Yoga is a practice that dates back to the time of the Vedas over 5,000 years ago. The age-old tradition is now a lifestyle that attracts millions of consumers not just in India but across the world. In fact, it is a bigger industry across the US than it is in India itself.
The global Yoga market is worth $80 billion. While the US holds a major share in this, in India, this market is worth Rs 490 billion. Almost 40 per cent of this comes from services. The rest of it is a market of yoga products and accessories such as yoga mats etc. Let’s take a look at some factors that have worked in favour of or have given a much needed boost to the Yoga industry in India in the past few years.
International Yoga Day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave what could be called the biggest push to Yoga by proposing the idea of International Day of Yoga on September 27, 2014 at the UNGA. The first International Yoga Day was observed on June 21, 2015. Over 35,000 people were present only at Rajpath to perform Yoga asanas and the number has only gone up in 2016. With the International Yoga Day becoming a huge deal, more people have started following yoga more aggressively. In fact, during the 2016 Yoga day celebrations, PM Modi even asked his ministers to ‘make Yoga a mass movement’.
The Celebrity Push
Bollywood has played a huge role in elevating Yoga to make it an industry altogether. From actress Kareena Kapoor to Shilpa Shetty, all have been seen swearing by Yoga and have spoken about Yoga transforming their health and lifestyle. Shilpa Shetty has been one of the biggest contributors to the Yoga industry, releasing her own CDs and videos for making people practise the workout. Actress Bipasha Basu too has been actively involved in spreading the Yoga mania with her yoga videos.
Stressed lifestyles
With the increase in urbanisation and mushrooming of startups, stressed lifestyles have become a given. With lesser time to hit the gyms and seeking both physical and mental fitness, many take to Yoga as a regular regime. According to a study by TimesJobs, 80 per cent of employees in India complain of stress at work. The figure points at the huge scope for Yoga in the country.
The rise of Patanjali
Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna figure among the biggest entrepreneurs in the country. With brand Patanjali, the two have taken both Yoga and Ayurveda to the next level. Patanjali, in fact, has now set up a huge university in Haridwar offering degrees and diplomas in Yoga. Moving successfully towards hitting sales worth Rs 10,000 crore in 2016-2017, Patanjali has taken brand Yoga one level up.
Increase in disposable incomes
India has seen a huge jump in disposable income. India’s Total Disposable Personal Income is expected to trend around 231000000.00 INR Million in 2020, according to Trading Economics. This has resulted in people seeking premium services like urbanised yoga centres and yoga therapies.
Some effects of the push to the yoga industry in Indian due to the above reasons have brought out interesting opportunities in this sector. Some of these effects have been:
Rising demand for Yoga trainers
The demand for yoga instructors has been growing at 30 to 35 per cent per annum, thereby, opening up arenas for yoga certification academies and yoga schools. As the consumer becomes more aware, the industry is poised to become more organized with the demand for professionally certified yoga trainers going up.
Mushrooming Yoga studios and innovation
The popularity of Yoga has opened up the sector to innovation and startups. Newer and Younger yoga studios, like Zorba: A Renaissance Studio, have taken to spreading aggressively, tapping the demand for Yoga and moderating it with the clients’ style.
Shooting sales of Yoga products, accessories
With the popularity of Yoga on the rise and with the celebration of International Yoga Day, the sales of Yoga mats and other products like Yoga pants etc have grown almost 50 per cent. The demand shoots up especially in June, which is the month of International Yoga. This points to the scope of being actively involved in manufacturing and selling these products.
Budding outdoor Yoga communities
While outdoor yoga communities have been an old practise with people getting together in parks and practising Yoga, many have now started hiring Yoga trainers to conduct these sessions. The communities, hence, are seen growing bigger, thereby, resulting in an increase in demand for Yoga trainers and also presenting an opportunity for Yoga trainers and studios for building more such communities outdoor.
The market for Yoga is one full of opportunities and wider scope. While the practise originates from India, we are yet to see India as the Number 1 market for Yoga. As more people venture into this, as more investments are injected, and the demand for Yoga continues to grow, India may soon looking at tapping the right potential in this sector.
