Health and wellness are two buzzwords that both consumers and smart businesspeople are highly interested in these days, but for two very different reasons.

Now more than ever, consumers are taking their health into their own hands and spending money on their well-being. 

For entrepreneurs, especially those interested in a health and wellness franchise, it’s all about the opportunity. The health and wellness sector is massive and growing by the minute. The global wellness economy is valued at $4.5 trillion. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness industry accounts for more than 5 percent of global economic output.

Segments within this sector are quite broad, encompassing everything from meditation and mindfulness, fitness and beauty, to traditional healthcare.

While there are many shiny objects to look at when deciding on which type of wellness franchise to invest in, there are a few tips to consider to help you determine which option will be the most sought-after and stable business in the long run. 

Beware of Trends

As with any rapidly growing industry, there are fads that come busting out of the gate with huge interest, only to disappear as fast as they appeared. Many trends that have a surge in popularity usually end up being short-lived. Protect yourself by making sure you invest in a wellness brand that has been around for a while and has a track record of success and credibility.

The urgent care sector, which falls under the wellness industry umbrella, is a great example. The very first urgent care centers opened in the 1970s — filling a need for walk-in clinics without sacrificing the qualifications of doctors.

Look for Steady Demand

Playing off the suggestion of looking for a brand that has a good track record, check into sectors that continue to thrive year after year. Using urgent care as the example again, the demand for urgent care services has grown steadily over the last 50 years.

Looking at more recent expansion, the urgent care industry has exploded in growth by 57 percent since 2013. Solid evidence that consumers will continue to want this type of service in the future. 

Wide Range of Consumers

Another key thing to look at when doing your wellness franchise research is to find something that caters to a wide consumer base – something that will attract customers of all ages, essentially making them customers for life. 

Urgent care centers attract customers of all ages. According to the Urgent Care Association, urgent care centers handle about 89 million patient visits each year, which includes 29 percent of all primary care visits and nearly 15 percent of all outpatient visits. 

Millennials are driving much of the demand and increased utilization of urgent care centers. Business Insider Intelligence research shows that nearly half of the millennials do not have a primary care physician — largely due to providers’ failure to create a consumer-oriented healthcare experience. Instead, they use urgent care centers as their preferred choice outlet to seek wellness care.

With shorter wait times, after-hours and weekend appointments, and locations in easy-to-reach retail centers, urgent care centers are attractive to almost everyone, even Baby Boomers who might be stuck in their ways. 

In fact, the number of Medicare and Medicaid patients seeking services at urgent care centers continues to grow, accounting for nearly 27 percent of all visits in 2018.

If you are seriously considering a wellness franchise with stability and staying power and a customer base that spans the generations, then an urgent care franchise should be on the top of your list. 

We would love to tell you more about the opportunities with American Family Care, one of the nation’s most established and largest providers of urgent care and accessible primary care. Click here to get the conversation started.