Merse Wellness Spa latest business to jump on wellness trends in Perth including ice fountains

Perth is fast becoming a hotspot for the latest wellness trends, with residents willing to travel across the city and spend big bucks for a slice of serenity.

Once used only in clinical settings or for athletes’ recovery, wellness hacks like magnesium pools, ice fountains, and LED light therapy are now becoming popular for couch potatoes and the less athletically inclined.

Merse Wellness Spa is the latest business in Perth to jump on these trends, opening its doors in Osborne Park early this month.

The choice to open in Perth has already paid dividends, with founders Julia Tilli and Bianca Marshall saying memberships were already sold out for the new spa.

“We actually sold out of memberships before we opened our doors, which was a little bit surreal,” Ms Marshall said.

“It was amazing, but it just shows how much of a demand there is for this in Perth, and since opening, we’ve had a great response.”

Figures from the Global Wellness Economy: Australia report, released in August, back up this demand, with the country’s wellness industry surging at an annual rate of 7.5 per cent from 2019 to 2023.

This moved Australia’s wellness economy from the 13th biggest in the world to the 10th largest, with Aussies spending an average of $7431 per year in the industry.

More than $2.4 billion was spent on spa experiences alone in 2023.

Ms Tilli said customers had even been willing to travel to test out the spa.

“A majority are in near suburbs, but there’s quite a few members who are travelling because they absolutely love the concept and they are willing to travel 30 minutes to recover here,” she said.

The owners said it was some of the latest wellness trends pulling customers in.

Inspired by visiting an ice fountain in Lake Como in Italy, Ms Marshall wanted to bring the experience back to Australia.

The ice fountain makes shaved ice, which people can then rub over their bodies for cold therapy — working similarly to a cold plunge.

Ms Tilli said she hadn’t seen an ice fountain anywhere else in Australia.

“Australia, we’re a little bit behind in wellness,” she said.

“We had to do a lot of research into how the ice fountain operates, as it would be coming down a pipe into a bowl, and we had to make sure it wouldn’t melt in the bath house, which is quite a humid environment.”

Ms Marshall added: “This is for people who are not wanting to immerse their bodies into a body of water and also people with heart conditions, if they’re not able to get into a cold pool, they can still do their cold therapy with the ice fountain”.

Australians have been reaping the benefits of magnesium through many forms for years, including supplements, cream and sprays, but the pool is the newest way to get an intake of the mineral.

Ms Marshall said the magnesium pool was great for soothing muscles, recovery and for sleep.

Light therapy is also having its latest renaissance as an antidote to a number of health issues.

Red light therapy is the most well-known form of photobiomodulation, which is the medical term for using light to stimulate and enhance the body’s healing abilities.

First used in clinical settings, the wellness industry has now begun offering the tool to customers.

“It was usually found in medical or beautician clinics, especially the red light therapy after procedures like surgery but they found that their health benefits are so immense that we’re now incorporating it into general wellness,” Ms Tilli said.