With 12X Growth And $5 Mn+ Annual Sales, Fitternity Now Targets To Expand Its Fitness Ecosystem With $2 Mn Funding

Mumbai-based fitness discovery startup Fitternity has raised $2 Mn in a funding round led by its existing as well as new investors. The current round of fundraising is a part of institutional fundraise which the company will be closing later this year.

Excluding the current round, the fitness startup which runs an integrated marketplace for preventive healthcare has raised a total of $2.5 Mn funding since its launch in 2014, and the funds are spread across three rounds from investors such as Exfinity Venture Partners and Saha Fund.

The latest funding round, which saw a participation of  the existing investors, also saw the participation of marquee angel investors including Arihant Patni (of Patni Family Office), Anjali Bansal (ex-TPG Partner), Akshay Chudasma (MD – Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas), Satish Khanna (Ex-Group President Lupin) and the Taparia family office.

Shailesh Ghorpade, Managing Partner & CIO Exfinity Venture Partners said, “The fitness industry in India is growing rapidly as awareness grows about one’s health and well being. However, the industry largely remains unorganised and here is where Fitternity’s platform plays an active role in getting the entire ecosystem together – fitness seekers, studios, gyms, health foods, merchandise, etc. to create an enduring value to the stakeholders.”

Fitternity: Disrupting The Preventive Healthcare Segment With Its Fitness Drive

According to the WHO data, India tops the list of countries with the highest number of diabetics; and is expected to rise by more than 100% in the year 2030 to account to a whopping 79.4 Mn. High BP, Arthritis, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, Heart diseases -the list of diseases is endless which could have been avoided to an extent just by adopting a healthier lifestyle including a regular fitness regime.

As Arihant Patni, Patni Family Office shares, “As a half marathoner over 40, have first-hand seen the positive impact of fitness programmes to address modern-day conditions such as diabetes and blood pressure. Preventive healthcare is a critical space in India and Fitternity is transforming it by enabling Indians to start and sustain their fitness journey.”

Fitternity helps people in discovering the best of health-based destinations, for the same, it has entered into exclusive tie-ups with gyms and health clubs allowing them to offer discounts to the customers.

The fitness startup has built a tech-enabled platform combining marketplace and subscription model for fitness services which encompass a $4 Bn market in India. On Fitternity, users can book fitness services in real-time across the ‘Fitternity assured’ network of over 4,000+ service providers.

In the words of Neha, ‘only online’ and ‘only offline’ as models will not work in the Indian markets, particularly fitness. To draw the attention of the Indian masses towards fitness, a mix of online and offline services is quite necessary.

“Offline is something that we have already built by aggregating different fitness providers to our platform. Now we are aiming to further add value to it by adding components like health products, insurance benefits, flexibility in choosing fitness options and more,” she added.

The startup claims to be clocking annual sales of over $5 Mn, growing over 12x in the last two years with the largest network of corporate partners who rely on Fitternity for managing the health and well-being issues of their employees. It has also collaborated with the insurance companies and based on the daily fitness regimen, users can also gain incentives on their health insurance premium.

The fitness startup will thus be raising additional capital later this year to expand the fitness startup ecosystem geographically, and on the cards is also a plan to launch subscription-based services such as Fitternity Pro that sits on the top of the marketplace and build the consumer journey across all facets of wellbeing.  “We will also look to further strengthen our technology to bridge the gap between supply and demand network,” said Neha.

The Growing Brigade Of Fitness Marketplaces In India

Globally, the fitness marketplaces are effectively cashing upon the hectic and the stretched work schedule of the millennials. However, in India owing to the inherent price-sensitivity, a major part of the community has restricted itself from joining any kind of fitness regimen.  Startups like Fitternity have been able to touch upon this issue as well and is attempting to address it with pragmatic solutions for the fitness consumers. As per facts, the rate of fitness penetration in India is just 0.37% and this includes only those having a fitness membership in a gym or a fitness club.

With available options like the flexibility in choosing fitness regimens of the consumer’s choice, walking to the gym on the basis of fitness sessions, adding a deeper layer of discounts and additional benefits – the Indian community of fitness seekers have started tapping into these marketplaces.

Apart from Fitternity,  other major players who are building a different niche for themselves include Growfitter, Book Your Game, Gympik, FitTicket, Fitraq, and FitPass.

Being one of the first movers in the fitness discovery space, the initial challenge for the Fitternity team was to build the platform and get the initial traction. For now, managing the whole balance between the supply and demand is a major challenge due to the increased awareness around overall health and wellness; increased options in the form of Yoga, Aerobics, Zumba, etc.  and the gradual increase in the number of offline fitness facilitators.

With the latest funding, Fitternity will continue to address the aforementioned challenges and also strive to further disrupt the preventive healthcare industry in the country.

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