With the Indian wellness market marching ahead with trillion dollars, the opportunity is becoming bigger by the day. As newer brands emerge in India, international players are also eyeing the opportunity, spreading their wings to the Indian wellness sector.
From fitness centres to salons to cosmetics brands, more international players are now realising the potential of India’s beauty and wellness market and are entering India with huge expansion plans. Here’s a look at brands from overseas that are looking for distributors and franchisees in India, extending the opportunity to India’s aspiring beauty and wellness entrepreneurs.
Jymka
Jymka, an award winning fitness brand that started from Ireland in 2002, entered India in 2012. It brings to India a unique concept of family gyms. At Gymka, programs are designed for the fitness of parents as well as kids starting from the age of 3-year-old. The founders have been ecstatic with the response they’ve got in the Indian market and are looking at over 100 franchise gyms in the next five years.
“Indian mums have an interest in the welfare of their families. I think the fitness industry has really come on here and this concept is ready for the Indian market because there is a problem of obesity here. People really need to address staying active and fit,” says Jymka founder Anne-Marie Byrne. “The response has been fantastic. There are people who are very interested in franchising with us. They want to know whether the gym is located close to them. And franchising is such a great opportunity considering we don’t have a competitor being a very unique concept,” she adds.
Impulse Studios
Impulse Studios is a Malaysian award-winning brand that is coming up with its first studio in India in December. The brand is bringing the German technology of Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) to India, promising effective weight loss, body sculpting and fitness without weight lifting exercises. After establishing itself in other Asian countries, the brand is set to make a mark in the Indian fitness industry.
“We are planning to be present in all metros and Tier I cities as part of our Phase 1 expansion and there are a lot of people who have shown keen interest to own our brand and help us expand. We are exploring options to expand to Tier II cities once we have the studios up and running in Metros and Tier I cities,” says Manohar Iyer, Founder, Impulse Studios India. He also adds that Impulse Studios is looking at 100 studios in India by 2020.
Avention Global, Australia
Avention Global – Architects of Skin, of Australia, is primarily a maker of anti-ageing products that also deals with slimming and hair loss treatments, but in a youthful manner. The brand aims to make India move away from the old-school treatments to newer and more exciting treatments.
“The Indian skincare and wellness industry is quite fractioned, to be honest. We have a couple of chains that focus on natural technologies and old school technologies. There are also medical clinics and there are also small beauty salons. So, I think it’s quite fractioned. What we would like to do is tie some services together and modernise at the same time,” says Stephanie Sherlock, CEO, Avention Global.
Hypoxi
Hypoxi is a targeted inch-loss and fat-loss company. The Hypoxi concept has been around for the past 18 years. The brand is present in 50 countries internationally over 5 continents and has more than 3,000 studios now. While the brand has four studios in India, it is into the expansion mode, but is choosing franchisees very carefully.
“It all depends on whether we get the right people because Hypoxi is a brand which we very much protect. So, we are very selective with the type of franchisees we want. We would love to have another 5 new studios or even 50 as long as we have got the right people, which is very important,” says Manjari Patel, Master Trainer, Hypoxi India. She also adds that while the Indian fitness industry is growing, it is still at a nascent stage and has a long way to go.
