• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, May 29, 2025

Image above: Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty brand blends makeup with mental health messaging.

As the $2 trillion global wellness market evolves, Gen Z and millennials are turning up the heat on food and beauty brands, blurring category lines, demanding personalization, and prioritizing function over flash.

McKinsey’s latest “Future of Wellness” report shows these younger consumers aren’t just wellness dabblers –  they’re leaders. Despite accounting for just 36% of U.S. adults, Gen Z and millennials now drive more than 41% of wellness spend. And they’re spending across a wider range of categories than older generations, particularly in functional foods, supplements, appearance-related products, and digital tools.

In the U.S., McKinsey predicts wellness spending will top $500 billion this year and has been growing steadily at between 4% and 5% per year.

For food and beverage brands, the fastest growth is happening in functional nutrition. Two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials in the U.S., U.K. and Germany say they’ve purchased food or drinks promising health benefits, from protein-packed chips to cognition-boosting mocktails. Gut health, energy, immunity and muscle support top the list of desired benefits. Younger consumers want food that acts like medicine but tastes like indulgence.

Beauty brands are also seeing a shift: Gen Z now ranks “better appearance” as a top-three wellness priority, up from sixth place last year. That’s driving demand for skincare with active ingredients, ingestible beauty (like collagen and biotin), and even the preventative cosmetic procedures favored by their parents’ generation. In the U.S., 53% of Gen Z said they increased spending on cosmetic treatments in 2024 and expect to spend more in 2025.

For both sectors, wellness is no longer siloed. Consumers are looking for integrated solutions that combine food, supplements, skincare, and tech. They're more influenced by TikTok than traditional advertising, and more likely to expect science-backed claims, personalized recommendations, and seamless digital experiences.

McKinsey flags six categories where growth is accelerating: Functional nutrition; beauty and aesthetics; longevity products; in-person wellness services, including retreats and IV treatments; weight management, including GLP-1-related products; and mental health and mindfulness.

To stay relevant, the McKinsey authors recommend marketers focus on three imperatives:
*Break barriers between categories, connecting food, beauty, and digital tools;
*Signal expertise, especially in science-backed formulations; and
*Deliver value, not just in pricing but in efficacy, experience and emotional payoff.

This is the fourth year of the wellness survey, with this year’s report based on 9,000 consumers in China, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.

For marketers, the takeaway is that Gen Z isn’t growing into wellness, but is actively expanding what that means. Food and beauty brands that can meet them there, with purpose and proof, are best positioned to lead.