Liberty is the latest retailer to deepen its push into wellness as health and wellbeing increasingly function as markers of modern luxury and growth drivers for retail.
Long regarded for its forward-leaning merchandising and emphasis on discovery, the iconic luxury department store has added ingestible brands to its beauty and wellbeing assortment, including Valerie, Ancient + Brave, Every State, Holy Cacao and Wild Nutrition, and expanded selections from existing brands such as Neom and Olverum. As part of the push, an immersive sanctuary dedicated to women’s wellbeing, dubbed Rooted in Wellness, has taken over Liberty’s atrium. The activation, running through Feb. 8, was created in partnership with British ingestible brand Wild Nutrition, the first wellness brand in Liberty’s history to take up residency in the atrium. The brand’s full range is available in stores and online at Liberty, and it launched its $64 Weight Management Support supplement at the retailer.
Liberty’s Beauty Studio premiered in October next to the retailer’s Beauty Hall, featuring wellness-centric beauty brands such as Vyrao and Grown Alchemist. Wellbeing brands like Neom, Olverum and Aromatherapy Associates have been carried at the retailer for years, but their role and visibility within the store have become more prominent.
Liberty’s wellness initiatives come as consumers place a higher priority on the category. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the United Kingdom’s wellness market was valued at about $224 billion in 2022, ranking it the fifth-largest wellness economy in the world and ahead of major markets including France and China, with British consumers spending an average of roughly $3,342 annually on wellness-related goods and services. A NielsenIQ survey in 2025 found that 66% of U.K. shoppers say they’re proactive about improving their health and wellbeing.
“Wellness is no longer niche. It is a priority for many women, and Liberty’s launch of the category reflects how customers’ needs are changing,” says Wizz Selvey, co-founder of Valerie and former head of buying at Selfridges. “With this considered move into wellness, Liberty has the opportunity to become a trusted destination for modern wellbeing in the same way it has been for beauty for decades.”
Marta Checa-Gracia, strategic, finance and growth advisor with MCG Strategic, believes Liberty’s wellness expansion, aligning with wellness strategies from retailers like Target and Ulta Beauty, reflects a broader structural shift in beauty retail rather than a short-term trend. “Wellness has moved from being a niche, adjacent category to a core driver of customer acquisition and lifetime value in beauty retail,” she says. “For a department store like Liberty, it offers a higher-frequency entry point than prestige beauty alone, encouraging repeat visits while also acting as a gateway into skincare, fragrance, gifting and lifestyle.”
However, wellness alone isn’t a guarantee of success, particularly among affluent, highly discerning shoppers. Checa-Gracia asserts execution is critical. She says, “The risk is over-assortment without education, which can overwhelm consumers, and wellness areas that feel bolted-on rather than integrated, which can dilute trust.”
Natalie Guselli, head of beauty at Liberty, points to science as a key differentiator for bringing in brands like Wild Nutrition to the department store retailer’s wellness repertoire. “Their commitment to quality, efficacy and education aligns perfectly with our vision for beauty as we continue to champion the best innovative brands,” she says. In a statement, Clare Tyrer, chief customer officer at Wild Nutrition, says, “This partnership marks a defining moment for Wild Nutrition. Bringing the science behind our food-grown formulations into a space as iconic as Liberty reflects both how far we’ve come and what we stand for.”
The Bath House, a top-floor space Liberty opened last year, illustrates the retailer’s approach to the category. It features wellness-focused beauty and home products from Santa Maria Novella, Commune, Le Labo, Olverum and Liberty’s in-house brand, Lbty. Liberty has augmented its Olverum curation and carries its full range of non-facial skincare items.
Olverum founder Dominic Hawksley shares the brand’s sales at Liberty are up 75% year over year. “Liberty is an extraordinary store. They really think about who their customer is and what brands that customer is going to be interested in,” he says. “If you go to Liberty, you’re going there because you want to find something interesting, creative and a bit different.” Kerry Wall, head of sales at Olverum, chimes in, “People visit Liberty to see what’s hot, what’s relevant, and I think they’re keeping up beautifully.”
Fellow premium British brand Ancient + Brave, which launched stateside in direct-to-consumer distribution in September following a 1,400% sales spike over the past two years, is rolling out its True Collagen, Wild Collagen, True Hydration, True Nightcap and Brave Glow tinctures at Liberty. The brand is already stocked at European retailers like Boots, Planet Organic, Muse & Heroine and Niche Beauty Still, founder Kate Prince describes the Liberty partnership as especially meaningful for the 8-year-old brand.
She says, “It feels like the beginning of an exciting new chapter and seeing our products in a space that celebrates craftsmanship, discovery and thoughtful design feels incredibly aligned with who we are.”
Liberty is among several British retailers building their presence in wellness. Department store Harrods made headlines in 2018 when it unveiled its 10,500-square-foot Wellness Clinic offering aesthetic treatments such as Botox and fillers alongside wellness protocols like cryotherapy and vitamin IV drips. For over a century, Harrods has had a pharmacy on its lower ground floor with nutritionists and an ear doctor. It sells hundreds of beauty, wellness and personal care products from brands including Wild Nutrition, Caudalie, Marvis, Boiron and Viridian.
Holland & Barrett introduced its first “experience” store in Cardiff last year with yoga and Pilates classes and in-store diagnostic health testing. Earlier this month, Boots launched “Wellness Zones” in six stores and incorporated 140 new wellness products from a dozen brands to its physical and virtual shelves.
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