Welcome back to our HLTH 2025 Recap Series. After exploring how AI is transforming healthcare from the inside out, we’re turning to another force reshaping the industry — the rise of retail and wellness brands. From CVS to Weight Watchers, the consumer health revolution is blurring the line between shopping cart and care plan.
Every year at HLTH, wellness and primary care shows up strong. From AG1 to Weight Watchers, food and wellness was front-and-center. The biggest headlines, second only to AI, were GLP-1s and primary care. Amazon Pharmacy and Weight Watchers launched a partnership to deliver GLP-1 weight-loss meds direct to patients’ doors. And CVS Health and Walgreens continued building out their advanced primary care ambitions.
These moves signal a power shift in how consumers enter care ecosystems. As one panelist put it: “If I’m ordering my groceries, my meds, and my mental health support from the same place, why wouldn’t I expect primary care to be there too?”
Startups like Simple HealthKit are even embedding services inside these retail giants, turning brick-and-mortar stores into access points for diagnostics and follow-up care.
Even in wellness, companies like Ōura are positioning wearables as clinical tools. With a $900M valuation and studies underway on hypertension detection, they’re not just a lifestyle brand anymore.
Health systems and providers must continue to rethink what “owning the patient relationship” really means — especially when tech-native, logistics-savvy brands continue looking for ways to move in.
Startups like Advokit are redesigning care journeys from scratch, while retail players are inserting themselves into condition-specific pathways with subscription models.
Healthcare marketers must stop assuming the hospital is the hub. Health systems are seeing leakage rates climb—some report losing 20–30% of commercially insured patients to urgent care, virtual-first plans, and retail clinics. The center of gravity is shifting. The new battle is for mindshare and convenience, often outside the four walls of care.
As new players win over consumers with convenience and trust, traditional healthcare organizations are under pressure to follow suit. In our next piece, we’ll dive into how transparency is becoming the ultimate business strategy.
