Why home wellness is spawning a plethora of business ideas

“Wellness has been a growing industry over the past eight to 10 years and now it’s becoming way more mainstream,” says Alison Morgan, founder of business coaching firm Relauncher.

“Because information [about household toxins] is so readily available on social media and online, people are becoming far more educated.”

Morgan, who works predominately with wellness-focused brands, says that as consumers strive to improve their living spaces and adopt healthier habits, businesses are smart to tap into the emerging market.

A new report from tech industry analyst CB Insights has highlighted the importance of doing just that – it named at-home wellness services and products as a key investment opportunity in the wake of COVID-19.

“If you’re looking to go into the health and wellness industry, at first you might think it’s flooded but it’s absolutely not, there’s so much room for growth and we’ll continue to see that,” Morgan says.

“People are proactively taking steps to have this holistic nature in their life. So, new businesses starting up really should be looking into the health and wellness aspect of their product or service, because that is where the general public is looking to first.”

The founders of Melbourne-based eco-wellness business Sensori+ have seen first-hand how hungry consumers are for gentle solutions to common household pollutants. Their signature product, an all-natural air-detoxifying spray, sold out in 15 minutes when it launched two years ago.

“At that stage we were in two countries only, Australia and China, and it just became such huge news,” recalls co-founder Ali Shoraka. “We hadn’t really anticipated the buzz it created, which was quite promising.”

They were able to scale their business quickly by selling on Amazon Australia, which allowed them access to a larger pool of customers. In its first six months of operation, Sensori+ had expanded to multiple global markets including Amazon UK and Amazon USA.

“It’s important to us that we’re able to partner with a company who can connect us to people not just all over the country, but all over the world, and who care about the same things that we do,” says Sensori+ co-founder Ben Xu.

Unlike regular air fresheners that mask odours with synthetic fragrances, the Sensori+ mist uses a plant-based molecule to neutralise more than 100 airborne toxins, including formaldehyde, benzene and sulphide.

It’s vegan and has been tested for safety and efficacy by global authorities including Ansto and SGS.

The technology is the brainchild of Xu, who spent more than seven years developing ChlorosPURE, the molecule used in the spray, for industrial emission control.

He teamed up with Shoraka, who has a background in luxury beauty, and architect Marc Wang to translate the formula into an appealing consumer product.

“The brand was built on this model value of how can we bring wellness and sustainability together in the form of premium home fragrance and skincare products?” explains Wang.

“When we looked at developing this collection of air-detoxifying mists we really looked at how we could make it super clean, not using any alcohol or synthetic fragrances at all, but deliver a useful freshening experience.”

Boasting chic packaging and sophisticated botanical scents (as well as an unscented version), Sensori+ landed at just the right time, coinciding with the wellness boom.

They’ve since instilled the patented formula into a raft of products including candles, shower oils and body lotions, and have adapted quickly to the pandemic with a detoxifying mask spray.

“Particularly this year, what we’ve been through with the bushfires and the pandemic changing the environment and the amount of pollutants that we’re exposed to, today no one can close their eyes and pretend nothing has happened,” says Wang of the brand’s hyper relevance.

“People are starting to think, ‘how can I have a solution, how can I improve and protect my wellbeing?’”

Morgan adds that part of the appeal of wellness-focused products is that they are often built on an ethical framework, such as sustainability or charitable support for under-served communities.

Sensori+ is no different – the company backs up its sustainable message with 100 per cent recyclable packaging and Australian-grown ingredients.

Describing the brand as “obsessed” with the clean, safe and ethical concept, Shoraka says other businesses should take note.

“I am really confident that wellness is here to stay – it’s not a trend,” he says. “I can definitely see that within this decade, brands who will fail to adapt to the holistic wellbeing model will really struggle to keep their connections to the consumer.”

Amazon.com.au put small Australian businesses front and centre at their recent Amazon Prime Day 2020, which marked the two biggest days ever for Australian small businesses on Amazon.com.au. Head to www.Amazon.com.au/shoplocal to shop products from hundreds of Australian small businesses.