Under the Influencers

When wellness is a commodity, how do health publishers best serve readers?

An ever-expanding definition of wellness has given consumers new ways to think about their health, and plenty of conflicting advice about how to maintain it. Publishers of health books are watching the evolution of the global wellness market with an eye toward acquisitions and author development.

As they do, they’re also considering questions of credibility. Goop, a highly visible producer of wellness content now worth $250 million according to the New York Times, made headlines in 2018 for settling a false claims advertising lawsuit with the state of California. Other equally well-known proponents of the wellness industry have faltered, and some have fallen, under similar circumstances. Still, their influence is undeniable.