Austin, TX—Consumers navigating the changes caused by their wellness journey say that while achieving peak performance is valuable, more important is feeling like themselves and comfortable in their bodies, according to a report published by CHEMI Nutra.

Redefinition & Emotional Anchoring: How Life Transitions are Shaping the New Identity of Wellness is a summary of a 2025 survey conducted on 548 U.S. consumers who were navigating major life transitions. This includes injury recovery, postpartum, GLP-1–supported weight loss, and age-related changes.

Feedback shared by the survey respondents revealed a common thread: The goal was no longer to return to their old selves; they were looking to move forward, grounded in who they were becoming. “Our research confirms that consumers want more than performance—they want presence,” said Michael Petteruti, President at CHEMI Nutra. “They’re looking for supplements that help them feel emotionally steady, motivated, and connected to themselves during change.”

Key findings from the survey include:

• Only 28% of participants currently experiencing a major life transition felt today’s supplements were designed for them.
• 83% wanted supplements that help them “feel like themselves again”—outranking energy, focus, or recovery as top goals.
• 68% said staying motivated after a major life shift had become harder.
• Emotional states such as flatness, anxiety, and restlessness significantly increased interest in supplements that help support calm, grounding, and focused motivation.
• 71% of consumers in life transitions said wellness was less about peak performance—and more about feeling like themselves again.

Cornering a new category

CHEMI Nutra’s research helped define a new category of consumer need: Emotional Anchoring. Outlined as the emotional scaffolding that carries individuals through physical and identity transitions, the concept is not about temporary stress relief but rather focused on helping individuals feel whole, steady, and ready to engage with life again.

For brands looking to formulate offerings in this new category with the right ingredients, CHEMI Nutra said its lineup of AlphaSize, Mediator, and SerinAid ingredient solutions are positioned to help create the right formulaitons.

“Emotional Anchoring is the bridge between mindset and medication,” said Petteruit. “This could be especially beneficial for GLP-1 users, prenatal, postpartum individuals and those facing age-related change. This is an evolution in cognitive and performance nutrition and we are here to help you support the consumer voice.”

A full version of the report is available here