Trust, Training and Transformation: The wellness PR Lessons Behind Holland & Barrett’s Turnaround

Holland & Barrett is proving to be the ultimate comeback kid. Two years into its three-year turnaround strategy – kicked off by owner LetterOne – the positive headlines keep coming.

Sales surged 10% to over £880m in its most recent accounts. Since the start of 2025, Holland & Barrett concessions have launched into Ocado and Co-op. Most recently, the retailer has revamped beauty aisles to promote an “inside-out” approach to beauty. The new-look bays house a boosted lineup of supplements and collagen products, alongside more traditional branded and own-label beauty lines.

Crucially, Holland & Barrett has also rolled out new training to store staff, who will be able to offer personalised beauty advice and product recommendations. That’s where its real point of difference potentially lies.

For retailers like Holland & Barrett, the wellness market – which is increasingly converging with beauty – is both a pitfall and an opportunity. The rising interest in healthy habits is undoubtedly a positive for both sales and society. But the narrative is also becoming increasingly crowded, confusing and full of pseudoscience.

The health-conscious are being told to wake up with a cold shower and a gratitude journal, and go to bed with mouth tape and a magnesium butter massage. One blogger made headlines with a routine that involved waking up at 4am, dunking his face in ice multiple times, and rubbing his skin with banana peel. It’s not only an unattainable lifestyle, but much of it is far removed from science. In fact, entire podcasts have been dedicated to sorting the facts from the bunkum.

So if Holland & Barrett can provide that more scientific lens in stores, it stands to establish a clear selling point. Of course, much will depend on the level and depth of training given to store staff, who will need to be familiar with long lists of active ingredients. But that investment could pay off in two big ways.

First, the interaction with store staff encourages shoppers into bricks & mortar stores. Second – and most importantly – Holland & Barrett can use evidence-based advice to establish trust with consumers. In an age of confusing, conflicting and contrived wellness advice, that trust has never been more valuable. And it could just be the key to posting several more years of double-digit growth.

For those of us working in wellness communications, Holland & Barrett’s story underlines a powerful truth: credibility is now the ultimate currency. In a space awash with mixed messages and miracle claims, consumers are gravitating towards brands that can bridge science and storytelling – using expertise to cut through the noise.

At Nexus, we’ve seen this first-hand through our work with ProLongevity, where clear, evidence-led messaging helped the brand stand out in a complex, often confusing health landscape. Holland & Barrett’s revival shows that the same principles apply at scale – proof that trust, authority and education are as much PR assets as they are commercial ones. Want to know more?

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