From GLP-1s to gymnasium consolidation, Kyle Perreira from Lincoln Worldwide affords insights for manufacturers and health and wellness operators trying to make their mark in a aggressive market
As client priorities proceed to shift towards health-centered habits and competitors intensifies, corporations within the health and wellness house are beneath stress to step up—or danger falling behind.
Kyle Perreira, director at international funding financial institution Lincoln Worldwide, has a hen’s-eye view of all issues health, out of doors and experiential and says that the companies finest positioned for progress are these that may not solely acknowledge rising developments however transfer shortly to fulfill them.
Athletech Information spoke with Perreira to interrupt down the important thing shifts and his perception on how forward-thinking manufacturers can flip these modifications right into a strategic benefit.
The GLP-1 Impact
You possibly can’t discuss in regards to the {industry}’s present state or future with out addressing the impression of weight reduction medicine—industry-disrupting medicines which are shortly reshaping client conduct and forcing industries of all types, together with meals and beverage, to rethink their strategy. Their widespread adoption—and the rising emphasis on preserving lean muscle mass—has pushed extra shoppers to the gymnasium and/or on the hunt for a private coach who’s specialised in coaching shoppers on (or petering out) GLP-1s.
However who Perreira sees driving larger membership charges is the place issues get attention-grabbing.
“I feel the information actually signifies that GLP-1s are growing membership charges,” Perreira says. “Lots of people reference that, and the information helps it. We’re seeing larger membership charges, particularly amongst youthful folks, together with elevated exercise frequency. From our perspective, and from what I’ve heard throughout the board, GLP-1s permit folks to get to a place to start focusing extra on health and wellness total, which is an efficient factor. You possibly can’t simply take a GLP-1 and sit round all day—it usually results in higher consuming habits and higher exercise habits to regain muscle mass misplaced from taking GLPs. So finally, it’s driving a rise in membership charges, notably amongst youthful demographics.”
Some health manufacturers are already forward of the sport, combining their signature health experiences with entry to weight reduction medicines, similar to Life Time’s Miora, Recess Rx and Lindora. Notably, health tools chief Echelon can be pushing into the GLP-1 house with the launch of ActiveMD to create an omnichannel fitness and wellness offering.
Tech-enabled Health
In some ways, related health as we all know it’s just the start. Perreira envisions a future the place knowledge is built-in throughout all of a client’s health modalities—particularly as post-pandemic habits have led folks to work out in additional areas and with extra forms of tools than ever earlier than, together with at residence.
“I feel there are going to be extra tools producers that determine how they proceed to drive innovation and discover higher methods to attach the health product ecosystem throughout various kinds of tools and types,” he says. “It’s going to be all about monitoring knowledge throughout your exercise life cycle.”
Perreira initiatives that one or two class leaders are more likely to develop built-in know-how that would mark a game-changing second for the {industry}.
“Persons are going to leap in on that, and all of the smaller manufacturers are going to say, ‘Okay, I’m integrating with this ecosystem,’” he says. Who that’s—I don’t assume has been determined but—and I feel there’s going to be lots of people which are going to attempt to struggle for that first mover benefit.”
How Consolidation Is Redefining Development
Whereas 2024 delivered a wave of headline-making deals across the fitness industry, the tempo of consolidation reveals no indicators of slowing this 12 months—and it’s just the beginning.
“Over the approaching years, you’ll see extra unbiased gymnasium ideas proceed to get swallowed up,” Perreira says. “Lengthy story quick—it’s only a pure evolution, and there’s extra funding {dollars} attending to this house yearly.”
He does, nevertheless, provide recommendation to unbiased gyms trying to appeal to the eye of huge “purchase and construct” platforms—or just proceed scaling on their very own.
“There’s no free lunch on this market,” Perreira says. “Everybody’s making an attempt to get higher. Should you’re not consistently making an attempt to create worth in your shoppers, there’s danger. Customers get bored each 5 years. Should you’re not consistently evolving with that, you’re naturally going to lose. It’s important to be higher than your competitors. Folks need tradition. Folks need neighborhood—and when you can create that, that creates loyalty and that’s the way you win.”
The Femtech Wave
The rise of femtech is one other space that reveals promise, with Perreira pointing to extra publications on the subject and startups which have dramatically grown over the previous few years.
“There’s a whole lot of curiosity when it comes to concentrating on this demographic higher,” he says. “As a result of it was underserved for a protracted, very long time. There’s curiosity and pleasure there which is resulting in further funding {dollars} devoted to this sector.”
It’s additionally an space the place we’re already seeing some consolidation in 2025. Earlier this month, California-based Willow, a femtech model identified for creating the primary in-bra wearable breast pump, has acquired Elvie, a U.K.-based health and lifestyle company.
The Caitlin Clark Impact
One main alternative for manufacturers lies within the rising ladies’s sports activities sector, with online searches for the WNBA surging 322% in 2024.
“The Caitlin Clark effect is actual,” Perreira says. “On the sports activities aspect, there’s vital curiosity in sports activities and particularly staff sports activities. You’re seeing the maturity of males’s sports activities when it comes to tools gross sales, however the ladies’s sports activities and the ladies’s health class is rising faster. So, in that sense, folks need to put extra funding {dollars} in direction of the sooner rising class, which is nice, and there ought to be extra innovation there.”
Surging viewership of the WNBA and ladies’s faculty basketball is one instance the place growing consciousness is translating into broader concepts for new products and improvements.
“It creates extra conversations within the boardrooms for these tools producers to say, ‘Wow, why aren’t we creating a brand new shoe for the WNBA? Why aren’t we making a revolutionary softball helmet? Why aren’t we making an attempt to focus on that too? Why aren’t we pushing software program and {hardware} in direction of knowledge analytics in softball?’ Every part’s about baseball analytics as we speak. Let’s create softball too, as a result of there’s an increasing number of consideration there.”
Is Pickleball Constructed to Final?
Pickleball has discovered its footing as an accessible various to tennis—however will its endurance be examined as extra aggressive racket sports activities like padel and squash acquire traction and attract consumers ready for a new challenge?
“If you consider something that targets shoppers, when you can goal the center you may actually acquire adoption shortly—from a client perspective, you might be actually good at it, however you really don’t should be that good at it to get pleasure from it,” Perreira says. “It’s an ideal sport for informal gamers to shortly get good at. So, it undoubtedly has some legs. There’s undoubtedly a whole lot of innovation when it comes to paddle know-how. Is it going to get 3 times, 4 occasions as large as it’s as we speak? Time will inform.”
‘Higher for You’ Increase
With health and wellness developments more and more intertwined with hydration and diet, high-margin classes like dietary merchandise and power drinks are well-positioned for continued progress.
It’s additionally a class that would attraction to health and wellness operators exploring private-label alternatives in dietary supplements, snacks or power drinks or partnerships. Functional fitness franchisor F45 recently teamed with energy drink Red Bull to stock its drinks within its gyms, whereas luxury athletic country club operator Life Time expands its line of LTH supplements and active nutrition offerings.
“The brand new client doesn’t drink as a lot alcohol. The brand new client doesn’t need sugar,” Perreira notes. “The brand new client desires ‘higher for you.’ Manufacturers and the health ideas are listening to that and saying, ‘We need to promote that to you, as a result of these are excessive margin merchandise, so allow us to discover that for you and make it handy so that you can buy it.’ In order that’s the place we’re seeing an impression particularly throughout the health market.”
CPG giants are additionally responding. Final month, PepsiCo acquired prebiotic soda startup Poppi for $1.95 billion and Bloom Vitamin has entered the prebiotic beverage house, with plans to launch Bloom Pop later this year. In the meantime, Olipop, a low-sugar purposeful soda model with prebiotics, plant fiber and botanical extracts, recently secured a $50 million investment from J.P. Morgan Private Capital’s Growth Equity Partners, bringing its valuation to $1.85 billion.
The ‘Fitness center as a Clinic’ Idea
Though med-spas aren’t usually prime of thoughts in conversations about health and wellness, the {industry} is beginning to see crossover. Aesthetic services still have their place, but there’s growing interest in longevity-focused therapies, metabolic health support and complete testing with routine check-ins.
“There’s been vital curiosity in med spas,” Perreira says. “There’s a lot curiosity in technology-enabled well being care proper now, however they’re sort of all in their very own lanes. Physician’s places of work are beginning to get built-in, and gymnasiums are beginning to determine it out—clearly, there’s a bit of little bit of regulatory dynamics, in order that’s a bit of little bit of the speedbump.”
He predicts that high-end gyms would be the first to combine medical health-focused choices, although present regulatory hurdles stay. Equinox is without doubt one of the first, having partnered with longevity startup Function for a testing-informed and hyper-personalized approach to training. Furthermore, Perreira factors to psychological well being as a key space that will likely be built-in into the gymnasium expertise.
“We’re mirroring bodily and psychological well being a lot extra on daily basis, that ultimately these gyms might want to additional cater to each side — it’s going to be really holistic health,” he says. “I feel that’s undoubtedly going to be a pattern that we’ll see play out as health ideas proceed to search out methods to incrementally join with their members.”
