From Nutrients to Narratives: How Nutritional Wellness Brands Represent Self-Care and Wellness on Instagram

Since the Covid-pandemic, self-care has emerged as a pivotal concept within the (nutritional) wellness industry. Especially focused on women, self-care practices gained a large amount of attention on social media platforms. Following this trend, nutritional wellness brands have started to portray practices of self-care in their marketing efforts to sell their products, both on their own platforms and by making use of social media influencers. This present study examines how branded social media posts represent self-care and how these representations become part of a larger discursive meaning of what it means to live a ‘good’ life. The research question that this thesis answers is: “How is self-care represented in the social media marketing efforts of nutritional wellness brands?” To answer this question a qualitative approach was taken. More specifically, a thematic analysis is employed to examine the Instagram content of three nutritional wellness brands: AG1, Bloom Nutrition and Free Soul, to uncover the current representation of self-care. By means of purposive sampling, a dataset consisting of 215 branded reels and Instagram posts was formed. The analysis of this data involved systematic coding and the interpretation of the visual posts to identify recurring themes and narratives regarding the representation of self-care in the content. Following the thematic analysis six main themes emerged from the data. Self-care as a community practice explores the community aspects of self-care. The second theme, self-care as a natural practice shows how self-care is often represented as connected to nature, whether through ingredients or through showing the outdoors. Self-care as an accessible practice emphasises that self-care can be done everywhere, in an easy and convenient manner. Self-care as a routine portrays how self-care is represented as part of a routine, something that people participate in on a daily basis. Self-care as an aesthetic practice, explores how self-care is being romanticised. Whether through a pretty presentation of the product, seasonal aesthetics or trendy outfits, self-care is represented as something that always looks good. Lastly, self-care as a physical practice focuses on the presence of the physical nature and benefits of self-care in the branded Instagram content. Brands lack the focus on the mental benefits of self-care, but instead focus mainly on the physical health benefits. In conclusion, six main representations of self-care emerged from the branded social media content of the chosen nutritional wellness brands.