Last week, we co-hosted an intimate dinner with J.P. Morgan for 20 wellness founders at House of Louie, bringing together voices from across the sector, from health supplements to the growing intersection of wellness and food and drink.
At the centre of the evening was a conversation between our co-founder, Libby Gibson, and Henrietta and Charlie Norton, co-founders of our partner brand Wild Nutrition. They discussed what it really takes to build and scale a consumer brand today: raising the right capital, earning (and keeping) customer loyalty, and expanding internationally in an increasingly competitive market.
Wild Nutrition creates Food-Grown® supplements backed by science, that deliver efficacy while remaining natural, sustainable and ethical. Henrietta and Charlie spoke with candour about the journey of building a brand with genuine longevity. At Piper we know that brands hit natural inflection points as they scale, we call them 7, 17, 70. What gets you to 7 will not get you to 17, and what works at 17 will almost certainly break at 70. Wild Nutrition have navigated the step from brand-led growth into a more operationally complex business and successfully brought in a new chief executive to lead the next chapter.
Each guest at the dinner received a copy of Decoding the Evolving World of Health & Wellness, a research report we worked on with See Research exploring how relationships with health and wellness are evolving across four generations. Here are the headlines:
Targeted Solutions.
Consumers are shifting away from broad multivitamins towards supplements built around a single, specific benefit. Clarity of purpose is becoming a purchase driver.
Mental Shortcuts.
Health science creates cognitive overload. Most consumers rely on trusted signals, whether that is word of mouth, a healthcare professional, or a pharmacy shelf, rather than doing the research themselves.
No Proof, No Patience.
Younger consumers have a low tolerance for waiting. Visible benefits are the strongest hook; internal or preventative ones are harder to justify before results are felt.
Futureproofing.
In midlife, health behaviours are shaped less by aspiration and more by anxiety. Supplements become a way to take control ahead of what feels inevitable.
Building Daily Health Systems.
The body is increasingly seen as an interconnected system, driving consumers to layer supplements and build morning and evening stacks rather than rely on a single product.
Women’s Health Gap.
Beyond puberty, there is a clear education gap. From hormonal imbalances to fertility and menopause, this remains a meaningfully underserved space.
Gut Health Blurriness.
Gut health dominates the wellness conversation, but genuine understanding is shallow. Most consumers cannot distinguish between prebiotics, probiotics, and fibre, and default to broad “good for me” cues.
Fuel for Coping.
Gen X use supplements to manage stress, burnout, and mental overload, but frame it in practical everyday terms rather than as mental health support. Energy, resilience, and restoration are the language that lands.
Personalised Support.
Consumers are saturated but not satisfied. Repertoires are expanding, but uncertainty around whether they are taking the right things is driving a clear desire for diagnostic-led, truly personalised solutions.
Enough > Excess.
GLP-1 medications are accelerating a shift towards smaller, more consciously managed consumption. As appetites shrink, value shifts from volume to balanced, nutrient-dense portions.
Always-on Living.
Gen Z and younger Millennials are moderating alcohol less for long-term health reasons and more to protect their everyday rhythm. They are favouring alternatives that enable enjoyment in the moment without compromising how they feel the next day.
Functional Food Scepticism.
Greater knowledge is fuelling more doubt, not more trust, with growing questions around whether functional foods genuinely deliver on their promises.
The full report is well worth a read. You can find See Research at see-research.com and follow them on LinkedIn for more of their work. If you would like to speak to them directly, we would be delighted to make an introduction.
Wellness is one of our core investment sectors. The founders, researchers and consumers shaping this space are driving change not only in the products you see on the shelves, but how we approach daily life. At Piper, we bring them together, learn alongside them, and share what we find.
Our thanks to J.P. Morgan for co-hosting the evening, and to the founders who joined us at House of Louie.