From massage guns and red-light therapy panels to LED face masks and lymphatic drainage tools, wellness devices have become a growing part of the modern beauty and health market. With products promising everything from better sleep and faster recovery to improved skin, consumers now have more options than ever, across a wide range of price points.

The intersection of beauty and wellness is expanding rapidly, particularly as at-home devices promise results once associated with professional treatments. Gen Z and millennial consumers are among those driving demand, investing in technology designed to support muscle health, skincare, sleep and recovery. On TikTok, the popularity of the trend is evident: videos tagged #RedLightTherapy have accumulated nearly 100 million views.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy is projected to grow from $6.8 trillion in 2024 to $9.8 trillion by 2029. Fortune Business Insights forecasts that the LED face mask market will increase from $304 million in 2026 to $679 million by 2034, while Research and Markets expects the sleep technology devices market to grow from $30 billion in 2025 to $96.7 billion by 2032.

But the expanding market also brings tougher competition. Established players such as Therabody, Bon Charge and Eight Sleep are competing with a growing number of lower-priced alternatives marketed through social media. As manufacturing becomes more accessible, launching a device is no longer enough to guarantee success.

The bigger challenge is creating a product that customers trust, use consistently and continue investing in long after the initial excitement fades.

Brands that succeed are finding ways to build entire ecosystems around their products. Eight Sleep has developed a membership model alongside its smart sleep systems, while Therabody has expanded beyond massage guns into beauty and recovery technology. These strategies create opportunities for repeat purchases, upgrades and recurring revenue.

So what does it take to build a wellness device that stands out in an increasingly crowded market?

Kendall Jenner was announced as Therabodys first beauty ambassador in October 2025.
Kendall Jenner was announced as Therabody’s first beauty ambassador in October 2025.Photo: Courtesy of Therabody.

1. Solve One Clearly Defined Problem

Successful wellness devices often begin with a specific consumer need rather than a broad promise to improve overall wellbeing. Retailers are seeing strong demand for products designed to address particular concerns, from skin issues and thinning hair to sleep difficulties and muscle recovery.

“Consumers are buying solutions, not promises,” says Lestat McCree, co-founder of wellness retailer Healf.

According to McCree, devices targeting clearly defined problems have outperformed many multipurpose products in recent months. Wearables remain an exception because of their broad functionality, although consumers often purchase them with one particular goal in mind.

Over the past 18 months, Healf has recorded strong growth in electromagnetic field protection products, electric oral-care devices, red-light panels, whole-body devices and red-light face masks. Vagus nerve stimulation devices have also gained momentum, with sales increasing 26-fold compared with their first six months on the platform.

McCree says interest in nervous-system regulation has moved beyond specialist biohacking communities and into the mainstream, with demand coming from both existing customers and new shoppers.

The success of sustainable toothbrush brand Suri demonstrates that innovation does not always require inventing an entirely new category. Instead, brands can redesign familiar products to make everyday routines more appealing.

Suri has sold more than one million units by combining a design-led aesthetic with eco-friendly materials, a battery life of at least four weeks and a self-cleaning UV case. The brand reports that revenue grew from £1.7 million in 2022 to more than £35 million in 2026.

Its main Pro toothbrush costs £109, while a recently introduced Core range at £69 offers a lower-priced entry point.

Co-founder Mark Rushmore says customers are willing to pay for products that genuinely improve routines they already perform every day. However, building trust has been essential, particularly when encouraging consumers to move away from established household brands. Independent clinical testing, dentist recommendations and customer reviews have helped address that challenge.

Eight Sleep has followed a similarly focused strategy, concentrating on sleep rather than expanding into unrelated wellness categories. The company continues to develop applications for its technology, including support for sleep during pregnancy, postpartum recovery and menopause, alongside potential medical uses such as at-home sleep apnoea diagnosis.

Co-founder Alexandra Zatarain says the company began by identifying the outcome it wanted to deliver, then developed the technology to achieve it.

Eight Sleep launched its first sleep Pod in 2019 and has since released six generations of the product, with the Pod 6 introduced in September 2026. Its systems combine biometric tracking, temperature regulation and bed elevation with an accompanying app. Prices range from $2,500 to more than $4,000, with an average order value exceeding $3,000.

The company reached approximately $500 million in cumulative Pod sales by summer 2025 and expects to reach $1 billion by the end of 2026.

For aspiring founders, McCree recommends starting with a problem they understand intimately rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

His advice is straightforward: build around a frustration you genuinely want to solve. Deep knowledge of the problem can become a competitive advantage.

2. Listen to Customers and Remove Barriers

Identifying a consumer need is only the beginning. Brands must also adapt their products to fit customers’ lifestyles, budgets and existing routines.

Eight Sleep initially sold a complete smart mattress, but the company discovered that many consumers were reluctant to replace a mattress they already owned. It responded by developing a removable temperature-regulating cover and pod, allowing customers to upgrade their sleeping environment without buying an entirely new mattress.

The change removed a significant purchasing obstacle and helped the company reach more customers.

Zatarain says customer feedback remains central to the company’s development process, with social media mentions collected in an internal Slack channel that she personally monitors.

In 2026, Eight Sleep also introduced a single-person Pod option for people sharing a bed with a partner who does not want the technology, as well as those with smaller beds.

Despite its premium positioning, the company is exploring ways to improve affordability. Zatarain estimates that its typical US customer earns more than $150,000 annually, but rental options in the US and instalment payment plans in other markets are helping bring the technology within reach of younger buyers.

Bon Charge has taken a different route to product development, using demand for existing technologies to guide expansion. The company, which began as blue-light-blocking glasses brand Blublox in 2017, has since expanded into red-light therapy, infrared saunas and pulsed electromagnetic field devices.

These newer categories accounted for 86% of its sales in 2025, compared with 18% in 2022. Red-light therapy sales grew more than thirtyfold during that period, becoming the company’s largest category.

Co-founder Katie Mant says the brand evaluates sales data, customer feedback and the potential for a new device to complement its existing range before making an investment.

The lesson is that successful innovation requires more than following trends. Brands need to understand whether a product solves a genuine problem and whether it fits naturally into their customers’ lives.

3. Expand Beyond the First Purchase

Once a brand establishes a successful flagship product, the next challenge is increasing customer lifetime value. This can involve introducing complementary devices, encouraging upgrades or creating subscription services that generate revenue beyond the original purchase.

Therabody provides an example of how a focused product can become the foundation for a broader business.

The company introduced its Theragun massage gun in 2016 and spent roughly four years concentrating on massage guns before expanding into additional wellness categories, including skincare and haircare.

In March 2026, Therabody expanded the distribution of its beauty devices from around 300 Ulta Beauty stores in the US to 1,000. Demand for its Kendall Jenner-fronted TheraFace Mask Glo and Depuffing Wand has supported that expansion.

The company has since extended its light-therapy offering beyond facial skincare with a Neck and Chest LED device. Chief science officer Tim Roberts says the launch is intended both to attract new customers interested in skin rejuvenation and to offer existing Mask Glo users another product within the same routine.

This approach allows brands to build on established customer relationships rather than relying entirely on acquiring new buyers.

Healf sees a similar pattern in retail. Customers who initially visit the platform to purchase a particular device often go on to buy other wellness products, including multivitamins, gut-health products and longevity-focused offerings.

“For most buyers, the device is where their routine starts, not an add-on,” McCree says.

Eight Sleep, meanwhile, is focused on expanding the capabilities of its core sleep technology. Its membership programme generates recurring revenue alongside hardware sales, with plans ranging from $17 per month for the Standard tier to $33 for Elite.

Upgrade and trade-in incentives also encourage existing customers to replace older systems. In the US, eligible customers can receive up to $1,000 off a new device through combined offers.

The strategy is to turn a single transaction into an ongoing relationship, giving customers reasons to stay engaged with the brand over time.

4. Build Trust With Evidence, Not Hype

Social media can rapidly raise awareness of a wellness device, but visibility does not necessarily translate into long-term success. As consumers become more informed, they are increasingly examining the evidence behind products and questioning whether the advertised benefits are supported by science.

Roberts says customers now look beyond celebrity endorsements and want to know whether products have credible scientific support and recommendations from medical professionals, including dermatologists.

At Therabody, scientific research and engineering inform product development from the beginning. Roberts says the company’s teams use available research and clinical studies to substantiate the benefits of its devices.

This investment can also help distinguish premium products from lower-priced competitors that make similar marketing claims without comparable clinical evidence.

Suri has adopted a similar approach in oral care, using independent testing, dentist recommendations and customer reviews to build credibility.

For wellness brands, trust is especially important because products often make claims related to health, recovery or appearance. Clear communication about what a device can and cannot do is essential to establishing realistic expectations.

Customer recommendations can also become a powerful source of growth. According to Zatarain, 40% of Eight Sleep’s sales come from customers who first discovered the company through friends or family members who reported meaningful improvements in their sleep.

She describes word of mouth as the company’s most powerful marketing tool, made possible by customers experiencing benefits they want to share.

Bon Charge is also expanding its reach beyond social media feeds by placing devices in fitness and recovery settings, where consumers can see how the technology might fit into their routines.

Influencer marketing remains important, however. In the first half of 2026, revenue attributed to Bon Charge’s creator affiliates rose 32.5% year over year, while the channel’s conversion rate increased 62.2%. Revenue attributed to newsletter influencers grew 16.1%, with conversion rates up 87%.

The most effective approach combines visibility with credibility: marketing can introduce a product, but evidence and customer experience help sustain demand.

5. Make Wellness Simpler, Not More Complicated

Despite the growing number of products available, consumers may be moving away from the idea that better health requires continually adding more devices, tracking more metrics and optimising every part of their lives.

McCree says Healf is seeing signs of an “anti-optimization” trend, with consumers reassessing which products and rituals genuinely improve their wellbeing.

Rather than accumulating an ever-growing collection of wellness tools, some shoppers are returning to fundamentals and prioritising purchases that make a meaningful difference to their daily lives.

This shift presents a challenge for brands. They must demonstrate not only that their technology works, but also that it deserves a lasting place in a customer’s routine.

A device that is complicated to operate, difficult to maintain or unnecessary for everyday life may struggle to retain users, regardless of how much attention it receives at launch.

For companies developing the next generation of wellness technology, the opportunity lies in creating products that combine practical usefulness, thoughtful design, accessible routines and credible evidence.

The Future of Wellness Devices

As the market grows, long-term success will depend on more than launching the latest trend-driven gadget. Brands need to solve clearly defined problems, listen closely to customers, make products easier to adopt and provide credible evidence for their claims.

Expanding into complementary products and subscription services can create additional revenue opportunities, but those strategies work best when they build on a product customers already value.

Ultimately, the strongest wellness brands may not be those that promise to optimise every aspect of life. They will be the ones that make a meaningful difference to a specific part of it—and give consumers a compelling reason to keep coming back.