TREND
Health unscripted
Wellbeing is becoming more personal, plural and playful, where people are breaking free from rigid ideals and one-size-fits-all rules.
Health and wellbeing are no longer defined by a singular, one-size-fits-all ideal. It is plural, personal and shaped by culture, neurodiversity, body diversity, lifestyle and more.
Health unscripted pushes back against rigid routines and universal metrics, embracing the many ways people express wellbeing: from food rituals and community practices to playful movement and even digital biohacking. People are increasingly rejecting the notion that health means the same to everyone.
Wellbeing increasingly means navigating a spectrum, where people shift between discipline and play depending on life stage, context or emotional state.
They seek structure when they need reassurance and lean into exploration when routines feel rigid or draining. Even those who track steps or calories often build in flexibility, while people drawn to intuitive or holistic practices still turn back to anchors like wearables or mood trackers.
This fluidity reflects a negotiation between personal agency and external approval, balancing “what feels right for me” with “am I doing it correctly?”. The real opportunity lies in supporting this ebb and flow: empowering people to adapt health on their own terms, without guilt, judgment or rigid expectations.
believes there’s no single right way to be healthy, health should reflect individual lifestyles and needs.
“I’ve learned that life moves in seasons, and my routines have to move with it. Some weeks I’m consistent and organised, other weeks I just do what I can, and that’s still valid.”
UK, Female, 18-24
What's fuelling this trend
Human truth
People want to live well in ways that feel authentic, joyful and aligned with their own body and mind.
Driver: Autonomy & vitality
Today, traditional notions of health often feel rigid or unrealistic, people want the ability to define health on their own terms, not someone else's.
CASE
ASICS - The desk break
Japan - Sportswear
ASICS’s 'The Desk Break' campaign reframes mental wellness not as extreme fitness or perfect routines, but as small acts of movement built into everyday life. The campaign leaned on research showing mental state declines after just two hours of uninterrupted desk work and how a mere 15-minute movement break can reverse effects. Rather than demanding perfection, ASICS highlights adaptability, small rituals and mental wellbeing as deeply human experiences.
CASE
Serenova – Empowering women through every chapter
UK – Nutrition
Serenova is redefining menopause wellness by offering science-backed supplements that support women from puberty through perimenopause and beyond. By focusing on holistic health and personal empowerment, Serenova challenges the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to wellness, embracing a more inclusive and individualized perspective. The brand’s approach not only addresses the physical aspects of menopause but also fosters a sense of agency and vitality, encouraging women to embrace this life stage with confidence and well-being.
CASE
Ba Yan Ka La - Skincare
China - Beauty & luxury
Ba Yan Ka La embodies China’s embrace of diverse wellness practices that bring balance and joy. By fusing traditional Chinese medicine with modern skincare rituals, Ba Yan Ka La is a brand that turns heritage into everyday self-care, showcasing how wellness in China is evolving beyond function toward harmony, pleasure and personal balance.
Regional decode
Across the globe, people are pushing back against the idea that there’s one ‘right’ way to be healthy. But the shift takes on different shapes. In markets such as the US, UK, Western Europe and Australia, it often means stepping back from relentless tracking and optimisation in favour of a more rounded approach to wellbeing. Across APAC, the shift is about widening the lens: blending traditional philosophies, joyful habits and modern healthcare rather than relying on a single system or routine.
CASE
SHA Wellness Clinic – 'Med-cations' and vitality-first wellness
Mexico/Spain/Emirates - Hospitality
SHA Wellness Clinic, a luxury wellness brand operating in Spain, Mexico and the Emirates, is reimagining retreats in 2025 through its 'med-cations' model (medical vacations). The offering blends advanced diagnostics (blood panels, gut health dinners, ozone therapy) with natural therapies, custom nutrition plans and preventative medicine to personalise health based on each guest’s needs.
Rather than pushing rigid routines or generic metrics, SHA’s approach emphasises vitality: guests leave feeling more balanced, alive and grounded in their unique health journey.
Generational decode
How different generations prefer to manage their health
CLIENT CASE
Durex - Decoding desire
Global - Sexual wellness
To better understand how intimacy is evolving, Durex set out to explore the emotional and cultural forces shaping modern desire. Through cultural insight work and immersive consumer exploration, we uncovered how people today want sexual wellness to feel more real, relatable and pressure-free. Not scripted or idealised.
These insights helped Durex refresh its brand positioning and communication, shifting towards a tone that embraces authentic desire, everyday intimacy and the full spectrum of lived experience. The work strengthened the brand’s cultural relevance, proving how listening deeply to people’s realities can reshape how sexual wellness shows up in culture.
CASE
Hims & hers – Sick of the system
US - Health
Hims & Hers’ Super Bowl 2025 campaign challenges the one-size-fits-all approaches to healthcare. With their slogan ‘your health is personal, so is your care’, they promote treatment plans (including GLP‑1 medication) tailored to individual bodies, goals and lifestyles.
GLP-1: between curiosity and caution
2025 was also the year of GLP‑1 treatments, which support weight management and metabolic health by regulating appetite and blood sugar. While curiosity is high, their use is debated, with questions around accessibility, long-term effects and whether quick fixes risk overshadowing sustainable lifestyle change.
Across markets, people see GLP‑1 drugs as powerful but not a silver bullet: fast results are tempting, but only when paired with sustainable routines and proper medical guidance. The prevailing mindset reflects that health should be personal, adaptable and integrated into daily life.
"GLP-1 treatments aren’t necessarily bad, but if people aren’t willing to change their overall lifestyle while using them, it doesn’t make much sense. It’s not going to get you anywhere on its own. Quick solutions aren’t always a problem, but you need to keep the bigger picture in mind and make the other lifestyle changes too."
US, female, 25
CASE
Freaks of Nature – F*ck the gym, go outside
Australia – Beauty
Freaks of Nature flips the script on conventional fitness culture with its bold 'F*ck the gym, go outside' campaign. The skincare and suncare brand encourages people to trade treadmills for trails, embracing adventure, freedom and fun as expressions of wellbeing. By celebrating movement in nature over structured workouts, it reframes health as something raw, rebellious and joyfully alive.
CASE
Healmate – Second partner for a fulfilled life
Japan - Dating services
Healmate is a dating app for married individuals seeking a serious external partner. The platform reframes extramarital connections as a way to address emotional stagnation, boost self-esteem and regain personal validation, rather than solely as infidelity. By providing a confidential space for meaningful connection, Healmate helps users navigate unmet emotional needs while maintaining their primary family structure, offering an alternative route to personal happiness and fulfillment within societal expectations.
CASE
Spotify - Take a beat
Global - Technology
Spotify’s 'Take a beat' campaign encourages listeners to pause and tune into nature sounds, guided meditations and curated playlists designed to soothe or energise. Instead of framing mental health as something that requires major routines or time-consuming rituals, the campaign positions micro-moments of rest and reflection – like 5 minutes of nature audio or stepping outside – as vital to wellbeing. By integrating these small, accessible practices into everyday life, 'Take a beat' makes wellness feel less like a performance and more like a series of human moments that build balance and joy.
How might 'Health unscripted' play out beyond 2026?
To work with the future, we blend two modes of thinking: the projective (based on what we can see happening today) and the imaginative (based on what we have capacity to envision).
Signals help us do this. They are the early clues of where culture is heading, fragments of the future already taking shape.
Through strategic foresight frameworks, we explore how these fragments might evolve, revealing opportunities, tensions and unexpected pathways forward.
What does this mean for brands?
The opportunity lies in supporting fluid, personalised approaches to wellness, where structure meets flexibility and discipline meets play. This means meeting people where they are, rather than prescribing what "should" be done, helping make health feel personal, playful and self-defined.
In practice, that can come to life through designing for adaptability. Offer products that work across different routines, lifestyles and wellness philosophies. It also entails celebrating diversity by reflecting cultural, neurodiverse, body and lifestyle differences in brands offerings, visuals and messaging.
But it’s also about communicating with care. Guidance, whether through analytics, feedback or content, should inform and empower rather than pressure or judge. This by encouraging slower, more intuitive rhythms and motivate people to listen to themselves instead of rigid metrics.