Need to Know
11 : 04 : 23

UK ­– From the founder of Daylesford farms, The Club by Bamford is a health complex boasting a next-level wellness line-up, from a medical concierge service to red light therapy rooms. The space is intended for wealthy wellness fiends who wish to indulge in a 360-degree wellbeing experience combining health, relaxation and fitness.

The membership, which can cost up to £15,000 ($18,000, €17,000) a year, gives access to a profusion of amenities and niche services and treatments. Think restorative sub-zero cryotherapy chamber, ice plunges, nutritionist-vetted nibbles or the Free Range Farm Fitness training, an outdoor workout comprising tyre-flipping, rope-climbing and log-lifting. The luxury club has partnered with medical concierge service Effect Doctors to provide on-site science-led wellness services in a spa-like space. Members are offered a doctor-led full body and blood analysis, IV drips and intramuscular boosters.

This super-luxe members’ club signals that the future of wellness is holistic and focuses on longevity-boosting, with medical-grade services performed in a luxurious environment.

US – Grammy Award-winning singer and body-positive activist Lizzo is adding a gender-affirming range to her shapewear brand Yitty, launched in partnership with athleisure-wear e-tailer Fabletics in 2022. To celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility the following day, on 30 March 2023 the musician announced plans to launch Your Skin, a new collection featuring a binder top and a tucking thong to her inclusive range available in sizes XS to 6X.

‘Yitty believes in radical self-love for people of all gender identities – including the trans, non-binary, gender-fluid and gender non-conforming communities that have been chronically underserved,’ the brand wrote in a statement. Following the announcement, trans-owned gender-inclusive garment brand Urbody criticised Lizzo and Yitty for allegedly ordering products and asking them to attend a meeting before using Urbody’s designs for R&D without credit or remuneration.

We previously looked at why the lingerie sector must evolve for Gen Z, given younger consumers don’t all find sculpted bodies clad in skimpy lingerie aspirational.

UK – Gen Z’s smoking and drinking habits are so behind those who came before them that they collectively cost the British government £14bn ($17.5bn, €15.8bn) in lost tax revenue. As Gen Z replace cigarettes with vapes and alcohol with low- to no-booze alternatives, the decline of the so-called sin taxes on tobacco and alcohol over the past few decades has left a significant hole in the UK treasury.

According to Bloomberg, the UK government would have received an additional £9.3bn ($11.6bn, €10.5bn) in revenue from tobacco transactions and £4.7bn ($5.9bn, €5.3bn) from alcohol if it had received a consistent level of income from those taxes since 2002. Tobacco now accounts for just 1% of total public sector revenue, down from 1.9% two decades ago, and alcohol brings in 1.3%, down from 1.7%.

As discussed in our Sober Bars report, the younger generation is increasingly moving away from the pressure to drink alcohol – instead prioritising their physical and mental wellbeing.