CBD, yoga, personal development books… The well-being market is not experiencing the crisis

Anxiety, depression, insomnia: the French have low morale. To the delight of anti-stress product merchants, who promise anxious people a little serenity thanks to their more or less inexpensive products. With the health crisis, the sales of these well-being merchants have leapt over the past two years.

And it is not the founder of Morphée who will say the opposite. With its small box that provides sophrology and meditation sessions to help insomniacs fall asleep, the Aix-based start-up is a hit on the shelves of Nature & Découvertes, where it rubs shoulders, on the brand’s shelves, with a panoply of products for well-being (essential oil diffusers, connected relaxation bands, light therapy lamps, etc.). In the space of a year, its sales have thus doubled, reaching 12 million euros in 2021.

And she is not the only one to align record figures. On another note, the food supplements sector is also posting good results, with a market reaching 2.3 billion euros, up 6.3% over the past year. And unsurprisingly, products to fight against stress, mood disorders and insomnia are on the podium of the most consumed dietary supplements.

Applications galore

On the bookstore side, it is in the personal development section that anxious people meet to take care of their moods. According to data from the market research company GfK, many are strolling the aisle in search of a practical solution. In 2021, the segment recorded nearly 6 million copies sold. Among the stars of the department, must-haves such as The Four Toltec Agreements (Youth), by Miguel Ruiz, or The key to your energy (Albin Michel), by Natacha Calestrémé, but also newcomers, likeAnti-stress, the simple method to treat anxiety and depression (Marabout, 2022, 224 pages, 18.90 euros), by psychiatrist David Gourion.

More surprisingly, the card boxes, inspired by the tarot but declined in personal development fashion, have met with enormous success, indicates Charlène Guinoiseau-Ferré, editorial director at Jouvence, a house specializing in well-being books.

And the catalog of articles for the use of anxious people does not stop there. All sectors are converting to this wave of well-being products, including the major food retail chains (Monoprix, Franprix, etc.) which market relaxing drinks and infusions with CBD, until then the prerogative of specialized shops, or to tour operators who offer anti-stress retreats, offering yoga and meditation in all the regional flavors (surfing and yoga in Biscarosse, Mountain Therapy retreat in Haute-Savoie, etc.).

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