Even after the current economic slowdown in several sectors, the Indian wellness services market is expected to remain optimistic and has the potential to sustain a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 30-35 per cent for the next five years, says a study by FICCI and Ernst & Young.
Today, both slimming and ayurveda industry in India has witnessed a remarkable transformation. In last decade or so, both businesses have emerged as the new growth frontier for beauty business in India. The slimming segment is expected to witness an inflow of several foreign health club chains in the future, especially in urban areas. But till date, Indians have an inclination towards natural products for their beauty needs. The emphasis has been on the spectacular growth of the ayurvedic beauty products.
Major Challenges
With benefits and opportunities, some challenges always surround these sectors. Like Richa Jain, MD, Unique Slim Point & Beauty Clinic pointed, “The biggest challenge in this business is to make people to join slimming centers. The weight reduction part is rather an easier task.” She further adds, “We have received a very good response on our first day in our slimming centre. So, there are no risks to open these clinics. These private clinics are open in nearby market, mainly in residential areas.”
While in ayurveda sector, Vishnu Dutt Sharma, Business Head, Deep Ayurveda explains, “In service industry model, there are many hidden hassles which normally no body communicates l to franchise owner. To run a successful ayurveda wellness franchise, we have to provide manpower, treatment protocol, result oriented medicines, marketing and brand promotions, backend support etc. But, many brandsdo not provide these supports. We have a very fair and transparent business strategy to run franchise unit.”
Business opportunities
In terms of opportunities, Kerala Ayurveda has set up Ayurveda Panchakarma clinic, supply the best Ayurvedic medicines and other products, herbal food supplements, expert staff to the centers, necessary equipment and apparatus to the centre, search engine ranking and online promotions, provide leads of Ayurveda treatment through online promotion, media publicity of Ayurveda centers.
In slimming centres, “The move into franchising was driven by the realisation that there was a latent demand for quality beauty and wellness services in tier II and tier III cities, but growth has been limited due to lack of presence of organised brands. Franchising helps us to partner with local people who understand the consumers in that region”, shared Sandeep Ahuja, Managing Director, VLCC Health Care Limited.
For investors interest
There are many advantages in the beauty and wellness industry for prospective investors. It is recession proof; it reaches out to a larger chunk of target consumers across all income groups. Ayurveda also provides a viable business opportunity is borne out by the long and successful runs of several brands in this field. On the same note, Abhilash K Ramesh, Executive Director, Kairali Ayurvedic Group said, “He/she must be clear with his/her long term vision. Investor needs to understand that this business will not bring in returns from day one, so, he/she must put all efforts to promote and create awareness. The investor must also have patience for return on investments as breakeven usually happens in 1-1.5 years.”
“While selecting franchisee we look into how much the franchisee appreciates the services. One important thing that the franchisee should keep in mind is that this is medical line of business. The other parameters include the choice of location, the area available, their investment capacity and their eligibility to manage the business,” stated Dr. Rekha Gonsalves, Dr. Rekha's Skin and Slim Centre.
Thus, there is a great opportunity to establish and operate in both ayurveda and slimming segment for franchisees.
