New Nielsen Consumer & Media Insights (CMI) data has shown that health and wellness remain a powerful part of everyday life for Kiwis.
More than half of New Zealanders said that exercise was an important part of their regular routine, while many continue to balance physical activity with rising concerns around mental health, financial pressure and personal wellbeing.
According to Nielsen CMI, exercise was an important part of the regular routine for 57 percent of New Zealanders, while nearly half chose to exercise at home. Gym participation also remained a significant part of the wellness landscape, with 23 percent of Kiwis going to the gym at least twice a week.
The data pointed to a broad wellness market that extends beyond gyms and fitness centres, with implications for vitamin and supplement brands, health insurers, financial service providers, workplace wellbeing programs and brands seeking to connect with consumers through a more complete view of their physical and mental health.
Nielsen CMI data also showed that more than one-third of Kiwis are concerned about their physical health, while 26 percent were concerned about their mental health. Kiwis have been actively looking for ways to manage stress and wellbeing, with 28 percent regularly practising mindfulness, including yoga, self-care or meditation, while the same proportion said they do not have enough “me time”.
Vitamins and supplements have also become a major part of the health and wellness picture. Nielsen CMI showed 50 percent of Kiwis are currently taking vitamins or supplements, including 41 percent who take vitamins and 32 percent who take supplements.
Nielsen’s bespoke CMI release, which includes Kessler 10 (K10) data, has added a deeper measure of emotional wellbeing to the broader consumer dataset.
While highly relevant to health and wellness brands, the inclusion of K10 also opened valuable opportunities for sectors such as insurance and finance, where consumer confidence, financial pressure and personal security can be better understood alongside wellbeing.
Of note, working Kiwis who have been striving to reach the top of their careers, worry about work regularly, or find it difficult to switch off, appear to be more sensitive to higher levels of distress.
Similarly, the data showed that Kiwis who have no spare money, have gone backwards, or can meet their expenses but have nothing left over, also exhibit this increased sensitivity.
By contrast, Kiwis with stronger financial confidence and planning behaviours, and who say they like to be well insured, appear less exposed to higher levels of distress.
Those who say they can afford to spend on extras, have few financial concerns, or try to clear their credit card balance each month are less likely to sit at the higher end of the distress scale. This highlighted the role financial security and day-to-day money management can play in the complex wellbeing ecosystem.
Glenn Channell, Pacific Head of Advanced Analytics at Nielsen, said the new K10 data gave organisations a more nuanced understanding of the modern wellbeing consumer.
“Health and wellness is no longer just about exercise, diet or gym membership. It’s increasingly connected to how people feel about work, money, time, stress and personal security,” he said.
The integration of Kessler 10 data into Nielsen CMI empowered organisations to connect the dots between mental wellbeing, physical activity, financial confidence, and everyday consumer behaviour. For industries spanning healthcare, finance, and retail, these insights unlock new opportunities to engage New Zealanders with genuine empathy and lasting impact.
The findings come as Nielsen Ad Intel data showed that the Gyms and Fitness Centres category continued to adjust its advertising activity month-to-month, while remaining ahead of last year’s levels. In May 2026, advertising spend in the category reached NZD 1.41 million, up 13 percent compared with May 2025.
General Display attracted the largest share of Gym and Fitness Centres advertising spend in May 2026, accounting for 61 percent of category spend, followed by Social at 18 percent, Radio at 15 percent and Out of Home at 5 percent.
The top five advertisers in the Gyms and Fitness Centres category in May 2026 were City Fitness, Jetts Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness and Les Mills World of Fitness.
The latest Nielsen data highlighted the scale of the opportunity for brands that can speak to Kiwis’ full wellbeing journey, from fitness and nutrition to mental health, financial security and everyday lifestyle choices.
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