• by Ben Sherwood , Yesterday

It’s easy to forget that influencers don’t have to be A-list celebrities with millions of followers and a seemingly endless list of brand partnerships. At their core, influencers simply inspire and guide the action of others. And in today’s crowded, increasingly competitive wellness landscape, the most powerful influencers aren’t necessarily online personalities—they’re family members.

Wellness adoption rarely happens in isolation; it moves through families and friend groups. All to say that what looks like a youth-driven trend is often scaled by someone else entirely.

Look at the rise of health and fitness wearables, such as an Oura Ring or Garmin Forerunner. Younger audiences discover these products through TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts, or podcast endorsements. Meanwhile, data-driven millennials suffering from burnout are drawn to the promise of better sleep, improved recovery, and stress management.

But for older generations, adoption can be slower. Sometimes that’s because the technology feels inaccessible for less digitally savvy audiences. In other cases, the benefits simply aren’t communicated clearly enough or via the right platforms and highways.

This is the dynamic that wellness brands are overlooking. Because the person you design for isn’t always the one who drives adoption or who guides the path to purchase. And for whatever reason, too many brand marketers are ignoring this gap, instead of reflecting and communicating it in a way that proves awareness. A bold campaign may cut through to younger audiences, but the experience needs to evolve if it’s going to capture a wider market.

It’s time to move on from the linear brand-to-consumer journey. More and more, discovery travels through group chats, family dinners, and recommendations from trusted inner circles—not faceless corporations that consumers struggle to differentiate between.  

This becomes even more important at a time when trust is increasingly fragile. Three-quarters of Americans trust online information less now than they did a few years ago, according to a Statista study. It’s not difficult to see why, given the rise of AI-generated content, exaggerated claims, and influencer misinformation. In the U.K., it has gotten to the point where the Advertising Standards Authority is having to clamp down on misleading wellness advertising.

Brands typically fail by trying to appeal to everyone simultaneously, without acknowledging each audience’s unique behaviors and expectations. Persisting with this will inevitably lead to fragmentation. The tone shifts, the message blurs, and inconsistency creeps in across touchpoints.

For wellness brands, the opportunity isn’t simply designing for different users; it’s building a brand system that flexes across them. Straightforward language, simple onboarding, thoughtful design: all essential ingredients if brands want to resonate with consumers irrespective of their technical fluency. Following this framework ensures the approach is cohesive and the execution is tailored.

The brands that win will be those that can show up in culturally and generationally resonant ways without fragmenting their identity, proving that adaptability and consistency aren’t at odds, but essential to scaling influence.