Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a market research company specializing in the many industries surrounding wellness, issued a new market report that defines mental wellness as a global industry worth an estimated $121 billion, broken into four sub-categories: senses, spaces, and sleep ($49.5 billion); brain-boosting nutraceuticals and botanicals ($34.8 billion); self-improvement ($33.6 billion); and meditation and mindfulness ($2.9 billion).
 
The company considers this 115-page report to be the first-ever report to comprehensively identify and measure the overall marketplace of mental wellness, as opposed to mental health, which is its own unique “industry bubble” in GWI’s framework, and includes a number of economic activities which weren’t previously included in the company’s reporting.
 
The working definition of mental wellness, versus mental health, in the reporting represents a paradigm shift which is elaborated on in great depth in the report; but summarily, the update reflects the notion of benefits to mental health extending beyond the management of psychological issues, and into the lives of all consumers in a more integrative way that may or may not include clinical help.
 
Mental wellness is more than the absence of a diagnosed mental illness. The authors propose that four key strategies specific to mental wellness include activity and creativity, growth and nourishment, rest and rejuvenation, and connection and meaning.
 
“About 85% of the world’s population does not have a diagnosed mental illness, but these people are not all ‘mentally well’ or thriving, because of a pervasive stress, worry, loneliness, and other challenges,” an executive summary of GWI’s report reads. “On the other hand, those who have a diagnosed mental disorder can still have moderate or positive mental wellness. Practices that increase our mental wellness are increasingly recognized as protective factors for our mental health, as well as helping to reduce the severity and symptoms of mental illness.”

Urgent Health Needs 
The authors mentioned that this release is timely considering a cultural shift toward focusing on mental wellness, combined with the ongoing stressors unique to the times serving as accelerants to the already-present deterioration of collective mental health and well-being.
 
“Stress, loneliness, and burnout were exploding pre-pandemic, and a stronger focus on mental wellness has been a cultural mega-shift these last few years—people awakening to the importance of integrative solutions including meditation, sleep and brain health, with businesses rushing in to offer all kinds of solutions. But mental wellness as a concept, and what constitutes it as an industry, has remained incredibly fuzzy,” Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior research fellow, said. “Clarifying what it is, and delineating its business segments, is overdue. And while most mental wellness strategies are free—like spending time in nature or with friends—people increasingly seek non-clinical help in coping with everyday mental challenges, and that’s where the mental wellness industry comes in.”
 
“There is urgency to this research. Study after study shows how the human suffering and economic dislocations caused by the pandemic have ravaged our mental wellbeing,” Katherine Johnston, another GWI senior research fellow, added. “We’re excited to release this study because many people are desperate for alternative strategies to cope, and we hope it clarifies how important it is to promote mental wellness—and how businesses, governments, and individuals can all play different roles in addressing a growing crisis.

GWI reports that over 15% of the global population suffers from mental and substance use disorders, with further research indicating that dementia is on the rise, and self-reported subjective parameters of happiness are on the decline in many countries.
 
The Role of Nutraceuticals
GWI reports that dietary supplements containing both nutritive ingredients and botanicals marketed specifically for claims related to cognitive function, sleep, memory, and energy, make up the second-largest portion of the broader mental wellness category. This includes plant-based products sourced from hemp and cannabis such as CBD and THC which are making their way into many supplements, foods and beverages with explosive popularity. Also included in this segment of the report are psilocybin and other functional mushrooms, due to the ongoing clinical research that these drugs may be beneficial to a number of mental health conditions.
 
“A quickening relaxation of regulation means plant-based psychedelic drugs will increasingly be used for both mental wellness and clinical treatment purposes,” GWI said, pointing to recent referendum votes which legalized magic mushrooms in the state of Oregon, and the decriminalization of the recreational use of psilocybin, among other psychedelic drugs.
 
While the $34.8 billion dietary supplement sub-section of the mental wellness market has likely changed drastically since estimates were made in 2019, GWI still believes that the 2019 numbers will serve as a baseline despite the short-term upswing in sales, based on the realities surrounding disposable income and disparity, two trends accelerated by the pandemic.
 
“Therefore, future opportunities will depend upon how a business provides value to its targeted consumer segment, such as luxury versus mass market,” GWI said. “Some businesses may also face increasing competition from mental wellness activities that people have learned to do on their own, or free/affordable amenities and services provided by governments, communities, and nonprofits.”
 
Trends in both technology and clinical research will further substantiate and validate the role that complementary mental wellness activities, including but not limited to nutrition, have in conjunction with conventional or clinical treatments, GWI reports. Further, these trends will reshape industry practices such as consumer outreach and product development.
 
“The regulation of most mental wellness businesses is fragmented, and it is generally left to consumers to determine whether they believe in and find benefit from them or not. However, a body of evidence is quickly growing, especially for some modalities, like meditation, light therapy, and circadian science, bolstered by an acceleration of public and private research investments,” the company said. “Technology is not a standalone segment within the mental wellness industry, but is pervasive across all subsectors. An important development is the merging of traditional mental health solutions with mental wellness technology platforms to provide preventive and supplemental care, and some businesses may be seeking to access the resources of a much larger healthcare market, beyond consumer discretionary spending on mental wellness.”