Health & Wellness brands reallocate budgets; focus now on storytelling, community-building

The health and wellness sector is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by a shift in how brands engage with their audiences. No longer confined to performance-driven outreach or transactional messaging, brands are now embracing a more holistic and authentic approach - one that centers on values-based storytelling and meaningful community-building. 

This evolution reflects a growing consumer demand for transparency, purpose, and emotional connection, pushing companies to align their narratives with the lifestyles, beliefs, and aspirations of their audiences. In this changing landscape, storytelling is not just a marketing tool but a vehicle for trust, loyalty, and long-term brand relevance.

As consumer expectations evolve and digital saturation increases, brands are also rethinking how they allocate marketing budgets, especially with more emphasis on community-building and long-form content. The focus is shifting from short-term performance to long-term brand equity and deeper audience engagement.

Sindhu Biswal - CEO and Founder of Buzzlab explained the shifts in marketing budgets and said, “We’re seeing clients reallocate between 20–30% of performance spend into strategic creator-led content, community initiatives, and events designed to inspire long-term customer relationships, not short-term clicks.”

e4m Health & Wellness Marketing Awards

And brands are paying attention to it. 

“We've completely moved away from purely performance metrics. Earlier, we used to track acquisition ROAS, but we’ve stopped doing that. In our business, unless the customer repeats, it doesn't make sense. So we've shifted our focus to retention ROAS and the customer’s lifetime value,” said Chirag Gada, CEO at Dr. Vaidya’s by RPSG Group. He added that this also makes it a more long-term, sustainable business model. And they’ve also seen a significant jump in consumer engagement as well.

This was further reiterated by Rajesh Ramadurai, Co-founder, Executive Director & COO at Inzpera Healthsciences. According to him, when it comes to health, trust and education have always been the priority. He said, “Reach is the easiest metric to promise, but it often delivers very little on its own. Sure, it gets you eyeballs, but those mean nothing without real engagement or meaningful action. In the health and wellness space, what truly matters is trust, credibility, and education.” 

Ramadurai explained that even if one refers to the classic AIDA model in marketing, or the digital equivalent of upper, middle, and lower funnel—most marketers tend to focus heavily on the top: impressions, views, and broad awareness. However, real impact is made in the middle and lower parts of the funnel, where consideration and conversion happen. “So while my approach may lean more traditional, I’ve seen time and again that performance metrics alone don’t drive lasting value. It's long-term connection and education that truly move the needle.”

Meanwhile, Tata Soulfull is trying to balance both. Rasika P, CMO and Co-founder at Tata Soulfull explained that while performance metrics such as reach and impressions remain relevant, particularly for tracking year-end targets and assessing short-term campaign effectiveness, the true measure of success over the medium to long term lies in trust, credibility, and sustained brand building.

Rasika P at e4m event

She said, “Short-term KPIs serve a purpose, but every initiative must ultimately contribute to something more meaningful and enduring.” She added that to track long-term progress, the team conducts quarterly brand tracking studies with Kantar, focusing on consistent brand imagery scores. While real-time data captures campaign performance, these studies reveal whether the brand is moving in the right direction. This consistent approach spans all subcategories under a unified brand ethos and architecture.

Shlok Hari, Business Head - Growth Labs at SW Network (Sociowash) explained the reason behind this shift by saying that performance marketing is great for instant and measurable results; but for any business to succeed in the long run it needs to build a brand value with certain recognition and recall. Back in the days this could only be done through large scale investments in print, TV, outdoor etc., but with digital and social media growing; content is becoming key.  

Hari added, “The health & wellness market is solely dependent on trust and credibility; having personally worked on campaigns for both product and service led businesses in the category that is my biggest realization. Every piece of content needs to have a back story and case study angle to it; else today's digital savvy audience will not consider it credible.” According to him, today's content aims to clearly explain the product using data, science, and real user impact. Founder stories are gaining traction, as founders remain the most authentic and loyal advocates for their brands.

Biswal agreed and echoed similar thoughts. He argued that authentic stories like founder journeys, health transformations, and real patient experiences build trust and turn passive viewers into loyal advocates. 

Reaching the right audience

As storytelling becomes central to health and wellness branding, platforms and formats also play a critical role in how these narratives are delivered and received. Experts further noted the most effective platforms or channels for building engaged wellness communities, from a cost-efficiency and brand-fit perspective. 

Biswal stated that Instagram and YouTube still lead, but deeper community platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Reddit, and Discord are becoming essential. They're lower-cost yet higher-impact, enabling real dialogue over one-way ads. “In wellness marketing, smaller, highly engaged communities often outperform broad, shallow reach.”

Hari added that engaged audiences are dispersed across niche ecosystems, such as Strava groups, Whoop app users, and other fitness-led networks. Despite this fragmentation, Instagram continues to see significant growth in health and wellness engagement.

Within this landscape, Tata Soulfull offers a case in point. In its kids’ category, the brand reimagines traditional millets for modern tastes, creating stories that resonate with both children and parents. A central focus is supporting mothers—alleviating guilt and building emotional connection. Campaigns tied to Mother’s Day and Children’s Day draw from real insights, with themes like “Every mother has a child inside her” and “Maa sab jaanti hai” spotlighting the invisible emotional labor mothers carry.

Across other categories, including muesli, the brand has shifted from functional messaging to emotional storytelling, emphasizing “growing right” over “taller, stronger, sharper.” The focus is on wholesome nutrition that empowers children to follow their dreams, whatever they may be.

Similarly, Dr. Vaidya’s leverages direct consumer conversations to uncover real use cases, which drive its storytelling strategy. One such example is a truck driver from Ludhiana who regularly drinks but relies on the brand’s liver support product to protect his health—a reality for many. This insight inspired a reel featuring a socially active character who takes conscious steps to care for his liver, striking a chord with audiences.

This insight-led, relatable storytelling, grounded in ongoing consumer research continues to shape both brands’ content strategies and deepen consumer connection.

As the health and wellness sector continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the brands that will lead are those willing to go beyond metrics and lean into meaning. Trust, relevance, and emotional connection are emerging as the new currency shaped not by broad reach, but by authentic storytelling, community-building, and a deep understanding of consumer needs.

Ultimately, as consumers grow more discerning and the digital landscape more saturated, success will belong to brands that listen closely, speak authentically, and build relationships that last well beyond a single campaign.