Science & the consumer: a re-defined relationship
Why your mother, friend and barista are making it a point to stare at the sun in the morning & how this opens opportunities in Consumer
Back to regularly scheduled programming this week…I am writing this from my family’s house in Long Island after a day of so much sunshine. Summer is coming, and it feels great.
Recently, I’ve been fascinated with how much science has made it into the zeitgeist. Being a fan of podcasts like Huberman Lab, The Peter Attia Drive, and Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair, I have developed the ability to identify fellow followers by recognizing the source of the very specific scientific facts they share.
These days, it seems like everyone is cold plunging, sauna-ing, and staring at the sun in the morning. They are walking backwards more and drinking less. My New York mom does it, my Massachusetts friend does it, the Park City barista at The Daily Rise mentions it, and I (try) to do it.
Before, biohacking and science-driven lifestyle choices seemed to be reserved for tech enthusiasts and workaholics (often not mutually exclusive). Now, maybe largely due to the popularity of podcasts, science has become more accessible and more actioned on.
I’ve been speaking on an anecdotal level so let me scale it up a notch: Huberman Lab has 3.3M subscribers to his YouTube channel and shows up fourth on Spotify’s top charts. Andrew Huberman also tours (and often sells out) his live show “The Brain Body Contract” where everyday people sign up to hear him talk about science-related tools for health and performance.
Science has a new place in society, and this newfound accessibility and adoption comes with added opportunities in business: new ways to communicate with the consumer and new product demand.
We’ve already seen this play out in the form of the ~$45B fitness tracker market. From the wearable Whoop to the glucose monitor Nutrisense, people love generating concrete data about their health and then acting on it.
One area that I think is next to be disrupted is the Consumer Longevity sector. While the anti-aging market may bring to mind questionably-effective supplements and salves, now, companies like Dr. David Sinclair’s Tally Health ($10M in Seed funding led by Forerunner) offers science-based approaches to feeling and looking younger. Tally Health’s cheek swab test identifies biological age and then reduces it through actionable measures and a daily supplement. As life spans expand, there will be a growing demand for consumer products and technologies that can support a person’s desire to feel younger for longer. And a growing interest, I expect, to do this through science.