Wellness Briefing: Service-based businesses are attracting new customers through wellness offerings, plus news

In 2025, service-based businesses — like fitness studios, gyms, spas, wellness centers, medispas, salons and members-only clubs — leased more than half of all total retail space in the U.S, according to data released last month by CoStar data firm. It’s a marked change that encapsulates Americans’ changing priorities, and marks the first time service-based business leases have surpassed those of retail- or goods-based businesses. 

Set against the backdrop of America’s increasingly bifurcated spending power — or K-shaped economy, as it has been dubbed — service-based businesses are increasingly adding wellness offerings to attract and retain customers. 

“People are much more interested in their health and wellness [today],” Jeff Bladt, svp of pricing and marketplace at Playlist Technologies, parent company to ClassPass, MindBody and Booker, told Glossy. “On the one hand, you have new [wellness] businesses opening that have this more holistic approach. Plus, you have existing businesses catching up and following the trend, and you’re still going to see more of that.” 

This trend is easily seen in fitness studios and gyms that have added recovery modalities, from saunas and cold plunges to stretching classes and muscle recovery-focused massage. 

“We do see a lot of experimentation [coming from businesses],” Bladt said. “The menu can get quite long, which is what I find so interesting. Some are adding nutritionists to their staffs, [such as] a pilates studio offering nutrition coaching, and there are also fitness studios adding salon services.” 

This includes short, stackable appointments where a customer might book a 15-minute sauna or cryotherapy session before or after their group class or solo gym session. 

Playlist Technologies was founded in June 2025 when top service-based booking apps Classpass, Mindbody and Booker merged. Playlist is helmed by longtime Classpass CEO Fritz Lanman. Analysts estimate the new private parent company to be worth around $7.5 billion. 

Fitness studios offering a recovery or wellness appointment type grew more than 6x between 2023 and 2025 on Mindbody. Meanwhile, the number of active recovery-focused businesses, like wellness centers or stretch or massage studios, grew 25x between January 2024 and February 2026 on Mindbody.

But beyond just the U.S., global wellness appointments booked on Playlist spiked 40% year-over-year for sauna appointments, while sports recovery sessions grew 50% YoY. 

As of March 2026, around 10% of active fitness venues on ClassPass feature recovery or wellness-related offerings, providing a lengthy runway for this trend to expand. 

Meanwhile, fitness equipment makers are rolling out new, more advanced equipment, while gyms are fighting for customers through wellness-focused remodels and expansion. It’s part of the growing desire for “third spaces,” meaning comfortable places to spend time beyond home and work or school. 

For example, faced with declining at-home equipment sales, Peloton plans to launch a line of smart bikes and treadmills this year made for gyms, followed by recovery equipment. Meanwhile, gym equipment maker Technogym is rolling out AI-powered equipment meant to replace, or assist, personal trainers through its app. It’s part of a bigger shift toward “smart equipment” that can sync with a gym-goer’s phone for health tracking. 

To wit: Crunch Fitness brokered a deal earlier this year to add smart equipment from manufacturer Freemotion, while private equity firms are lining up to fund gym makeovers. This includes LongRange Capital, which is soon revamping and expanding 24 Hour Fitness, and Princeton Equity Group, which plans to expand low-cost gym chain Amped Fitness.

According to Playlist, 28% of gym and fitness operators identify holistic wellness as the top trend shaping the sector this year, while 20% named it one of the fastest growing areas they’re seeing in fitness and wellness as a whole. 

Of course, it speaks to a larger trend spurred in the pandemic: Health is wealth. 

“If you look at what people in their 20s are doing, they’re not going to the bar nearly as often, so there is this continued shift in behaviors that anyone operating [within the health, fitness and wellness] space gets the benefit of being a part of,” Bladt said. “When a bar closes down, it’s probably a pilates studio that goes in. … I think people would rather spend $30 on a pilates workout than $40 on two mediocre cocktails, and that’s a really big change.”

Executive moves: 

• Anna Teal is stepping down from her role as CEO of Grown Alchemist to launch a wellness brand called Afima. She described Afima on LinkedIn as “a modern wellness brand I’m building from the ground up,” adding that it is “still early, but rooted in a white space I care deeply about. More to come.” Teal’s CV includes three years as CEO of Grown Alchemist, as well as executive roles at Boots, No7 Beauty and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
  
• Jeff Zwiefel is the new president and COO of 10X Health System, a provider of precision genetic testing, supplements and longevity equipment launched in 2021. Zwiefel stepped down from his role at Life Time Fitness in December after 27 years with the high-end gym chain. “Over the past few years, it’s become crystal clear to me that we are at a massive inflection point,” Zwiefel posted on LinkedIn. “Consumers are no longer satisfied with fragmented, reactive care. They are looking for integrated, optimal [and] personalized solutions that help them feel better, perform better and live longer.”
  
• Martin Hoffmann has stepped down from his role as CEO of sportswear company On after 13 years with the company. On co-founders David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti will serve as co-CEOs, while Scott Maguire has been promoted to president and COO. “By unifying founder-led strategic intent with our operational core, we aim to move faster, stay relentlessly focused on product heat and continue pushing the boundaries of what a sportswear brand can be,” Allemann said in a statement.
  
• Nora Wolfe is the new SVP and USA head of media for L’Oréal Groupe. Prior, she held the role of chief investment officer of Beauty Co-Lab, L’Oréal’s bespoke media team within Omnicom. “Together, we’ll accelerate how we bring our brands closer to consumers and stay at the forefront of the evolving media landscape,” Han Wen, chief digital and marketing officer for L’Oréal USA, said in a statement.

News to know:

• Bansk Group, the private investment firm behind brands like Amika, Eva NYC and Byoma, has acquired a majority stake in functional wellness brand So Good For You. The brand launched in 2014 and is best known for its refrigerated immunity juice shots and functional beverages sold at retailers like Target. 

• Ultrahuman, the India-based wearable company that exited the U.S. market in 2024, has re-entered the market with a new offering called the Ring Pro. The new health tracker will retail for $299, the same as smart ring competitor Oura, but offers its app and platform without a monthly subscription. Oura’s monthly subscription, for example, is $5.99. 

• Brands betting on the fast-growing collagen supplement category received good news at the end of March. A new, peer-reviewed study published in the “Aesthetic Surgery Journal” found that oral collagen can help skin elasticity and hydration, as well as aid in muscle health and joint pain, in some cases. According to the study, “in relation to skin, musculoskeletal health and osteoarthritis conditions, collagen supplementation was consistently associated with favorable outcomes.”
  
• Huel, the British protein powder and drink brand launched in 2014, has been acquired by food giant Danone for $1.15 billion. “Most people don’t get enough protein, fiber or the right nutrients,” Huel CEO James McMaster said in a statement. “With Danone, we will now have the infrastructure, distribution and R&D capability to go further, into new markets and to more people.”

Stat of the week:

The health and wellness category is the only area where American consumers plan to increase spending in 2026, according to a new study from consumer intelligence platform CivicScience. Consumers surveyed are most likely to reduce spending on beauty, entertainment, technology, electronics and clothing by double-digits this year, while consumers plan to increase health and wellness spending by 13%.

In the headlines:

Class-action lawsuits over nutritional claims on the rise in MAHA era [Modern Retail]. Rising gas prices could be the straw that breaks consumer spending [Digiday]. Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trial [NPR]. P2 Science makes Fast Company’s list of innovative companies [Happi]. Should I be sleeping with a posture pillow? [Vogue]. This muscle is the unsung hero of longevity [NYT]. 

Listen in: 

Since its launch in 2017, fitness brand Pvolve has partnered with dozens of companies including beauty brands like Tower28 and Lolavie; supplement makers Armra, Nutrafol and Tally Health; apparel brands like Lululemon and Beyond Yoga; F&B companies including Erewhon and Smart Water; global giants like Amex and Amazon; plus Weight Watchers and Hers from the health sector. Pvolve founding president Julie Cartwright joined the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss her in-depth partnership strategy, including national and regional collabs, that are driving awareness, sales and subscriptions. 

Need a Glossy recap? 

Remedy Place launches a ‘smart NAD injection pen’ — and ‘smart peptide pens’ could be next. Tarte founder Maureen Kelly enters nootropics with Finnsul, co-founded with her Gen-Z sons. Reddit’s new shopping ads are a play for beauty brands’ business. What a potential Puig and Estée Lauder merger means for fragrance. Anthropologie says it marries data and intuition in merchandising as it looks for ‘calculated risks’. Hollister leans into nostalgia with new graduation campaign.