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The Direct‑to‑Consumer (D2C) pathway is quickly becoming one of the most exciting opportunities for health tech innovators — especially as XR technologies become more commonplace.

With a rapidly expanding market and growing consumer appetite for immersive, personalised health solutions, D2C offers founders a chance to move fast, build strong brand loyalty, and tap into significant revenue potential.

However, while the case for selling straight to the public is strong, the journey is rarely straightforward.

Below are 10 key insights from Dr Emilios Lemoniatis, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and CEO and CCIO of Medical Creatives Ltd, about how innovators can navigate the challenges of D2C to build commercially
viable products.

Building a product that people are willing to pay for is no small feat. Competition is intense, consumer expectations are high, plus you’ll need to price it so it supports sustainable growth without deterring potential customers.

Yet for health‑tech innovators seeking meaningful, scalable revenue, the consumer market remains one of the richest arenas for commercial opportunity.

When you get the value proposition and pricing right, it’s where transformative ideas have the potential to reach millions and make a measurable impact.

A product built for clinicians won’t automatically click with everyday consumers and that’s where many health tech teams hit a wall. Often, the most transformative move isn’t changing the product at all, but reframing it: sharpening the value proposition, focusing on a segment that truly cares, or highlighting benefits in a way that resonates with people who are willing to pay. If fast revenue is the goal, you may need to focus on a different audience.

Passion can spark great ideas, but it can also make it hard to see things objectively. What feels groundbreaking to you may not resonate the same way in the real world. That’s why real‑world testing, honest user feedback, and true market validation should guide your decisions. In a direct‑to‑consumer model, people vote with their wallets — and that’s ultimately the feedback that matters most. Use focus groups early to gather meaningful insights before you go too far down the wrong path.

Many early health tech products grow up inside grant cycles. This environment is supportive but often insulated from commercial pressure. Grants can unintentionally act like a greenhouse, nurturing ideas without exposing them to the realities of the market. When you leave that safe, protected environment, you have to be ready for the real world: customers who care about price, lots of competitors, higher expectations from users, and the need to show that people actually want what you’re offering.

When you rely on a single funding source, like grants, your business can become unexpectedly vulnerable. If that one stream dries up, your momentum goes with it. By blending income sources, including D2C revenue, you give yourself greater resilience and stability, along with the strategic flexibility you need to grow with confidence rather than dependency.

The “Farmer’s Market” approach
D2C demands a different kind of presence: direct, personal, and fuelled by real energy. It’s not enough to have a great product; you need compelling storytelling and the confidence to communicate its value in a way that resonates instantly. In this space, your ability to articulate the “why” is just as important as the “what.”

Market‑driven selling
Consumer-facing models are shaped by what people already want, how much they’re‑facing models are shaped by what people already want, how much they’re willing to pay, and what they expect in return including all the unspoken assumptions around support, service, and overall experience. Once you understand which model you’re actually operating in, everything else becomes clearer: how you build, how you sell, and how you grow.

Successful D2C health tech isn’t driven by demographics, it’s driven by psychology. The real questions are: Who wants your product? Why do they want it? What emotions are shaping their decision? And crucially, how do they expect to feel after they’ve paid you? People don’t just like or dislike a brand. Their feelings are mixed, emotional, and shaped by every interaction they have with you from the very beginning.

NHS procurement pathways can be complex, slow, and fiercely competitive. For many innovators, that makes D2C a far more straightforward way to prove value in the real world. When people willingly pay for your product, it shows strong proof that they value it. It also gives you a clear, fast way to show real impact.  This evidence can then be used to support NHS procurement later.

It is important that you check the regulatory requirements that fit your product’s intended purpose.

For B2C
Selling direct to consumers does not absolve the need to consider regulation – it’s all about the intended purpose. Products in this space typically sit in the wellness or self-help space, and may not need medical device classification.

For B2B
CE/UKCA marking and a full regulatory pathway may be required to meet procurement requirements.

Being open to framing your product differently for different audiences can unlock opportunities you didn’t even realise were available. A shift in perspective, including a shift in language, can reveal entirely new pathways for growth, relevance, and revenue.

The healthcare system is under pressure, and people increasingly trust recommendations from those they know. That means you can benefit massively from word‑of‑mouth as a driver of growth. When you create a product that helps people and feels meaningful, they naturally tell others about it.

• Marketplace analysis
  What analysis have I done? Who else is operating in my space, and what does my consumer landscape look like?
• Reframing
  Can my product be framed or used in different ways? Are there alternative audiences, use cases, or value propositions that make commercial sense?

• Government response to the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee Report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies

• MHRA issues new guidance for people using mental health apps and technologies

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By Jill Owens, Senior Programme Manager

Now that the Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme is in full swing, I’m struck by the progress our innovators have achieved in such a short time.

Time and again, the common threads are a deep understanding of clinical needs, the ability to demonstrate positive patient outcomes, delivering cost efficiencies, and championing inclusivity.

Throughout 2025, I witnessed an incredible number of breakthroughs, two of which I’d like to highlight here. My hope is that these stories serve as inspiration and a practical roadmap for other innovators.

Earlier this year, North Yorkshire NHS Talking Therapies part of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust launched Tend VR’s mindfulness based cognitive therapy using immersive VR headsets.

Tend VR’s solution has been developed in partnership with Britain’s oldest mental health provider, The Retreat Clinics, as well as academics at Cambridge University, University College London (UCL) and Manchester University.

Tend VR costs up to five times less than normal talking therapy. Early NHS results show that 71% of people using it noticeably improved, and Tend VR is on track to continue delivering this level of impact. On average, people’s depression scores went down by 6 points, and their anxiety scores dropped by 8 points.

Compared to what’s normally seen at step-2 NHS care (which is for people with mild to moderate anxiety or depression), Tend VR’s improvement in depression was about 50% better, and their improvement in anxiety, was about 130% better.

Delivered at scale through virtual reality in NHS and community settings, it also helps reduce patient waiting lists and prevents the escalation of mental health issues. The service is accessible in two flexible ways: either in-person at an accessible location, using shared headsets, or remotely at home with a loaned headset.

Dr. Dan Anderson, Consultant Psychiatrist at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, has also completed the Tend VR-MBCT course and is incorporating it into his practice.

The experiences of both patients and clinicians are described in the BBC article, Virtual reality mindfulness transformed my life.

Moving forward, founder of Tend VR, Matt Hoad-Robson, said: “We’re scaling Tend rapidly in the coming year, building strong UK-wide foundations, and we’re looking for NHS partners to grow with us.”

XR Therapeutics is another innovator on the Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme helping to shape the mental healthcare innovation roadmap. It has grown from a university spin-out into a UK health tech company working with seven NHS Trusts, one ICB and three third-sector organisations.

Their flagship solution, Boundless, is a therapist-controlled XR-enabled platform used within NICE-approved talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and graded exposure.

It provides virtual simulations of anxiety-provoking situations, enabling patients to safely and directly interact with scenarios that trigger distress while their therapist delivers structured therapeutic techniques in real time.

To promote inclusivity, the solution can be adapted to meet the needs of autistic individuals and those with learning disabilities, while maintaining existing clinical pathways.

Boundless is designed for clinician convenience as it works with devices already available in services, eliminating the need for specialist hardware.

While some patients typically require around 12 sessions of traditional therapy, this intervention can significantly improve efficiency, with certain patients experiencing positive outcomes in fewer than three sessions.

One clinician reported how the XR Therapeutic mobile app helped a student with emotional regulation.

XR Therapeutics are delighted with feedback from users of their solution.

Penny Day, COO, XR Therapeutics said that patients reported feeling more in control, less overwhelmed and better able to engage at their own pace.

As we move further into 2026, the Health Innovation Network South London is excited to continue the Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme supporting with tailored business coaching, strategic communications assistance, and valuable introductions.

The Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme also has a wealth of resources for all innovators.

If you’d like to speak to the team about innovation support, email us at hin.mindset@nhs.net

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Last month, our Head of Mental Health, Aileen Jackson, attended the BMJ Digital Health and Innovation Community Conference, a gathering of leading voices shaping the future of healthcare through technology.

In this blog, Aileen reflects on the challenges and opportunities for clinicians, researchers, innovators and digital health experts as they explore how data, design and human insight can transform the way we deliver care.

Attending the BMJ Future Health conference in November was a powerful reminder of the energy, ambition, and complexity driving digital transformation in health and care.

With many of our partners, the Health Innovation Network South London and Innovate UK were proud to join the conversation and showcase Mindset-XR innovations in mental health.

The day was rich with ideas, challenges, and opportunities, and the excitement around XR solutions was clear, with delegates queuing to experience them firsthand.

Here are the key themes I took away, along with insights from our Mindset innovators after sharing their solutions.

At the event, one thing was clear: there’s a real impatience to bring about change. The energy in the room was palpable — an eagerness to move quickly, implement digital solutions, and transform services.

That momentum is exciting, but it can also be a double-edged sword.

When we rush, we risk introducing technology that doesn’t work as intended, doesn’t scale, or fails to integrate with existing systems. Innovation is essential, but it needs to be paired with a commitment to doing it thoughtfully and well.

Moving fast is good — but moving wisely is better.

Another strong theme was empowerment. And it wasn’t just about giving people tools — it was about involving them in creating those tools.

Co-designing with clinicians and people with lived experience, building digital confidence, and ensuring technology is evidence-based are the foundations of meaningful transformation. Digital change isn’t something that can be imposed; it has to be built collaboratively.

The conference also highlighted an important reality: healthcare isn’t solely clinical. In fact, only 52% of the NHS workforce is made up of clinicians. The rest includes professionals in management, HR, training, IT, administration, and more.

For digital interventions to succeed and remain sustainable, every one of these roles must be part of the co-design process.

There was also a clear call for Royal Colleges and training institutions to embed digital skills into medical, nursing, and allied health education. Encouragingly, younger staff — often digital natives — tend to adapt quickly to new technologies. But that doesn’t mean training can be skipped. Upskilling needs to be intentional, inclusive, and continuous.

Ambient voice technology was a big talking point. It has the potential to save time — but what happens with that extra time? Should clinicians use it to see more patients, or spend more time with each one? Is the goal quantity, quality, or a balance of both?

There’s no simple answer, but it’s an important question to ask. Ultimately, technology should help enhance care, not just speed things up.

One clear takeaway for tech providers: stay true to your mission. Keep your focus on solving real challenges and creating meaningful impact for both patients and healthcare professionals. And remember, sustainability matters — financially and operationally — because lasting solutions are what the industry truly needs.

It’s equally important that new technologies integrate smoothly with existing systems. Without interoperability, even the most groundbreaking innovations risk becoming isolated silos.

Health and care systems are naturally risk-averse — and for good reason. But if we want to innovate, we need to get better at taking calculated risks, learning from mistakes, and creating safe spaces to experiment. Innovation without risk is a contradiction.

That said, risk-taking doesn’t mean being reckless. It means being thoughtful about how we frame and implement new ideas.

One of the most resonant themes? The sense that many are waiting for permission to innovate. Real change often comes from the ground up. We need to empower teams to act, not just wait. Bottom-up innovation isn’t just possible — it’s essential.

There’s a cultural shift needed here — from asking “can we?” to saying “how might we?” We need to create environments where people feel confident to try, test, and learn — even if that means getting things wrong sometimes.

There was a strong focus on measuring the impact of digital technology — not just rolling it out. This means looking at real outcomes like better patient care, improved staff satisfaction, and greater system efficiency.

Poor implementation of technologies in the workplace is increasingly linked to staff burnout and even people leaving their jobs.

We also need to manage expectations carefully. Electronic patient records (EPRs) were introduced with the hope of reducing clinical workloads, but the results have been mixed. In some cases, the challenges they were meant to address weren’t clearly defined from the start — and today, many clinicians still feel the administrative burden is heavy.

Digital systems have advanced, however, they must go further to deliver the time efficiencies and cost savings that the health and care sector needs.

The three enablers of successful digital adoption are people, process, and technology. The emphasis must always start with people. Without understanding the human and operational context, even the most advanced tech will fall short.

Process comes next — ensuring that workflows, governance, and culture support the change.

Only then can technology truly enable transformation.

I’ve always known that digital transformation isn’t just about tech — but this event was a powerful reminder of how people, systems, and culture play a part too.

We need to move fast, yes. But we also need to move wisely.

And most importantly, we need to move together.

Mindset innovators in attendance were Cineon, Greener Games,  Intercultural Roots (EcoGPX), Photography Based Therapeutics, Reinhart and Sona.

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By Aileen Jackson, Head of Mental Health, Health Innovation Network South London

Dr Mary Docherty, National Clinical Director for Adult Mental Health NHS England, Consultant General Adult and Liaison Psychiatrist South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, joined our final Mindset-XR roadshow event in London last month.

In a powerful keynote address, Dr Docherty laid bare the pressing challenges facing mental health services across the country such as the £16 billion spent annually on remedial action due to lack of early intervention, and the many billion per year lost to work-related mental health issues.

Dr Docherty’s message was clear – while progress has been made, there are still plenty of opportunities for innovators to apply targeted, inclusive innovation in the mental health space.

Despite increased investment and expanded capacity, the demand for mental health services continues to outpace supply leaving many individuals without timely access to the support they need.

Dr Docherty outlined several promising opportunities for innovators. Among adults experiencing anxiety and depression, nearly 24% of patients in the final quarter of 2024/25 waited more than 90 days between their initial assessment and the start of treatment. This delay highlights a significant gap in timely care.

For children and young people (CYP), the situation is even more concerning. In 2023/24, an estimated 1.7 million children and young people were believed to have a probable mental health disorder. However, only half of them received support through NHS-funded services, indicating a substantial shortfall in provision.

The number of people with severe mental illness (SMI) accessing mental health support has grown by 31% since 2022, driven by both rising demand and some expansion of available services.

But disparities in treatment access and outcomes remain unresolved. For example, people with autism and ADHD continue to face persistent barriers to accessing care.

Also, our ageing population often faces interconnected physical and mental health challenges, adding extra complexity for services that are already under strain.

These challenges highlight the need for service models that are both inclusive and adaptable - something innovators should prioritise during the design phase and in ongoing development.

The Health Innovation Network South London is enthusiastic about the growing role of XR in mental healthcare and is confident that innovators can meet these challenges.

The mental health sector is driving the shift from hospital-based care to community support, with community-led services growing nearly 40% since 2016. However, persistent workforce shortages threaten the sustainability of this progress.

Dr Docherty noted that one significant opportunity for innovators lies in tackling the high vacancy rate in mental health nursing, which is currently 10.2% which is well above the NHS average of 5.9%.

While acknowledging that retention challenges, particularly among specialist staff, further compromise continuity and quality of care, Dr Docherty emphasised that the practitioner is, in essence, the therapeutic tool. This reality makes the role inherently emotionally demanding.

Consequently, staff wellbeing has become a critical concern, with rising levels of burnout and emotional exhaustion reported across the sector. These pressures impact not only individual practitioners but also the overall resilience and effectiveness of mental health services.

So, it’s encouraging to see Mindset innovators developing solutions for staff training and wellbeing, helping keep skilled professionals in the workforce.

Mental health outcomes continue to show significant disparities across different populations, highlighting the need for more equitable approaches to care.

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) consistently experience poorer health outcomes and face a widening mortality gap compared to the general population.

Inequalities are further compounded for people living in deprived areas and those from global majority communities, who often encounter barriers to accessing mental health services.

And mental ill health doesn’t just affect individuals - it’s creating wider social challenges. It’s a growing reason why people are leaving or unable to stay in work, reducing productivity and putting extra strain on public services and the economy.

To tackle these impacts, innovations that recognise and reduce health inequalities across the UK are therefore considered highly valuable.

To conclude, Dr. Docherty drew attention to the forthcoming Modern Service Framework (MSF), which will inform where innovation can drive progress. She emphasised that this will be an important document for innovators to watch in 2026.

Dr Docherty then went on to ask innovators to consider the priorities of the 10-Year Health Plan – community, digitalisation and prevention - and how their work could address six key areas:

Dr Docherty concluded with a rallying call to innovators, emphasising the many opportunities to make a meaningful impact in mental health. Urging innovators to focus their efforts on closing key gaps in the system including gaps in treatment, capacity, prevention, efficacy and wellbeing.

When pitching to commissioners, Dr Docherty encouraged innovators to get briefed on the NHS’s current needs, to speak their language, to lead with the problem they are aiming to solve, to include evaluation, - and to remain “wildly ambitious”.

Mindset innovators in attendance were Aerial Icon, Borderpoint Films, CrossSense, EcoGPX Ltd, GoodWith, Greener Games, Haven XR, Holo-Log, InsideOut, Neurotech, Phase Space, Photography Based Therapeutics, PWFL, Reneural, Tend VR, XR Therapeutics

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