Consumer Health's Next Phase

Many companies still rely on a steady cadence of launches to drive growth — but the data suggests there may be more to the story. A relatively small share of sales is coming from recent innovation, while consumer expectations continue to evolve.

What this means for how innovation should be approached is becoming increasingly important.

E-commerce is often treated as just another channel — but for consumers, it plays a much bigger role in how decisions are made. From search to comparison to recommendation, digital environments are reshaping how brands are evaluated.

The full impact of this shift is still unfolding.

Consumers don’t move in straight lines — and they don’t think in channels. They shift between platforms, sources and environments as they build confidence in what to buy.

What’s less clear is how well current brand experiences are keeping up.

As market dynamics shift, the pressure to adapt is increasing. But building new capabilities internally takes time and not all companies can move at the same pace.

This is beginning to influence how growth is being approached.

Some of the fastest-growing areas in consumer health are no longer sitting at the margins. They reflect deeper shifts in how people think about managing their health day to day.

How these categories evolve from here will be important to watch.

New connections are forming across areas that have traditionally been separate — from nutrition to OTC to personal health data.

What this could mean for the future role of brands is still emerging.