Health and Wellness Trends 2012

Last month, many made resolutions and promised to be healthier in the new year. One month in, your corporate clients, too, are making the pledge to help employees get on the right track toward better health and fitness. So, we’ve put together a list of the top five trends and products to look for to help guide you and your clients to wellness in 2012.

Trend Five: Wellness Trips

Described as “bootcamp for the soul,” wellness trips provide a way to relax and tone up at the same time. Rather than overindulge in food or shopping, people are seeking wellness trips as a means of winding down without losing the healthy rhythm of their regular lives. Whether in the form of a yoga retreat with a famous guru, a cleansing hike expedition or a spa getaway trip with the girls, wellness trips let vacationers participate in the activities they love, while meeting those with like interests. Ready to book your trip? Gear up for your vacation with products like Camelbak’s Hydrobak 50-oz. Hydration Pack and water bottles. And don’t forget to pack a pair of Sony noise-cancelling headphones and a Homedics Ortho+Therapy Foam Travel Pillow to help you relax on the way there. Ask your clients if they are planning any such trips for employees and offer pillow gifts, spa items, rewards for those who lose the most weight or show the most stamina and more.

Trend Four: Local and Pure Food

With the popularity of community gardens, farmers markets and specialty grocery stores continuing to rise, finding healthy foods has never been easier. Take a trip to your local market and treat yourself to a wealth of nutrientrich vegetables, organically- grown fruits and local specialties that will energize your body and spirit. Then use these raw ingredients to prepare wholesome meals your whole family will love. Juicers and food processors like the Elite Collection 12-Cup Food Processor from Cuisinart make pureeing, chopping and juicing easy, while water filtration pitchers like the 8-Cup Purifying Water Pitcher from ZeroWater let you pair healthy meals with refreshing glasses of pure water. After dinner, pack leftovers in a stylish reusable lunch tote, like the Duo line from Igloo Coolers, to ensure you eat healthy even when you’re not home. Jump on this trend by offering your services and solutions to local markets and farms, which also hold many special events, like hayrides, horror fests and more familyoriented activities throughout the year.

Trend Three: Dance/ Group Workouts

Today’s group workouts are fun, easy to learn and available for all skill levels, making them a great option for people of all ages. Interested in joining but can’t find a class? Create your own routine in your living room with a docking station and home theater system from Panasonic and an Apple iPod Touch. Or invest in one of 2012’s hottest video games, such as Sony PlayStation’s “Everybody Dance.” Thanks to new body tracking technology, many of these games record and analyze your movement to provide more accurate scoring and fitness information. Don’t forget to target dance centers and fitness clubs with promotional products like performance wear, towels and yoga mats.

Trend Two: Total Life Wellness

Today, wellness is about more than just fitness. It’s about exercise, nutrition, stress relief and general health-consciousness. Take control of all aspects by combining fitness routines with new wellness tools, such as the Biggest Loser Lithium Electric Weight Management Scale from Taylor, that merge body-mass index reporting with weight tracking software to track progress toward weight-loss goals. Reduce stress with products like the Hydro Therapy Foot Massager or the SoundSpa from Homedics, designed to help you get a good night’s sleep. And stay focused on nutrition with indoor grills like DeLonghi’s Perfecto Indoor Healthy Grill that provide yearround healthy cooking options. Approach both corporate and nonprofit clients alike with items and ideas that raise awareness and promote education initiatives.

Trend One: Tech- Fueled Workouts

With an influx of new technologies entering the fitness world, staying fit and tracking your progress have never been easier. Products used in everyday workouts, such as GNC’s Digital Jump Rope, tracking watches like Garmin’s Forerunner and the Cycling Heart Rate Monitor from Polar USA, now come equipped with technology that tracks the number of jumps you take, the distance you run and calories burned. These advances, in addition to new exercise applications on smartphones and iPods, have made it even easier to track your progress and share it online through sites like Tweet What You Eat and other fitness blogs. While it is important to consult a physician before starting a new exercise regimen, these technologies empower individuals to take charge of their health by creating workout plans and monitoring their effort, without relying exclusively on the help of the experts. Help promote fitness blogs and websites with tech-related items, such as iPod cases, earbuds, logoed skins and more.

New You

With an ever-expanding presence of personal fitness tools, healthier nutrition solutions and stress-minimizing products on the market, it will be simpler than ever to stick to those health-conscious resolutions. No matter how you choose to do it, make yourself a priority by focusing on your health and wellness and encourage your clients to do the same.

JACkiE BARDENWERPER is the director of marketing for Lapine, Inc., an award-winning merchandise agency offering premium merchandise, distribution and fulfillment services, and comprehensive marketing support to the premium industry. For more information, please visit www.lapine inc.com or contact us at (203) 327-9099 or brandbuilders@lapineinc.com.