Here are the top nutrition and personal care trends that will drive the market in 2022

The past two years and COVID-19 have forced consumers across the world to reevaluate their health and wellbeing.

Dietary practices have evolved significantly as people strive to enhance their immunity level to combat the viral contagion. The focus is definitely on getting fitter and better through natural and sustainable methods.

In 2022, we are slated to witness a continuous and steep rise in upcoming consumer trends such as clean and holistic nutrition, plant-based food including mock meat, etc.

It’s not just in the field of nutrition and health; consumer sentiment has drastically changed even in the personal care and beauty segment. The rise of the modern informed consumer has led to the emergence of clean beauty.

Drawing a parallel to clean nutrition, clean beauty is based on a fundamental concept that what we apply on our body has a deep impact on our overall health and wellbeing. This has led to a number of pioneering clean-label holistic wellness brands with plant-based skincare and hair-care formulations created using scientific botanical concepts and devoid of harmful chemicals and ingredients.

In India, the clean label trend is growing considerably and the market will expand further in the coming future. Along with clean beauty, clean label nutrition and wellness brands are actively raising the standards of purity and product quality across the country and extending world-class solutions to the consumers.

Let’s look at some of the important consumer trends that are set to go mainstream in 2022:

A holistic lifestyle

The pandemic helped people realise the importance of inclusive health. Now more than ever, people are focusing on holistic wellness with wholesome nutrition playing an integral part in physical and mental wellbeing.

Plant-based ingredients like brahmi, chamomile, ashwagandha, and shankhpushpi are known to help manage stress and reduce anxiety levels. Being completely natural, these ingredients can be easily consumed on a daily basis without any side effects and are being sought after by consumers.

As mental health and immunity continue to be top priorities for consumers, expect herbal and plant-based nutrition and wellness products to see higher adoption.

Plant-based living

Plant-based nutrition provides multiple benefits like better absorption and improved gut health amongst others. Experts across the globe also suggest a strong correlation between reduced risk of heart diseases and Type 2 diabetes with plant-based diets.

Consumers are graduating towards a more conscious and flexitarian approach, which consists of eating more functional, healthy, wholesome, plant-based foods to not only derive clean nutrition but also foster eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyles.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also triggered mass transition towards plant-based, health-first active lifestyles in sync with the nutritional requirements of the body.

In the personal care segment, we can expect further popularity of natural ingredients, cruelty-free beauty, and products with clinically proven actives.

Another upcoming trend in personal care is ‘fermented beauty’, popularised by K-beauty. Fermentation process leads to better absorption of products by the skin and can also support longer shelf life as they act as natural preservatives.

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Rise of clean brands

In the coming times, customer demand for clean-label products, whether food items or personal care products, will become more and more pronounced. Consumers will also start preferring overall transparency across the entire product lifecycle, which includes sourcing, composition, packaging, etc.

With consumers clearly voicing a need for understanding and bettering their product consumption, they will naturally prefer local homegrown foods that are wholly unprocessed and freshly disseminated, farm to table.

Advancements in technology have sprouted new innovations in the field of AI, blockchain, ML, robotics, and IoT – these will help in furthering the standard of next-gen digital traceability solutions like smart labeling and digital tracing.

There has also been an increasing demand for clean beauty products that are made without any ingredients that can harm humans as well as the environment. The industry is witnessing the rise of non-conventional clean beauty brands that are free from spurious chemicals and additives.

They are uncompromising in their efforts to offer product compositions that are free from harmful agents such as parabens, sulphates, phthalates, PEGs, ethanolamines, chemical sunscreens, synthetic fragrances, BHT, and BHA.

Sustainability at the heart

Consumers are highly conscious now about what they are applying on their skin and hair. According to trends forecaster WGSN, usability and sustainability are two major global trends we can witness in 2022. In India, consumers have started viewing sustainability as a standard moral and ethical necessity for the sake of themselves, their communities, and the environment.

A recent survey revealed that about 47 percent consumers are watchful of sustainability assertions and this percentage will only grow in the future. This has led to major demands for sustainable sourcing and ethical production processes such as regenerative agriculture and carbon negative production to preserve and safeguard future food supply.

With the rise of an informed and knowledgeable consumer base, the state of the planet and collective wellbeing are finally gaining precedence over individual preferences.

Most of these trends stem from the fact that consumers are looking at living a clean and holistic lifestyle. There is increased awareness that health and wellness is not unidimensional but multidimensional and a by-product of everyday lifestyle choices.