty. Since it means different things to different people, there are many unique opportunities in the wellness space for budding business owners. With the wellness industry continuing to grow, now is an excellent time to transform your passion for health and well-being into a thriving business.
Whether you’re interested in selling high-quality products that support health and well-being through an ecommerce business or providing guidance and instruction for achieving a healthy lifestyle as a health coach or personal trainer, here are a few ideas to help launch your own business.
Wellness product business ideas
When selling wellness products via a storefront or online store, your costs will include items like formulation and manufacturing, ingredient sourcing, packaging, and shipping. Examples of wellness products include:
1. Meal kits
Meal kits, especially those oriented toward healthy eating, can be an excellent way to help your customers achieve their wellness goals—especially if you already have a background in food or nutrition. Examples of meal kit products include prepared meals like Sakara’s, make-at-home kits for healthy meals, and juice cleanse kits like those at Pur.
2. Supplements
Supplements include probiotics and vitamins (think Seed Health and Ritual), adaptogens (like the superfood lattes at Clevr Blends), herbal or naturopath remedies (like seed syncing products from Food Period), nutritional supplements (like the powdered greens at AG1), and high-performance athletic products (like the hydration mixes at LMNT).
Starting a supplements business—even if you’re dropshipping supplements rather than formulating your own—means you’ll need a heightened consideration of things like ingredient sourcing, consumer safety, scientific testing, and communicating risks and side effects. A recent report found that clinically proven efficacy and scientific credibility had the highest impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions, so back up your brand with as much evidence as you can, whether that means scientific studies proving your claims or explanations of how your ingredients work together.
3. Beauty products
Products geared toward improving customers’ appearance account for almost half of all wellness purchases across generations. Beauty also comes with many product sub-categories, such as skin care lines, makeup lines, and hair care products, making it rife with opportunity. Many wellness-minded entrepreneurs develop their own beauty line to solve a problem they’ve encountered as a consumer, like formulating a new solution for eczema or creating inclusive products for reactive skin.
4. Wellness gear
Curating products is a business superpower, especially when themed around a particular wellness niche, like trail running and hiking at Garage Grown Gear. Building an ecommerce business based around high-quality wellness products that you personally love and find effective can be a great way to offer a wide-ranging portfolio that appeals to multiple audience segments without having to develop your own products.
Alternatively, you could launch a new product built on your wellness expertise, as did the founders of Bandit, a running apparel brand, and the founder of Manta Sleep, focused on sleep care.
Wellness service business ideas
- Personal training
- Health coaching
- Meditation classes
- Guided nature experiences
- Bodywork
- Wellness retreats and workshops
Wellness service businesses offer expertise or experience. Your business costs may include certifications, liability insurance, and space rental fees. Examples of wellness services include:
5. Personal training
Many personal trainers get their start working on-staff at a gym or teaching fitness classes before launching their own personal training business. This allows time to hone your training or teaching style and build client relationships. To become a personal trainer, extensive experience in fitness (even if it’s only your personal journey) is a baseline requirement, and knowledge of physiology, injury prevention, and nutrition are all complementary skills. Personal trainers must also be certified in CPR and AED.
Certification and courses vary by state, but programs are easy to find, and entry-level programs like those through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) will typically cost around $500. Depending on your interests and goals, you might also choose to specialize; running coaches can become certified through the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) or UESCA, for example.
6. Health coaching
Health coaches specialize in holistic health services, including nutrition, meal planning, and stress management. To support your clients’ journeys toward their health and wellness goals, pursue health coach certifications, coursework, or licenses. If, for example, you are a personal chef, certifications in food preparation and safety are key. Starting your own health coaching business doesn’t require a license, but it can help you establish your expertise in your niche.
Health coaching is a fast-growing business so think about the unique value of your service. How will it stand out or differentiate itself from its competitors?
7. Meditation classes
There are countless apps aimed at teaching meditation and mindfulness, but there’s growing interest and demand for in-person wellness experiences. You can offer meditation services through a wellness center, yoga studio, or gym, or host your own at a private studio or rotating locations, like public parks. Meditation and mindfulness overlap well with bodywork or yoga if you want to expand your menu of services.
8. Guided nature experiences
Engaging with nature is a proven and integral piece of wellness, and helping others access it—in whichever form you love best—can be a valuable wellness service. Maybe you know all the best kayaking spots to see bioluminescence, or you’ve got an encyclopedic knowledge of bird species and where to find them. Even guided walks and hikes in your greater neighborhood can be the foundation for a thriving wellness business. Partnering with a hotel, bed and breakfast, or other tourism-based business can be a great way to get your services in front of people looking for unique experiences.
9. Bodywork
Bodywork services like massage, acupuncture, and reiki can be lucrative specialties in the wellness space. Massage therapists and other practitioners typically require certifications or licenses, as well as in-person locations to treat clients, so you may want to spend time working for another business and developing a loyal client base while you generate the resources you’ll need to start your own bodywork business.
10. Wellness retreats and workshops
Wellness retreats, workshops, and industry-specific getaways (like retreats for content creators or yoga instructors) allow you to combine the energy of a group dynamic with novel locations or world travel. Pitching your services to businesses or large companies can help you bring in steady numbers to offset your costs, especially at a time when workplaces are intent on improving employee health through mental and physical well-being.
Wellness business ideas FAQ
What is the most lucrative wellness business?
Spas, massage centers, and holistic health clinics can be lucrative businesses in the health and wellness industry that charge top dollar for luxury services. Personal trainers, especially those with proven expertise, certifications, and results, can also charge premium rates for their services.
How do I start a wellness business?
Starting a wellness business follows the same process as many other businesses. First steps will include market research, writing a business plan, registering your business, and launching a website. However, wellness businesses often require additional attention to safety standards, regulation, and certifications.
Do you need a license to open a wellness center?
Yes, you’ll typically need a license to open and operate a wellness center, though specifics vary by state. In addition to a general business license, you also likely will need service-specific licensing and certifications, depending on what you offer, be it massage, yoga, acupuncture, etc.
