Before addressing the topic of this article, which is dedicated to well-being and Spa equipment, we met Pascale BROUSSE, Director of Trend Sourcing, a  prospects agency whose expertise focuses on “taking care of yourself”. She gave us a quick run down on the spring 2011 market. According to Pascale “there are very few new things coming onto the market”. She went on to point out that “the medi-spa trend targeting a strictly aesthetic “anti-ageing” response is marking time somewhat in the usa and in england, where a certain leveling off in the offer has been observed”.

WHAT ARE THE LATEST MARKET TRENDS?
At the same time in France, after flirting with the “Spa” approach over the last three years, the thalasso and hydrotherapy industries have understood the interest of taking part in more global health care and are regaining ground in their field of expertise. Vichy, Brides-les-Bains, Aix-les-Bains have now added therapeutic education to the programme of their well-being packages: nutrition, better mobility, better back education…. And the thalassos are returning to more classic treatment packages that promise effective health benefits.
On the Spa side, two movements have joined forces: the strengthening of the dermaceutical approach driven by the high-tech cosmetic brands that is set against the backdrop of natural and gourmand treatments, which may be rather regressive but is certainly reassuring for the consumer in this complicated period (kiwi, caviar, honey,….). After fruit, it is now vegetables that take centre stage (broccoli, beetroot, …) and are included in the range of ingredients.

Sustainable development did a great deal in presenting “organics” to their best advantage in terms of ingredients, but the Spa sector still has a lot of ground to cover when it comes to social issues: for example, very little significant inroad has been made when it comes to site design or equipment adapted to people with reduced mobility or for the well-being of Spa employees. Pascale BROUSSE, for that matter, rightly points out one of the consequences of this somewhat mediocre handling of staff well-being. She suggests that “treatments in Spas are often of varying quality” because of the high levels of turnover among treatment practitioners who have not always received sufficient training in the Spa’s particular protocols and philosophy. Efforts are still required in this area, all the more so if one believes certain market forecasters who say that ethics will be one of the key values to signal a veritable change in society, passing from a very consumerist economy to a new economy based on more intangible values such as intelligence, pleasure and knowledge.

Finally, according to Pascale BROUSSE, promised customisation is only too often absent when it comes down to the actual treatments: “real differentiation will hinge on this. Spas must stop dispensing the same treatment as the one given to the previous client and give priority to the imagination, just like Aroma zone has done with its cosmetic workshops”. Nevertheless, she believes that there is major market potential to be developed in both urban Spas and other well-being places.
The manufacturers of material and equipment, and designers of well-being and Spa solutions are the essential partners of a Spa Manager. They have an important role to play in contributing to this development and the most dynamic among them have understood this. Even though there is no big revolution in the field of Spa equipment in the spring of 2011, it is reassuring to observe that concepts are undergoing renewal, refinement and developing new functions for greater client satisfaction and more service for the operator.

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