Can This Simple Mantra Help A Billion People Live Better, Healthier Lives?

For me, the first few months of the pandemic were emotionally tiring. Inspired by entrepreneurs and their communities, I inculcated a few new habits: a plant-forward diet, regular exercise, and daily meditation. Globally, 57 percent of consumers are quite concerned about their physical fitness and health, and most people are trying to do something about it with lifestyle changes. Over 75 percent of consumers consider sleep, diet, and exercise to be the three main factors contributing to long-term immunity and are looking for new solutions or routines to help build up their defenses. Naturally sourced, organic ingredients are increasingly preferred; cooking at home is more prevalent than ever; and some of us are even growing our own vegetable gardens. The $200-billion plant-based foods category is growing at a clip of 8 percent annually.

This pursuit of wellness is nothing new, of course, but the trends have accelerated. Nutrilite has been part of this wellness conversation for the past 85 years, fusing the best of modern science with the plant-based goodness of nature, all to deliver holistic wellness solutions from the farm to the family. Others like Nestle, P&G and Unilever have recently made acquisitions to strengthen their footprint in this category. Meanwhile, the broader wellness space is abuzz with celebrity endorsements and revenue growth. 

And yet: despite all the consumer trends and advances in modern science, we still find that many people are finding it difficult to begin or commit to their wellness journey. We’re still experiencing a global crisis in health and wellness. What is this missing link between these clear principles for wellness and action?

The mantra is surprisingly simple: to fully embark on a wellness journey, one requires a community of like-minded family and friends. And I’ve seen firsthand how this community can be built by anyone, anywhere, anytime. And we truly believe it can be scaled to help a billion people live better, healthier lives. 

Critically, this kind of community can and is being cultivated right now on digital channels around the world, enabling anyone to take part, regardless of where they live or what their circumstances may be. It’s being spearheaded not by big companies or government agencies, but by passionate individuals: online creators who are sharing their wellness philosophy with fast-growing communities of social followers. 

These individuals are part entrepreneurs, part wellness buffs, and part content-makers who blend authenticity with insight. In short, they represent a new class of wellness creators.  

Meet the wellness creators building a global health movement

While traveling across the world in my first 100 days as CEO, I was inspired by an established Amway entrepreneur named Makiko-san who lives in Kyoto, Japan. As we cooked a healthy, Indian-inspired meal together in Tokyo, she shared with me her mantras for entrepreneurship, healthy living and growing her community online around her authentic, personal brand. With a Zen-like calmness, she leads thousands of online followers through the world of Kantan Recipes (easy, healthy Japanese meals). Though she saw herself as just a person with a passion, I saw an entrepreneur, spreading a powerful personal message of health and wellness.  At that time in early 2019, I wondered if Makiko-san was an outlier. I soon learned she was just the tip of a new wave of wellness creators to come. 

Since then, I’ve had a chance to meet Yena Olga, a rock star entrepreneur based in Kyiv, Ukraine. She’s an author, mom, wife and holistic wellness guru. On her Instagram she effortlessly glides between quoting the latest research on emotional and mental health, her tips for detox diet plans, on-the-go workout tips and more. Some of her most popular posts address women-centric issues from raising teenage daughters to menopause. Pioneering creators like Yena are not just influencing wellness in their growing community, but also inspiring innovation among other entrepreneurs.

In Bangkok, Katie and Jin, a young, fitness-loving couple with a three-year-old daughter have been working out at a home gym through the pandemic, growing their community online with YouTube classes along with seamlessly weaving in Nutrilite products. 

Over in Pune, India, Vibhor — an engineer by training, and an entrepreneur by choice — is building a fan base as he demystifies Omega-3 fatty acids, shares tips on healthy eating and provides yoga-based, core-building exercises. 

And thousands of miles away, there’s Danilo, who lives in a small city called Sumare in Brazil, and runs a digital marketing agency alongside his Amway business. Every day, he authentically and deeply engages with his community to champion a healthy lifestyle. (In his words: “Let’s grow old, but not feel old!”) 

Helping a billion people live better, healthier lives. 

These are just a handful of pioneering wellness creators sparking change all over the world. Each has their own inspiring story, and their own unique background and origin, but what unites them all is a twin love of entrepreneurship and wellness. 

At Amway, we are so proud to be a small part of this journey. Freedom and opportunity are core to Amway’s DNA. Going forward, we are committed to unleashing entrepreneurship across the world with social commerce. We will accelerate our investments, test and learn with a growth mindset, leverage our capabilities in organic farming, and partner with social platforms all in the service of helping scale anyone, anywhere, anytime to be a creator — with the potential to help a billion people live better, healthier lives. 

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