11 Wellness Business Ideas to Start in 2026

The global health and wellness industry is nothing short of massive. According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), it’s projected to reach nearly $6.8 trillion in 2024 and climb to almost $9 trillion by 2028. That makes it one of the biggest consumer-megatrends of our time. 

And it’s safe to say, “wellness” isn’t a passing fad; it’s a mindset and a lifestyle that people are spending on in a wide variety of ways. The GWI also estimates the market will grow at around 7.3 % per year from 2023 to 2028, which is well ahead of the global GDP growth rate.

Whether you’re interested in selling high-quality products that support health and well-being via an ecommerce business, or providing guidance and instruction for achieving a healthy lifestyle as a health coach or personal trainer, here are a few wellness business ideas to help you launch your own business in this thriving industry.

Wellness product business ideas

• Meal kits
• Supplements
• Beauty products
• Wellness gear
• Digital wellness products

When selling wellness products via a storefront or online store, your costs will include items like formulation and manufacturing, ingredient sourcing, packaging, and shipping. 

Examples of wellness products to sell include: 

1. Meal kits

Meal kits, especially those oriented toward healthy eating, can be an excellent way to help your customers achieve their wellness goals, especially if you already have a background in food or nutrition. 

Think prepared meals like Sakara’s, a luxury plant-based meal brand that’s built a cult following (and secured millions in funding as it scaled), make-at-home kits for healthy dinners, or juice-cleanse bundles like those at Pur, a business known for bold branding and a devoted wellness-focused customer base.

If you go this route, keep in mind that food-based wellness businesses come with extra responsibilities. You’ll need to register as a food business, comply with food-safety and allergen-labeling regulations, and follow hygiene standards (like HACCP-style procedures).

Most founders start by renting a certified commercial kitchen or shared food-production space. This route is best if you want to validate your wellness business idea before investing in your own setup. 

As for startup costs, expect expenses like kitchen rental, packaging, licensing, equipment, and bulk ingredients. Budget a few thousand dollars for a small-batch launch using a shared kitchen, $30,000 for a “ghost kitchen,” and anywhere from $25,000 to more than $100,000 if you’re building a more scalable operation from the start.

• How to get started: Start by testing two to three signature dishes, validate demand with local delivery or farmers market pickup, then scale through a certified shared kitchen and a simple Shopify store.

2. Supplements

The supplement industry includes products like: 

• Probiotics and vitamins (think Wellbel, a women’s-hair supplement brand founded by celebrity trichologist Dr. Diana Yadgar, which has gained investor buzz with creator-investors like Danielle Bernstein backing the business)
• Adaptogens (like the superfood lattes at Clevr Blends, which skyrocketed in visibility after an Oprah endorsement)
• Herbal or naturopath remedies (like seed-syncing products from Food Period, which built a loyal community around hormone-support wellness)
• Nutritional powders (like the greens at AG1, now a globally recognized daily-nutrition brand)
• High-performance athletic products (like the hydration mixes at LMNT, a favorite among elite athletes and biohackers)

Starting a supplements business (even if you’re dropshipping instead of formulating your own) means taking compliance seriously from day one. 

In the US, dietary supplements fall under FDA oversight, so you’ll need to follow FDA supplement labeling rules, make sure your packaging avoids disease-treatment claims, provide required ingredient panels, and follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for supplements. 

If you’re manufacturing, your facility must meet GMP standards (or partner with a GMP-certified manufacturer). You’ll also want third-party testing protocols in place, like microbiological testing, heavy-metal screening, and purity/potency verification through reputable labs, to build trust and validate safety.

A recent report found that clinically proven efficacy and scientific credibility have the biggest impact on supplement-buying decisions. That’s why it’s important to support your brand with as much evidence as you can, whether that’s ingredient research, expert backing, transparent testing results, or clear explanations of how your formula works. The more rigorous and open you are, the easier it becomes to stand out in a very crowded wellness space.

• How to get started: Choose a niche (e.g., gut health, women’s hormonal support, performance hydration), partner with a GMP-certified manufacturer, and begin with a single hero product backed by ingredient research and third-party testing.

3. Beauty products

Products geared toward improving customers’ appearance account for almost half of all wellness purchases across generations. Beauty also comes with many product sub-categories, such as skin care lines, makeup lines, and hair care products, making it rife with opportunity. 

Many wellness-minded entrepreneurs develop their own beauty line to solve a problem they’ve encountered as a consumer, like formulating a new solution for eczema or creating inclusive products for reactive skin.

The surge in “clean-beauty” is a goldmine. The global clean beauty market was estimated at $9.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $21.29 billion by 2030, growing at roughly 14.8% annually.

Consumers are getting choosy: More than 65% seek out clean skin care brands.For a wellness-beauty business, that means two big opportunities, but it also means added responsibilities. 

First, certification matters: Labels like EWG Verified™, MADE SAFE, USDA Organic, or NSF/ANSI 305 help build trust, show you’ve taken third-party checks and aren’t just using “clean” as a buzzword.

Second, ingredient sourcing and transparency are your competitive edge. Think responsibly harvested botanicals, low-toxicity formulae, ethical supplier chains, and packaging that tells a story. 

And there are plenty of beauty brands doing well. Ilia Beauty, a Canadian clean-makeup brand founded in 2011, reported $200 million in 2024 revenue and is now pursuing global expansion, while Scandinavian natural skin care brand Henua Organics has been featured in Vogue and other major publications.

• How to get started: Identify a skin concern you want to solve, work with a clean-beauty lab or private label partner, and pursue EWG/MADE SAFE/Organic certification.

4. Wellness gear

Curating products is a business superpower, especially when themed around a particular wellness niche, like trail running and hiking at Garage Grown Gear. Building an ecommerce business based around high-quality wellness products that you personally love and find effective can be a great way to offer a wide-ranging portfolio that appeals to multiple audience segments without having to develop your own products.

Alternatively, you could launch a new product built on your wellness expertise, like the founders of Bandit, a running apparel brand, did, and the founder of Manta Sleep, focused on sleep care.

If you’d rather avoid the hassle of warehousing and storage, the dropshipping model is a smart way to curate wellness-products without holding huge inventory. 

Essentially you partner with a supplier who ships directly to your customer when you make the sale. That means you’ll still need to vet suppliers carefully. You need to check shipping times, quality control, and reliability (especially important in wellness niches). Since you’re not investing upfront in large stock, your startup cost is lower, but you need to be sharp on margins and fulfillment. 

Dropshipping margins for wellness-adjacent products vary depending on your niche, product cost, and shipping fees. This breakdown suggests you could have a profit margin of 50% to 70%.Even if you don’t stock products, you should watch supplier stock levels (to avoid “out of stock” surprises), quality control samples regularly, and plan for backup suppliers.

• How to get started: Curate gear in a niche you love (e.g., trail running, yoga props, sleep tools), start with dropshipping or small-batch inventory, and use user-generated reviews and community content to build trust through social proof.

5. Digital wellness products

If you want to build something in the wellness space without managing inventory or shipping orders all day, digital wellness products are a greatidea. They tend to be a low investment idea with the potential for high profit margins. 

Digital wellness can look like a lot of things, including:

• Online courses: meditation, breathwork, mindful productivity, guided mobility training, nutrition basics.
• Membership sites and communities: monthly support, group challenges, live classes, meal plans, fitness programming.
• Wellness apps: habit trackers, sleep coaching, guided journaling, cycle syncing apps, mental-wellness tools.
• Downloadables: journal prompts, meal plans, wellness resources, workout programs, meditation packs, gut-health guides, stretching calendars, recipe books.

The beauty of this model is that you build once and can sell many times. Plus, you can start small with something like a single downloadable PDF or a four-week mini-course and then scale as your audience grows.

There are plenty of platforms out there that can help you set up and sell your digital wellness products. Here are a few of the most popular:

• Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific for courses and memberships.
• Circle, Mighty Networks for wellness communities and coaching groups.
• Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Payhip for simple guides, templates, and digital files.
• Substack or Patreon for wellness newsletters and membership content.

You don’t actually need to go straight to a full app either. Many successful founders began with a PDF guide or a simple membership and grew from there. 

The type of digital resource you offer will determine your price range too: 

• Downloadables: $10 to $95 depending on depth and what result you’re promising.
• Courses: $97 to $997, depending on support level and niche (for example, a self-paced course with no live access to the instructor might be $97, while a course with live coaching calls, a community element, and personalized feedback might run at the higher end of the scale). 
• Membership programs: $10 to $49 per month for light content and community, and $50 to $250per month for coaching-forward programs.
• Apps: Often free and premium upgrade, or $5 to $30 per month subscription.
• How to get started: Start small with a downloadable guide or mini-course, collect testimonials, then expand into memberships or premium programs.

Wellness service business ideas

• Personal training
• Health coaching
• Meditation classes
• Guided nature experiences
• Bodywork
• Wellness retreats and workshops

Wellness service businesses offer expertise or experience. Your business costs may include certifications, liability insurance, and space rental fees. 

Examples of wellness service business ideas include:

6. Personal training

Many personal trainers get their start working on-staff at a gym or teaching fitness classes before launching their own personal training business. This allows time to hone your training or teaching style and build client relationships. 

To become a personal trainer, extensive experience in fitness (even if it’s only your personal journey) is a baseline requirement, and knowledge of physiology, injury prevention, and nutrition are all complementary skills. Personal trainers must also be certified in CPR and AED. 

Certification and courses vary by state, but programs are easy to find, and entry-level programs like those through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) will typically cost around $500. Depending on your interests and goals, you might also choose to specialize; running coaches can become certified through the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) or UESCA, for example. 

And once you’re certified, you don’t have to stick to the old-school “train in a gym from 6 a.m. to noon every day” model. 

Today, a lot of trainers are building flexible fitness businesses using virtual training platforms like Trainerize, TrueCoach, My PT Hub, or even Zoom and Google Meet for live sessions. 

These tools make it easy to deliver custom workout programs, track client progress, send video form checks, and offer accountability messaging without needing any floor space. 

Lots of trainers also use hybrid models, where they mix in-person sessions with online coaching or something like weekly video check-ins. This type of setup can expand who you can work with and also helps create more predictable monthly income through online memberships or program subscriptions.

• How to get started: Get certified, take on a few in-person clients to refine your method, then expand online for hybrid coaching programs.

7. Health coaching

Health coaches specialize in holistic health services, including nutrition, meal planning, and stress management. To support your clients’ journeys toward their health and wellness goals, pursue health coach certifications, coursework, or licenses. For example, a personal chef would require key certifications in food preparation and safety. 

Starting your own health coaching business doesn’t require a license, but it can help you establish your expertise in your niche.

There’s also a ton of room to niche down. For example, some coaches focus on gut health, hormone balance, postpartum wellness, midlife/metabolic health, corporate stress coaching, chronic fatigue support, or plant-based nutrition and meal planning. Others go ultra-specific, like runners needing nutrition support, busy founders optimizing energy, or ADHD-friendly wellness routines. 

Pricing varies widely depending on your niche and level of support, but most coaches offer packages instead of one-off sessions. Expect to see typical ranges like $75 to $200 per 60-minute session, $300 to $1,200 per month for coaching packages with check-ins done via message, or $1,500 to more than $5,000 for eight- to 12-week signature programs. 

• How to get started: Pick a niche, get certified through programs like IIN or Precision Nutrition, and start with one-on-one packages before launching a group program.

8. Meditation classes

There are countless apps aimed at teaching meditation and mindfulness, but there’s growing interest and demand for in-person wellness experiences. You can offer meditation services through a wellness center, yoga studio, or gym, or host your own at a private studio or rotating locations, like public parks. 

Meditation and mindfulness overlap well with bodywork or yoga if you want to expand your menu of services. You can also explore meditation-app partnerships as an additional revenue stream. Many platforms work with instructors to license guided sessions or co-create programs, giving you extra visibility and a bit of passive income.

• How to get started: Get meditation teacher training, run small in-person sessions at parks or yoga studios, then license content to meditation apps or offer paid virtual sessions.

9. Guided nature experiences

Engaging with nature is a proven and integral piece of wellness, and helping others access it—in whichever form you love best—can be a valuable wellness service. Maybe you know all the best kayaking spots to see bioluminescence, or you’ve got an encyclopedic knowledge of bird species and the best birding spots in your area. Introducing locals to forest bathing might be more your speed, or maybe you’re an artist who can teach folks how to make art in and about the natural world. Even guided walks and hikes in your greater neighborhood can be the foundation for a thriving wellness business for beginners.

Because you’re working outdoors and often leading groups, you’ll want to have liability insurance in place. This typically includes general liability (to cover accidents or injuries), and if you’re guiding higher-risk activities like kayaking, trail running, or stand-up paddleboarding, consider professional liability and adventure and outdoor activity coverage too. 

Most public parks and recreation areas also ask for proof of insurance if you’re running paid activities, so it’s worth getting this sorted from day one.

Partnerships can help you reach more people without a ton of marketing spend. For example, you might team up with local hotels, B&Bs, boutique lodges, retreat hosts, eco-tourism companies, or adventure outfitters to offer your services as an add-on experience. 

You can structure these agreements in different ways: commissions for each booking they send you, flat-rate packages, or co-branded “wellness weekend” experiences. Some wellness guides even collaborate on exclusive guest perks, like sunrise hikes for hotel guests or seasonal birdwatching mornings paired with a local café brunch. 

• How to get started: Get insured for outdoor activities, create themed experiences, and partner with hotels and eco-lodges for bookings.

10. Bodywork

Bodywork services like massage, acupuncture, and reiki can be lucrative specialties in the wellness space. Massage therapists and other practitioners typically require certifications or licenses, as well as in-person locations to treat clients, so you may want to spend time working for another business and developing a loyal client base while you generate the resources you’ll need to start your own bodywork business.

Licensing requirements vary by state, but most have minimum education hours, exams, and continuing-education rules. 

For example, California requires around 500 hours of training through a recognized massage program, while New York mandates 1,000 hours and passing a state board exam. Texas requires 500 hours and an exam, and Florida requires 500 hours, licensing, and background checks. 

If you’re incorporating acupuncture, you’ll need to do a lot more training. Some states need you to have an accredited master’s degree and pass the NCCAOM exam. Reiki often has fewer formal state regulations, but many cities and states require general business licenses and need you to meet hygiene and client-care standards, so always double-check your local rules.

Pricing in the bodywork world varies widely depending on your location, niche, and experience. Typical ranges include $70 to $150 per 60-minute massage, though specialty work like prenatal, lymphatic drainage, or sports massage can climb to $150 to more than $250 per session in major cities. 

Private acupuncture sessions often run $90 to $200, while acupuncturists who practice at community acupuncture spaces can often treat more clients per hour at lower fees, ranging from $40 to $70. Reiki practitioners commonly charge $75 to $150 per session. Many practitioners bump up their revenue by offering packages, monthly memberships, or add-on services (like cupping, aromatherapy, or sound healing). 

• How to get started: Complete required state licensing, rent a treatment room part-time or work in another studio first, and build a niche.

11. Wellness retreats and workshops

Wellness retreats, workshops, and industry-specific getaways (like retreats for content creators or yoga instructors) allow you to combine the energy of a group dynamic with novel locations or world travel. 

Pitching your services to businesses or large companies can help you bring in steady numbers to offset your costs, especially at a time when workplaces are focused on supporting employee mental and physical well-being.

When it comes to pricing, retreat hosts usually work with a per-person model, which factors in lodging, food, programming, travel costs, and any guest instructors or experiences. 

Typical retreat pricing ranges from $135 to $850 per day or $800 to $2,500 for weekend retreats depending on accommodation level (shared rooms vs. luxury villas), group size, and what’s included. 

You can also layer in tiered offerings, like a standard ticket plus a VIP add-on that includes private sessions, welcome gifts, or follow-up coaching. 

For workshops and shorter sessions, pricing can range from $45 to $300 per class or $250 to $400 for half-day or day-long events, especially if you’re bringing in specialty themes or expert partners.

A smart way to get started without fronting a huge venue deposit is to partner with boutique hotels, wellness resorts, co-living spaces, or even local farms and nature lodges. 

Many properties offer revenue-share, wholesale room rates, or per-guest commissions when you bring groups, and some will even help promote your event to their guest list. You can also negotiate perks like discounted spa packages, private studio space, or meal-service bundles, which elevate the experience without blowing your budget. 

• How to get started: Start with a one-day local workshop or weekend retreat at a boutique hotel or nature lodge, partner on revenue share, and layer in coaching or VIP upgrades.

How to start a wellness business in 6 steps

Starting a wellness business doesn’t have to feel overwhelming, but it does help to follow a clear path. Here’s a simple, step-by-step way to get rolling confidently with your wellness business ideas:

1. Choose your niche

“Wellness” is a broad concept, so don’t try to serve everyone. Pick a niche market based on what lights you up and who you want to help. Example niches might include: gut health for busy parents, mindfulness for remote workers, mobility coaching for runners, clean skin care for sensitive skin, etc. The more specific, the easier it is to stand out and attract your target audience.

2. Create a simple business plan

Putting together a business plan will help you stay on track and can be a good way to secure funding if that’s something you’re interested in. Your business plan doesn’t have to be a convoluted document that’s hundreds of pages long. It can be a simple one-pager for now. 

Just make sure it includes: 

• Who you’re serving
• The problem you’re solving
• Your solution (products, services, or both)
• Pricing and revenue model
• Marketing channels
• Startup budget + timeline

📚Read more: Free Business Plan Template to Download (and What to Include)

3. Register your business and handle the admin stuff

The behind-the-scenes administrative work of setting up your business may not be the most compelling part, but it’s a crucial foundation for your business’s ongoing ability to exist and thrive. 

This admin work includes the following steps:

• Make sure you register your business according to your jurisdiction’s laws. 
• Get your employee identification number (EIN) for tax purposes. 
• Set up a business bank account to separate your personal and business finances as early as possible. 

4. Know your wellness-specific regulations

Depending on your business, you may need certifications or approvals, especially for products people ingest, apply to their skin, or follow for physical guidance. 

Think about:

• Food safety rules (if you’re selling food or supplements)
• FDA and GMP guidance for supplements and beauty
• Licensing for bodywork and fitness services
• Disclaimers when offering health guidance

5. Get insurance

Wellness pros usually need liability coverage at a bare minimum, and product-based businesses may need product liability insurance too. This is a great time to check your local state laws to make sure you’re staying compliant from the start. 

6. Build your brand and online home

Choose a platform that makes selling simple. Shopify is a favorite for ecommerce wellness brands, or something like Kajabi or Gumroad might work if you’re selling courses or PDFs. Add in a consistent brand presence, clear messaging, and a few great testimonials when you have them.

Tips for how to be successful in the wellness space

• Pick a clear niche and audience. Choose the specific people you’re looking to serve and solve a real problem they care about. 
• Focus on trust and credibility. People want to know you’re legit, so highlight your training, share social proof, and be transparent about your methods. 
• Have a strong mission and authentic voice. Wellness is deeply related to emotion, so don’t be afraid to let your personality and values show up in your content and branding. 
• Be consistent. You don’t need to be everywhere, but you do need to show up regularly where your audience hangs out. 
• Set up solid operations and stay compliant. Make sure you have clear onboarding, insurance, and legal disclaimers so you can keep running your business smoothly. 
• Show empathy. People come to wellness brands with real hopes and challenges. Lead with compassion and support people how you’d want to be supported. 

Wellness products vs. service businesses

When you’re starting out, it helps to think about whether you want to build a product-based or service-based wellness business or a blend of both.

Product-based wellness businesses 

These types of wellness business ideas include supplements, skin care, wellness foods, tools like yoga accessories, or digital products like guides and courses.

• Pros: Scalable, can earn while you sleep, brand loyalty compounds.
• Cons: Product development, inventory or fulfillment, compliance work if ingestible or topical.

If you’re creating custom products, doing small production runs, and need your own website and packaging, you’re looking at $3,000 to $60,000 or more to get started. If you’re using the dropshipping model or sell digital guides, costs will fall on the lower side of the scale. 

Service-based wellness businesses 

These types of wellness businesses focus on things like coaching, personal training, retreats, massage, reiki, meditation instruction, breathwork, or nutrition guidance.

• Pros: Low barrier to entry, fast to start, personal connection builds fast, low inventory and overhead.
• Cons: Active time = income (at least at first), certifications often required, scheduling and boundaries matter.

Startup costs can be as low as $500 to $2,500 if you just need certifications, a website, and basic equipment (e.g. $99 to $999 for a personal training certificate, plus a Shopify subscription, and $2,000 worth of equipment. If you need a studio rental, specialized certifications, or retreat deposits, costs will be much higher. 

A lot of successful wellness entrepreneurs start with services because it’s the fastest way to make money and build trust, then they layer in physical and digital products later.