From sustainable self-care routines to personalised nutrition, these are the top fitness & wellness trends to look out for this year…
Wellness can mean different things to different people. After all, at its essence, it’s someone's roadmap for feeling their best from the inside out – and it can’t get more personal than that.
From new fitness tech to DNA testing, many of us are continuously seeking out new ways to maintain our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. So, what are the top wellness trends to look out for as we head into 2025? Read on to stay ahead of the curve with these emerging wellness trends.
1. Gut health & microbiome balance
Thanks to the likes of Tim Spector and Dr Megan Rossi, we’re much more clued up on the importance of our gut health these days. In fact, Innova Market Insights* found that gut health is the top health concern for consumers as we head into 2025.
A healthy gut reaps a whole load of benefits, including maintaining our immune system and supporting our brain health, and lots of us will be looking to embrace a proactive approach to gut health throughout 2025. This could mean incorporating more gut-friendly foods in our diets, like kombucha or kefir, or looking to gut-friendly supplements to help balance us. A high-fibre diet is also key for maintaining a healthy gut and, thanks to Tim Spector’s backing of the #FibreFebruary campaign earlier in 2024, we’re now all a little more aware of how good this little carbohydrate is for our gut (and overall) wellbeing.
Vicky Pennington, Boots nutritionist, says, "Fibre from plant foods literally feeds our gut bacteria and different species prefer different fibre foods and play different roles in the body. Therefore consuming a diverse range of plant foods can help a diverse gut microbiome to thrive.”
There’s also been a rise in consumer understanding of the gut microbiome, which refers to the microbes that exist in your digestive system. 2025 is set to see an increase in microbiome testing, which measures the amount and types of microbes in your gut with a stool sample. With at-home testing becoming ever the norm, it’s becoming easier and easier to find answers to our health queries from the comfort of our own homes.
For more information on all things gut health, check out our handy guide on how to keep your gut healthy.
Looking for a little extra help?
2. Mental wellness & mindfulness
Whether we’re looking to reduce everyday stress, avoid burnout, improve focus or simply be more present, this year will see a continued importance placed on mental wellbeing. The last few years have seen efforts to normalise mental health discussions, and we expect this to continue into 2025.
Technology is going to start to play a part in mental health, with advancements like virtual healthcare sessions with VR in the works, as well as the use of chatbots to provide 24/7 mental health support.
As we continue to look for ways to relieve everyday stress and ground ourselves, the popularity of meditation and mindfulness will also continue. Classes and courses for things like meditation, yoga and sound healing are all available, but if you’re looking for an option you can do at home, apps like Headspace or Calm offer subscriptions that promote mental wellness and relaxation.
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As we dive headfirst into 2025, be sure to make time for a bit of self-love. Everyone is different, and it may take time to find your ideal self-care routine, but you could try things like:
- Running an everything bath
- Going on a walk or doing some exercise
- Using essential oils, scented candles and aromatherapy
- Trying out wellness supplements to help with everyday stress
If you do find yourself experiencing a lot of stress or anxiety, speak with a health professional for advice and support. If you’re experiencing a mental health crisis or are at risk of harming yourself or others, please call NHS 111, speak to the Samaritans on 116 123, text Shout on 85258, or speak to your GP.
3. Sustainable self-care
Green living itself is on the rise, so it makes sense that this has filtered down into beauty and skincare too. According to Mintel’s 2025 Global Beauty and Personal Care Trends Report,** sustainability in beauty is no longer an option, it’s a baseline expectation.
Brands like Burt's Bees or Nala's Baby offer natural, sustainable skincare options and refillable beauty products such as shampoo or perfumes, are also a great way to reduce waste.
Leanna Zaman, Boots beauty specialist explains, "A lot of the brands we work with on the beauty floor are definitely becoming more conscious of sustainability, with many moving to a more sustainable packaging component or completely reusable and refillable!
"Companies like REN Skincare, for example, made a zero-waste pledge years ago and now only produce packaging designed to be recyclable, reusable or containing recycled materials. They also created an industry-first 100% recycled and re-closable aluminium eco-smart sample tub - which I think is amazing! Hero products from big brands are now refillable too, like Lancôme’s famous Génifique serum and Kérastase’s Elixir Ultime Hair Oil.
"Not only is this helping to reduce waste, but I think it makes us more conscious about it too. We are now shopping in a more sustainable way, reaching for the refillable items, perfume, skincare, hair care, whether we are realising it or not! We’re seeing this sustainable way of life echo through the beauty industry."
Refillable beauty? We’ve got you covered:
Other things you can do to adopt a more sustainable self-care routine is to swap single use products for reusable ones, like switching your make-up wipes for washable cotton pads. Make sure to also recycle your empty bottles where you can and look out for vegan and cruelty-free products when you’re shopping.
Mindful consumption is also going to be a big trend this year, with lots of us moving away from complex multi-step routines in favour of more minimalist approaches. It’s all about simplifying your routine with good-quality products that work effectively for you.
After more advice on adopting a sustainable way of living? Check out our guide to making sustainable swaps.
4. Personalised nutrition
Most of us know the basics of living a happy, healthy lifestyle – think regular exercise, a varied, balanced diet and getting enough rest. But, thanks to health science companies like Zoe, personalised nutrition is becoming a popular way for us to drill down into our health and really understand our bodies.
DNA testing for nutrition will become ever more popular in 2025, providing unique results based on genetics, lifestyle and health conditions. As we’ve mentioned, at-home testing kits are continuing to rise in popularity and DNA testing kits are able to give us health insights at just the touch of a saliva swab.
Off the back of this, customised supplement plans will also be a trend this year. These will be tailored to our individual needs, looking at things like vitamin deficiencies or our health goals. It might be that we need to up our vitamin D intake, start taking omega-3 or should try out magnesium.
Wanting to try an at-home test kit?
We also have a range of home testing kits available from Boots Online Doctor. Whether you’re looking for information on your sexual health, blood sugar levels or thyroid function, these tests can help give you the answers you need.
5. Digital health tracking
From improved motivation to personalised fitness insights, digital health tracking has seen a meteoric rise over the last few years. In fact, YouGov^ says that over one in three of us currently use a wearable fitness device.
This year will see us enter the era of Fitness 3.0, with activity trackers from popular brands like Fitbit, Garmin or Apple Watch remaining popular, while newer options such as Whoop and Oura will continue to take the world by storm.
Our fave fitness trackers:
Alongside this, fitness apps powered by AI, such as Freeletics and FitnessAI, will continue to rise in popularity as we all look to data-driven insights to inform our training and exercise plans.
So, whether you’re going for all five or just picking a few, which wellness trends will you be embracing this year? Whatever you choose, make sure you’re prioritising yourself and your wellbeing as we head into 2025.
