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Flabthugs: Tapping diet supplements opportunities and venturing into gyms

Opportunity India Desk
Opportunity India Desk Sep 29, 2017 - 3 min read
Flabthugs: Tapping diet supplements opportunities and venturing into gyms image
Brands such as Flabthugs are eyeing the opportunity in India's nutraceuticals market and are catering to this need, looking at expanding their current base.

India’s nutraceuticals market, consisting of three segments – dietary supplements, functional foods and functional beverages – is growing at a CAGR of 18 per cent according to Research and Markets. Even though it is at a nascent stage, the scope for growth is huge as the consumer demands more health supplements with lack of time to cook and eat fresh foods.

Brands such as Flabthugs are eyeing the opportunity and are catering to this need, looking at expanding their current base. Gaurav Dawar and Karan Punn, the two founders of Flabthugs, spoke to Wellness India about their products, the market and their expansion plans. Here are excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about Flabthugs.

Flabthugs is a 2.5 year old brand. We have all international supplement brands. We have four monopoly brands that we import. You’ll only find these at Flabthugs. Plus, we give consultations for different body types for complete transformations. When it comes to the nutritional front, it’s not just about giving everything to anyone. We would like to sit with each person, talk to them and then give them nutritional consultation. We also provide food sometimes if the customer is really up for it. If the person will really follow it, we give that. We take care of the clients on one-on-one basis.

How many stores do you have at present?

We have three stores – one in Delhi, one in Aligarh and another in Mumbai. One is a franchise store, one is our own and another is in partnership.

What brings you to the health food industry of India?

My passion. I want people to be fit rather than complaining in their early 40s of knee pains and getting diabetic. I want people to exercise and eat healthy for a good life.

Do you think that the Indian population is skeptical about supplements? How do you cater to them?

They are. The person needs to understand that they can’t get all their nutrition from natural food. For example, if I tell you to eat 20 or 30 eggs a day, you’ll not be able to eat. They will overheat your body. Instead of that, it’s easy to have a scoop of protein shakes.

A majority of people we come across are skeptical. They are scared, they are not very open minded. We make them realise what the benefits of having a protein shake can be. In the US, even a 13-year-old takes protein shakes. I’m not being biased, but we are lagging behind because of lack of knowledge on these supplements. We are not just selling products, but also our knowledge.

Do you tie up with gyms?

We are not towards tying up with gyms right now. But we look forward to smaller people like the trainers. So our target are certified trainers, not just any trainer. We choose our trainers very carefully. They have in-depth knowledge of their area of specialization.

When you go into franchising, do you provide training to trainers?

We would be providing training to the people who are coming for our franchise. I’m not looking at a bulk of franchisees. I’m looking for a very cream quality.

How many stores are you looking at in the next five years?

We are looking at at least 15 stores with a gym by the name of Flabthugs which is in the pipeline. It’s not going to be a machine based gym. The vision behind that gym is the farmer activity. The exercises are going to be based on the effort that a farmer puts in. 

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