Tesco is forecasting that the health and wellbeing landscape in 2025 will focus on proactive versus reactive measures as more people work to prevent poor health by making personalised changes to their diets and lifestyle.
The supermarket has released a new report, with insight from over 3,000 UK adults, internal data and experts to help people implement a more sustainable approach to their health and wellbeing.
The report reveals that the nation looks to turn over a ‘healthier leaf’ this New Year, with an expectation that people will make dietary and lifestyle changes that will continue on from last year’s trajectory as 70,000 searches appeared on Tesco.com for ‘healthy’ or ‘healthy snacks’ in January 2024.
The key health and wellness trends for 2025 include a focus on gut health, shifts in alcohol consumption, the growth of plant-forward diets and the prioritisation of protein.
Natasha Maynard, Tesco Nutritionist, said: “Today people are feeling more empowered to decide what works for their own health, with wider access to knowledge and experts allowing them to undertake their own research and look beyond traditional approaches. There is no longer a ‘one size fits all’ approach to improving health and we’re seeing a new era of health that is more targeted and tailored to the individual.
“The New Year is a time where many of us become a little more conscious of our health as we set our resolutions and focus on the year ahead. We get it – it can be a great time to turn over a new chapter, but rather than adopting new fads which may not last past the month of January, we believe in encouraging small changes which can have a big impact and help people to stick with much healthier and more sustainable diets long term. Considering things like increasing fruit, vegetables and fibre in diets is great for our health, whilst being conscious of salt, saturated fats and sugar intake is key overall.”
Key insights from the Tesco Health and Wellbeing Report include:
Measured approach to alcohol
- 10% of British people say they are planning to steer clear of alcohol for the first month of the year, while 29% say they won’t be drinking at all in 2025.
- More than half (56%) of UK adults who will be alcohol-free in January say it’s because they want to improve their overall health, and 18% say they want to improve their lifestyle.
- Worryingly, almost a third (32%) of those taking part say they think it’s likely they’ll face some social pressures to consume alcohol at this time.
Gut Instinct
- After heart health (47%), gut health (37%) topped the list of health areas that people are most concerned about.
- While gut health ranked highly, 15% of people claimed not to know much about the importance of gut health, nor how what they eat impacts it.
- Many people are taking proactive measures to help maintain a healthy gut, including incorporating more fibre (70%), probiotics and live cultures (27%) into their diet.
Plant-forward eating
- More than one in five (22%) of people say they plan to consume more plant-based foods as part of their diet in 2025.
- Popular ways they plan to do so include incorporating ‘no meat’ days to their weekly diets and consuming more fruit and vegetables in smoothies.
Powerful Protein and Fantastic Fats
- Almost 60% of UK adults are prioritising – or will try to prioritise – consuming protein as part of their diet in 2025.
- Over half (51%) of UK adults say the way they view fats has shifted in recent years, and people are being mindful of the different types of fat in their diet, with a focus on replacing less healthy saturated fats with unsaturated fats, such as omega-3s and incorporating foods like avocadoes, nuts and oils like olive, rapeseed and sunflower.
NAM Implications:
- The key is, cash permitting, a focus on proactive versus reactive measures provides a bigger market opportunity…
- And given the report was a Tesco initiative…
- …it follows that proposals echoing the conclusions will probably find receptive ears in the Tesco Buying office in 2025.
- That said, the report is worth checking for sources of alignment with your 2025 strategies…
