Introducing the new face of the health and wellness industry.
Words by Cynthia Bou Khalil, Nutritional Consultant and Clinical Manager Excellence
Did you know that the average woman uses 12 different beauty products every day — cleansers, conditioners, hair dyes, fragrances, skincare products, scented lotions, nail polish, and makeup, to name a few. So it is no surprise that the beauty industry has been on a tear for years. Some submarkets are exceptions, like the mass beauty markets, but overall the business of beauty continues to defy gravity. To put this in perspective, the cosmetic industry worldwide is estimated to reach a value of 46.1 billion by 2023, at a CAGR growth rate of 10.8%.
However, the beauty industry is not alone. The health and wellness sector is also seeing exponential growth with global healthcare spending forecasted to cross the $10 trillion mark by 2022. Furthermore, the healthcare market in the UAE is set to witness a growth of around 10% by 2023. And as the health, wellness and beauty industries expand, sectors that naturally crossover, untapped segments of the market and consumer-led trends are set to become central to their future.
Jennifer Hessel, an industry consultant and L’Oreal alumna forecasted that there are a few major trends that these fast-growing sectors must answer and take advantage of now.[5] Firstly, the instant fix, which refers to the age-old desire for instant gratification. Think products such as Botox that allow a consumer to see immediate and guaranteed improvement. Secondly, customization and personalization. Here the industry uses data and customer input to create products for a universe of one, this is now the new form of luxury. Lastly, “from the Earth”, which indeed could be seen as a contradiction to the first trend mentioned but rather should be looked at as a more natural, clean and even holistic approach. There is a perception that skin and mind are linked and therefore a connection between skincare and wellness. It’s the opposite direction from where makeup is going.
As a Nutritional Consultant, I have dedicated much of my career to supporting patients suffering from obesity or being overweight, who often have feelings of failure after having tried one too many methods with minimal to no results. I am passionate about researching and implementing not just the latest solutions and offerings in the market but the best. This desire to unearth result-driven solutions with long-lasting results has been further driven by reports such as that released by WHO, which reported as much as 34.5% of the UAE population is classified as obese and 70.6% as overweight. This alarming report has been further supplemented by the International Diabetes Federation, reporting in 2019 that one in six adults in the UAE has diabetes. Furthermore, that same year, Zayed Military Hospital’s study conducted in the UAE, and led by Professor Humaidan Al Zaabi, found that 4.7% of patients were said to be suffering from the disease and that 41% of patients displayed signs of impaired fasting blood glucose, an indicator of pre-diabetes. We are in need of a solution, and one that reiterates the forecasted trends of the industry; a holistic, results-driven and personalized approach. With this in mind, in 2019 I joined Allurion, a program that is to the body what Botox is to the face.
No weight loss program is a magic bullet. An effective program is based on good healthcare and good science and The Elipse Program, by Allurion, is just that. It is a proven program that takes a holistic approach to losing weight. At the center of the program is a revolutionary soft balloon that creates a feeling of fullness in your stomach. It is the world's first and only weight loss device that requires no surgery, endoscopy, or anesthesia. Furthermore, patients benefit from six months of personalized dietary support to ensure lasting lifestyle changes. And with a clinical study of 509 patients showing that 95% of average weight loss with Allurion’s Elipse Program can be sustained at the 12 months follow up, it is an exciting solution to tackle the UAE's struggle with weight.
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