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Global Wellness Summit 2025: Dubai positions itself as the new epicentre of global wellness innovation

Susie Ellis, chairman and CEO of the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), Global Wellness Summit, Dubai

Dubai – As the 19th Global Wellness Summit opened in Dubai, the city used its host-stage moment to reinforce why the Middle East is fast becoming a global epicentre for wellness innovation.

With the Global Wellness Institute recently identifying wellness real estate as one of the world’s fastest-growing wellbeing sectors – projected to expand by 15.2% annually between 2024 and 2029 – it was no surprise that the future of living well dominated the conversation.

Local developments demonstrated how Dubai is translating this momentum into built environments shaped around bio-optimisation, emotional wellbeing and community connection. Eywa, a residential concept by R.evolution, presented its blueprint for energetically engineered homes that are designed to support longevity. The blueprint proposes biophilic design and energy-balancing infrastructure, with founder Alex Zagrebelny outlining how demand for restorative living is having an impact on luxury in the region.

Hospitality leaders echoed this shift. Kerzner International, whose portfolio includes wellness-forward destinations such as SIRO, detailed its vision for embedding performance, recovery and longevity principles into the hotel experience – transforming hospitality from passive retreat into active wellbeing partner.

Beyond real estate, health policy emerged as another defining theme. Dr Nicole Sirotin from the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi revealed how the Middle East is investing in systemic wellbeing, from the licensing of the world’s first specialised healthy longevity medicine centre to a new partnership with CoreX to develop a biointelligence engine capable of running a ‘clinical trial on a chip’.

For more insights from the summit, look out for our full event debrief launching soon.

Strategic opportunity

Dubai’s rapid development pipeline, regulatory agility and investment in longevity-focused healthcare create a unique proving ground for wellness real estate. Brands can use the region’s infrastructure and appetite for experimentation to prototype bio-optimised living at scale

Kleonne launches e-commerce platform to simplify men’s skincare

Lotus Herbals, India

UK – Kleonne is a new men’s premium grooming and skincare e-tailer launched by 19-year-old British student Alfie Binns.

Designed as a trusted entry point for younger men navigating an overwhelming category, the platform stocks 63 products for face, beard, body and haircare, with brands including Clubhouse Skin, Daimon Barber, ByErim and Dussl.

The e-commerce platform, which launched in September 2025, uses a drop-ship model, where brands handle fulfilment and Kleonne takes a 15% sales commission. However, in the future, Binns hopes to shift towards a subscription-based model.

‘There’s no trusted destination where men can learn, explore and build confidence in looking after their skin and just themselves in general. We’re trying to become that trusted interface,’ Binns told Beauty Independent. Grooming tutorial video content is coming to the site next.

Our Back-to-School Alphas report unpacked how male consumers are increasingly engaging in the beauty and grooming industry from a young age, particularly when it comes to fragrance. Kleonne is a Gen Z founded business, using curation and education to tap into this growing market.

Strategic opportunity

Men are entering beauty through education-first pathways. Brands that simplify routines, reduce cognitive load and create confidence-building discovery can win loyalty and new customers

Stat: Millennials and Gen X main users of Sister Wives polyamorous dating app

Feeld, UK

Global – New statistics from Sister Wives, a dating platform for polyamorous relationships, suggest that polyamory isn’t being driven by the digitally native Gen Z, but by older cohorts embracing experimentation.

The report draws from analysis of more than 18,000 users and found that those aged 35–44 (Millennials) make up 38% of the community, and Gen X follow at 21%. The platform attributes this to ‘midlife experimentation’, while experts point to maturity, experience and communication skills as prerequisites for ethical non-monogamy.

In our report The Queenager, we explore how Gen X women, aged late 40s to 60, are embracing a ‘second adolescence’, pursuing purpose, adventure and self-actualisation while navigating midlife transitions such as career shifts, caregiving or divorce.

Gender dynamics add further nuance. Although men make up the majority of those on Sister Wives, Gen Z women show the greatest curiosity of any female cohort, accounting for nearly 26% of users in this age group.

Psychologist Michelle Drouin notes that younger daters often rely on mainstream apps for casual multipartner encounters and bypass niche platforms. This suggests that low-commitment intimacy, rather than structured ethical non-monogamy, may remain Gen Z’s prevailing approach.

Strategic opportunity

Design products and services that recognise Gen X’s appetite for midlife experimentation, providing structured guidance, trusted communities and emotionally safe spaces that enable intentional relationship exploration