Health business building: The next phase of consumer-directed health

October 27, 2025The healthcare landscape is undergoing a transformative shift, propelled by increasing demand for holistic and tech-enabled solutions that promote health and longevity. As global life expectancy rises on average, the emphasis is moving away from strictly reactive treatment of disease by clinicians to proactive prevention and wellness management directed by consumers. This shift has opened a vast market opportunity, including a global consumer wellness market of about $1.8 trillion in 2024.¹

In the decade ahead, there is further potential to add up to 45 billion years of high-quality life for humanity,² thereby extending not only lifespan but also health span—that is, six years for everyone around the world and substantially more in some populations. This estimation rests on the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”³

The traditional healthcare system excels at the essential work of diagnosing and treating complex medical conditions. However, it faces structural and other challenges addressing growing demand for preventive care and personalized health solutions. This gap paves the way for the emergence of an ecosystem that brings together diverse companies—traditional care delivery organizations and healthcare insurers; nontraditional healthcare entities, such as retailers, telcos, banks, and transportation companies; and technology incumbents and start-ups—with collective expertise in healthcare, digital innovation, and consumer-centric design.

Healthcare is an attractive market for nontraditional players because it can introduce new sources of value that also support the core business (for example, by generating new customers and increasing their loyalty). Healthcare is also a fundamental consumer need with rising demand across all categories: 58 percent of US consumers noted they prioritize health now more than a year ago,⁴ indicating noncyclical growth despite increases in cost of living. Also, more consumers are using wearable technologies and digital offerings and are more actively making choices for themselves and their families.⁵

All these factors make it a potentially good time for traditional and nontraditional players to build health businesses (see sidebar, “What are health businesses?”). The rest of this blog explores how.

New business models

At the heart of this ecosystem lies the consumer, empowered by mobile apps; educational resources, such as health media; and convenient physical access points for preventive care, wellness programs, and basic healthcare services. These products and services improve accessibility, efficiency, and convenience, and they empower consumers to take a more active role in managing their health and preventing illness, with the aim of improving their longevity—though research is needed to evaluate, prove, and weight the potential impact.⁶

In recent years, nontraditional entrants are using their “parenting advantage” to create value for the core business and have discovered new ways to enter health. For example, retailers have installed free-to-use smart health kiosks in supermarkets. These kiosks might offer basic self-diagnostics (such as weight, blood pressure, and pulse), health education and advice via a connection to digital health platforms, and suggestions of personalized health-related products such as dietary supplements available to buy in the supermarket.

In the future, other sectors could also step in to promote healthier behaviors. Transportation providers might offer diagnostics while individuals remain seated in the car or airline seat for longer periods. Banking or telco players could use their payment and mobile-related touchpoints in everyday life to play a role in consumers’ health and well-being, from home care to fall prevention.

Ultimately, these developments can lead to a health ecosystem approach that offers one-stop solutions for physical activity, dietary planning, and wellness coaching, which can also enable tailored approaches for population segments such as the elderly⁷ or women.⁸ But capturing value from these and other emerging models is challenging. Many nontraditional healthcare companies, including some of the world’s most valuable technology companies, have struggled to deliver on the promise of consumer-directed care. The complex nature of the healthcare system, including incentives, regulatory hurdles, and incumbency bias, contributed to the failure of these ventures and has hampered other innovative efforts.

How to build health businesses

Successful health business building requires a nuanced understanding of local market conditions and regulatory frameworks and the ability to navigate an intricate healthcare landscape. Although disruptive solutions are essential, they must be complemented by a deep understanding of the challenges confronting traditional healthcare organizations and the need for a collaborative, cross-industry approach that combines the strengths of diverse stakeholders to create physical and digital solutions.

Barriers to entry into health businesses vary widely. Segments such as nutrition, weight management, and diet-tracking apps may be relatively easier to enter, given their wellness focus and the hundreds of comparable offerings already available on app stores. By contrast, businesses directly related to disease treatment or those requiring regulatory approval face much greater challenges because they must generate real-world evidence and meet stringent requirements to secure reimbursement from payers.

It is essential for new entrants to recognize the challenges and collaborate with traditional healthcare companies to access their expertise and established positions within the industry.

To succeed, health businesses need a viable business model that enables them to become profitable—or at least break even—and endure for the long term. To achieve this, they should excel in some of the following capabilities:

Sophisticated consumer experience design. Health businesses that deliver a seamless consumer journey integrate physical and digital touchpoints. This involves coordinating multiple health services, such as wellness coaching, telehealth, and personalized nutrition plans, accessible via a unified platform. Companies may use machine learning algorithms to customize recommendations, creating one-stop health hubs that build sustained engagement by adapting to individual health profiles, habits, and goals. However, even the most advanced solutions succeed only if they are easy to use and are integrated into consumers’ day-to-day routines.

Scalable direct-to-consumer models. Scalability is key to meeting demand while maintaining personalization objectives. Successful models often deploy modular product offerings—such as at-home diagnostics that integrate with larger care ecosystems or wearable technology synced with health platforms—that enable companies to incrementally add services. Digital therapeutics apps, for example, are now designed to adjust interventions based on user behavior, allowing for personalized and scalable treatment management.

Strategic regulatory navigation and go-to-market precision. Companies excelling in healthcare have advanced regulatory fluency, especially with complex requirements such as US Food and Drug Administration digital health clearances. Nontraditional players often overcome these challenges by partnering with established healthcare entities or regulatory consultants to ensure alignment with local laws and streamline market entry. For instance, a digital health start-up targeting chronic disease management might collaborate with health insurers to develop a pilot reimbursable service before expanding nationally.

Technological depth and agility. This involves more than just digital solution design; it encompasses advanced capabilities such as AI-driven diagnostics, predictive analytics, and patient data integration across platforms. For example, some companies have introduced apps with AI triage systems that rapidly guide patients to appropriate care, reducing unnecessary clinic visits. Compliance with regulations such as HIPAA requires embedded privacy protocols and real-time monitoring for data security; this is especially important for cross-border services for which data handling must align with multiple jurisdictions.

Comprehensive ecosystem integration through ‘buy and build’ strategies. Health businesses are increasingly leveraging M&A to achieve ecosystem synergy—acquiring or partnering with companies that provide complementary services or access to new consumer segments. For instance, a wellness platform might acquire a fitness-tracking company to incorporate real-time data into its offerings, creating a seamless consumer experience and integrating lifestyle data into its offering. By building a cohesive ecosystem, businesses create greater consumer stickiness and operational efficiencies across services.

There is a real opportunity in health business building for nontraditional companies: We believe health businesses that prioritize consumer-centric design, embrace digital technologies, and build holistic solutions that span multiple dimensions of healthcare and wellness—from disease prevention to integrated care and digital therapeutics—will be well positioned to thrive and may be among the most valuable companies in the decade ahead. By aligning products and services with evidence-backed (digital) interventions and addressing the full spectrum of consumer needs, innovative health businesses can have a lasting effect and shape the future of healthcare—with value for individuals and society at large.

Florian Niedermann is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Stuttgart office, where Ulrike Deetjen is a partner; Paul Jenkins is a senior partner in the Oslo office; and Tabi Bude is an alumnus of the Hamburg office.

The authors wish to thank Benedict Sevov, Chiara Kloten, Felix Hofmann, Francis Pollen, Lars Hartenstein, Lukas Fieber, and Mariana Schliebs for their contributions to this blog post.

_{1. “The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024,” McKinsey, January 16, 2024.}

_{2. Adding years to life and life to years, McKinsey Health Institute, March 29, 2022.}

_{3. Adding years to life and life to years, McKinsey Health Institute, March 29, 2022; “Constitution,” World Health Organization, accessed October 8, 2025.}

_{4. “The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024,” McKinsey, January 16, 2024.}

_{5. Jessica Buchter, Jenny Cordina, and Jillian Eckroate, “Consumers rule: Driving healthcare growth with a consumer-led strategy,” McKinsey, April 15, 2024.}

_{6. Lars Hartenstein and Tom Latkovic, “The secret to great health? Escaping the healthcare matrix,” McKinsey Health Institute, December 20, 2022.}

_{7. “Aging with purpose: Why meaningful engagement with society matters,” McKinsey Health Institute, October 23, 2023.}

_{8. Blueprint to close the women’s health gap: How to improve lives and economies for all, McKinsey Health Institute, January 21, 2025.}