Emotional health and habit-tracking are two of the fastest growing health categories according to corporate wellness platform, Wellhub, as it celebrated its 500 millionth check-in on the platform.
Cesar Carvalho, co-founder and CEO, says its emotional health category has seen a 74 per cent increase in year-on-year usage, as more users look to create holistic changes that incorporate mental, workplace and physical wellness.
Habit-tracking functionality has also surged in popularity by 111 per cent year-on-year, as individuals are tracking health-promoting behaviours, such as sleep and water intake.
Wellhub – which began as Gympass in 2012 and rebranded earlier this year – was originally a fitness-focused offering, but has expanded to offer access to support for sleep, meditation, nutrition and finance advice to respond to the consumer demand to manage all aspects of health.
As each new category has been introduced, check-ins have increased, along with growth in the original fitness-related services.
Check-ins have also increased due to the availability of digital services, with app check-ins also being counted alongside physical check-ins to health clubs and studios.
After taking 10 years to reach its first 100 million check-ins in October 2022, the check-in total had increased to 250 million by March 2023, before doubling to 500 million by July 2024. The service now has three million employee subscribers.
“As we reach 500 million check-ins and three million subscribers, we can see that companies are investing in their most important asset – their people – to improve both employee health and business performance,” said Carvalho.
“This achievement isn’t just about numbers, it’s about real people transforming their lives, whether it’s a company yoga challenge that sparked a newfound passion for fitness, a meditation session that helped someone manage stress, or a nutrition programme that fuelled healthier eating," he says.
More than 18,000 companies in 11 countries use Wellhub to offer corporate wellbeing to their employees and Carvalho says 90 per cent of Wellhub users are new to gyms and health applications.
In 2024 to date, the company says, 8,000 gyms, studios and apps have joined the network as wellness partners.
According to Wellhub’s 2023 trends report, September was more popular than January for wellness commitments with 50 per cent more check-ins. Early evening – 6pm until 7pm – was the most popular time for a workout, with Tuesdays being the most popular day.
Other trends the company has noticed is the uptick in pickleball, with a 214 per cent increase in year-on-year check-ins and the use of virtual trainers and wellbeing coaches, which has risen by 44 per cent since last year.
Originally a consumer-facing service, Wellhub pivoted to the corporate market early on in its founding, making it one of the first companies to offer a corporate wellness service in what is now a very competitive market.
Wellhub is a 'dual contribution benefit', with companies paying a fixed amount on a monthly basis to procure the service for their staff, based on their total number of employees, with ten being the minimum charged for.
Once employers are signed up, employees can then opt-in to Wellhub and pay a monthly subscription for their membership.
Employee packages range from free (digital-only) to £7.99/month for a starter package – which gives access to 220 gyms, 27 wellness apps and live stream workouts – right up to £199/month Diamond membership for access to all 2,100+ health clubs, 32 wellness apps, live stream classes, eight virtual PT classes a month and daily access to 'premium classes'.
Personal training is delivered by Wellhub subsidiary Trainiac.
Membership of the Wellhub network is free of charge to health club and studio operators and the company says it "offers more and costs less than direct gym memberships".
Wellhub has published its own report on corporate wellness – Return on wellbeing 2024 – which you can access here.
