Getting Longevity Right: How Brands Can Meet the New Consumer Mindset

US entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is convinced he will never die. In a Netflix documentary aired at the beginning of the year, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, the 48-year-old shared his secrets to longevity.

His five-hour routine – which begins at 4:30 am – includes light exposure, a temperature check, exercise, hair and audio therapies. Johnson also takes a personalised supplement mix with his breakfast of vegetables, berries and seeds, and undergoes treatments such as sauna and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Of course, Johnson isn’t your run-of-the-mill consumer. The so-called biohacker has spent millions of dollars on his personal project to live forever.

But he is a sign of a growing focus on wellness and longevity. In fact, a growing number of consumers are seeing their personal care routine as more of a “lifelong wellness strategy”, according to a new report by Kenvue, which owns brands including Aveeno, Neutrogena and Listerine.

The report uncovered an increasing interest beyond the superficial impact of grooming. Over half of Brits (51%) believe their personal care routines have a huge impact on their health, nearly double the rate in Germany (27%) and significantly more than in France (36%), found the report.

Those routines are far more digestible than Johnson’s. For example, 79% of British respondents to Kenvue’s survey see skincare products as an investment in preventing future signs of ageing. And 78% agree wearing sunscreen keeps their skin healthy for the future, rather than simply preventing burns today.

Supplements can also form an important part of those routines. Already, NAD+ supplements – short for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide – are becoming available on the UK market. Recommended by the likes of Johnson, they are touted as supporting cellular repair and energy production. Or, as model Hayley Bieber put it on an episode of The Kardashians: “I’m going to NAD for the rest of my life, and I’m never going to age.”

If brands made such claims of eternal youth, they’d be swiftly rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority. However, they can tap the growing desire to live longer and better. The key is advocating a few simple swaps that can promote better wellbeing and vitality, rather than a whole lifestyle change.

For the majority of consumers, that will likely prove a far easier sell than a 4.30am start in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. 

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