Health and Wellness Consumer Research in India: Who to Ask and What to Ask
How to survey health and wellness buyers in India: supplements, fitness, nutrition and personal care, screeners, a question bank, claim trust and consent rules.
In shortTo survey health and wellness buyers in India, define the sub-category (supplements, fitness, wellness food, personal care), screen on recent purchase, and ask about motivation, trust in claims, channel and the role of doctors. Avoid collecting health conditions unless you need them and have consent. Hercules Works targets by city, age band, gender and NCCS and adds a screener, because panel members span many consumer categories.
Contents
Wellness Is Four Audiences, Not One
"Health and wellness" covers buyers who behave differently: someone taking a vitamin, someone using a fitness app, someone buying a health snack and someone choosing a herbal personal care product. A single survey of "wellness consumers" blurs them.
This guide splits the audience, gives screener rules and a question bank, and covers claims and consent. The screener rules and questions are illustrative. We publish no counts for any category.
Pick the Sub-Audience and Screen on Behaviour
Panel members span many consumer categories, and no dedicated wellness field is documented. Reach a sub-audience with targeting (city, age band, gender, NCCS) plus a screener inside the survey. Ask for a feasibility count for your exact audience.
| Sub-audience | Screener rule, illustrative | Typical study |
|---|---|---|
| Supplement buyers | Took or bought a supplement in the last 3 months, from a list with decoys | Usage, trust, concept test |
| Fitness and activity | Exercised or used a fitness product or app in the last month | Usage and attitude; features |
| Wellness food and drink | Bought a health-positioned food or drink in the last month | Concept, pack, price |
| Wellness personal care | Bought the product type in the last 3 months | Concept, claim test |
Question Bank
| # | Block | Question | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Screener | Which of these have you bought or used in the last 3 months? | Multi-select with decoys |
| 2 | Motivation | What are your main reasons for using it? | Multi-select |
| 3 | Source | Where did you first learn about it? | Multi-select |
| 4 | Trust | How much do you trust the claims made on these products? | 5-point scale |
| 5 | Doctors | Did a doctor or pharmacist influence your choice? | Single choice |
| 6 | Channel | Where do you usually buy? | Multi-select |
| 7 | Switching | Have you changed brands in the last year, and why? | Single plus open text |
| 8 | Price | Four price-sensitivity questions | Van Westendorp |
| 9 | Profile | City, age band, gender | Single choice |
Add a claim test if you plan wording such as "clinically proven".
Trust in Claims Is the Core Question
Wellness buyers are exposed to many claims. Ask how much they trust them, what they check and who they believe. Our own supplement trust study is a worked example of this design. The claim wording you test must be backed by evidence, see the ASCI Code.
Health Data and Consent
Do not ask about medical conditions unless the study needs them. If it does, tell respondents why, ask for consent and do not store more than you need. Read the pharma research guide for patients and doctors, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill summary from PRS. Our panel keeps respondents anonymous to researchers.
Running This Study on Hercules
If your job is a consumer survey of health and wellness buyers in India, this is the pilot and main study at list price. Screened-out people do not count towards a response bundle.
| Step | Plan | Responses | Price per response | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test the questionnaire | Free | 30 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| Small pilot | Plus | 100 | ₹150 | ₹15,000 |
| Main study | Pro | 400 | ₹120 | ₹48,000 |
Pro is sold in bundles of 400 to 1,000 responses and costs 20% less per response than Plus. Enterprise plans come with a dedicated research team and are priced on request.
The SuperJ network has a 25M+ consumer footprint. The survey-eligible panel is a subset, and availability depends on your targeting. Members complete Aadhaar-based KYC once, and each study receives a zero-knowledge proof of verification. Surveys run in as many Indian languages as the study needs. Quality checks flag speeders, straight-lining and inconsistent answers. Read /panel-methodology and pricing.
The limit: the app reaches smartphone users only, so offline households need face-to-face fieldwork.
Frequently asked questions
How do I survey people who buy health and wellness products in India?
Split the audience by sub-category, target by city, age band, gender and NCCS, and use a screener on recent purchase. Ask for a feasibility count for your exact audience.
Is there a dedicated wellness panel?
No dedicated category field is documented. Members span many consumer categories, so a study finds wellness buyers with a screener.
Can I ask respondents about their health conditions?
Only if the study needs it, with a clear purpose and consent. Avoid collecting more than you need.
How do I test health claims?
Use a claim test with matched cells and keep the evidence for the claim on file. A survey measures perception, not truth.
How many responses do I need for a wellness survey?
For a share near 50%, 400 responses give about ±4.9 points in a simple random sample. Subgroups need their own samples.
Sources and further reading
- Telecom Subscriptions Reports (monthly) — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
- SuperJ panel methodology — how the respondents behind Hercules Works studies are verified
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