In the US$6.3 trillion world of wellness, catering to women is the lowest-hanging fruit on the tree. Yet women’s wellness is an area that’s historically been underfunded and underserved. In the US, women were rarely included in clinical trials before 1993, and in 2020, only 5 per cent of global research and development funding was allocated to women’s health research. Even spokespeople for the Global Wellness Institute, the largest research organisation dedicated to tracking the industry, recognise their failure to collect data on what women need or want from the wellness space ; they say they’ve found it more logical to focus on fitness and longevity in the past.

A spa service at Canyon Ranch, Lenox, Massachusetts. Photo: Handout

Enter Canyon Ranch, the OG of American wellness retreats, founded in 1979. In September 2026, it plans to unveil its third location on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, an ambitious 240-hectare ranch whose primary focus will be women’s wellness.

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Two-thirds of the brand’s guests are women, says chief executive officer Mark Rivers, referring to his existing resorts in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Tucson, Arizona. Yet that same demographic, he says, “is misunderstood and swallowed in general healthcare”.

By focusing almost entirely on relaxation and beauty, yoga retreats and boot camps, the spa industrial complex is missing a massive part of what women care about: the physiological changes women face at different stages of their life. It’s a gap that companies such as Canyon Ranch have been racing to address in recent years as people’s interest in wellness – and willingness to invest in it – has skyrocketed. To date, their efforts have typically manifested as the occasional treatment or themed retreat; there still isn’t a single wellness resort making women’s health their calling card.

An indoor pool at Canyon Ranch, Lenox, Massachusetts. Photo: Handout

The very symptoms that women’s wellness retreats address – hot flushes, vaginal dryness, hair loss – have long felt too taboo to name out loud, much less put on a marquee. But lately the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause have become buzzy talk show fodder and the subjects of bestselling books. Everyone from Oprah Winfrey and Drew Barrymore to Michelle Obama and Naomi Watts , who has her own menopause health product line, is now openly talking about the stage in a woman’s life that for decades was vaguely referred to as “the change”.

By 2030 the world population of menopausal and postmenopausal women is projected to increase 9 per cent, to 1.2 billion, with a forecast market size of US$24.4 billion. Spas will have to cater to this powerful market or risk getting left behind. It’s no wonder that wellness industry pioneers including Sha Wellness in Mexico and Spain, Ananda in the Himalayas, and Kamalaya resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, now offer programmes to address fertility, pelvic floor dysfunction and more. And the growing discourse around these issues for women has made it easier for men to admit to similar concerns too.

A meditation session at Canyon Ranch, Lenox, Massachusetts. Photo: Handout

“The rise in awareness around the gender health gap – particularly the lack of persistent data on female hormones and health – has helped normalise conversations that were long overdue,” says Anna Bjurstam, head of wellness at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, which earlier this year introduced a female wellness pilot programme in partnership with women’s health expert Dr Mindy Pelz. “Let’s face it, the wellness industry has historically centred on weight loss and aesthetics. But women want to feel good, not just look good. What we’re seeing now is a shift towards empowerment, education and energy.”

Canyon Ranch’s Rivers claims that his resort, however, will be the industry’s first dedicated women’s wellness practice. “There’s a lot of noise in the space, but we’re actually making an investment in it,” he tells us. To wit, Canyon Ranch Austin is a sizeable investment. It had previously been reported to be costing around US$122 million. Now Rivers confirms the price tag is actually reaching US$500 million, of which US$50 million will be devoted to the largest spa in Texas, clocking in at 40,000 sq ft with 37 treatment rooms.