There’s a fitness revolution sweeping across India, and online fitness discovery platforms are muscling in on their brick-and-mortar counterparts’ turf by enhancing consumer engagement with everything from curated fitness regimens to cross-gym usage facility.

A clutch of technology-driven platforms, including Fitpass, Fitternity, FitCircle and HealthifyMe, has opened up a whole new world of fitness for gym rats, making the experience affordable and accessible.

For instance, Fitpass, which has tie-ups with over 1,000 gyms in and around Delhi, offers its members curated fitness solutions and the option to access gyms anytime, anywhere –– all for just ₹999 a month.

Removing ineffiencies Akshay Verma, Founder, Fitpass said, “India wants to get fit, but there are impediments in the form of price, fixed schedules and long-term contracts. We use technology to remove market inefficiencies and make fitness accessible.” Fitternity, another such platform, helps consumers find the right gym within their budget and their workout choice (yoga, Pilates, TRX, among others). “Our consumers have the choice to work out at various locations,” said Neha Motwani, Founder and CEO, Fitternity.com.

Likewise, chat-based health and fitness company FitCircle’s team of nutritionists and health advisors offer personalised advice for free. They also customise regimens for corporates.

Recently, FitCircle tied up with health and insurance brokers Aon, MediManage, Evexia and others to improve employee health and engagement.

“Mobile fitness solutions will play a big role in deciding individual and group health insurance costs,” said Aarti Gill, Co-Founder of FitCircle.

VC, PE firms add muscle So impressively are these fitness platforms punching above their weight that venture capital and private equity firms are lining up to fund them.

Both FitCircle and Fitternity raised funds from VC and PE players. Another mobile fitness and weight-loss solutions provider, HealthifyMe, bagged a fresh round of funding, which it will use to hire over 1,000 nutritionists and fitness trainers, said Tushar Vashist, CEO.

Recently, home services aggregator Housejoy acquired ‘at-home’ fitness start-up Orobind.

Satya Vyas, Co-founder, Orobind, said, “Fitness and wellness have high customer lifetime value, but one must offer a differentiated product experience.”

For these service providers, clearly, ‘fit’ and ‘profit’ go hand in hand.

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