The health and fitness industry in India is poised at an inflection point, with high market fragmentation, stupendous market potential and end-to-end overall growth. Several new business models are emerging to disrupt this industry. The fitness and wellness sector in India has come a long way from the days of the local ‘akhadas’ to wrestling now being a part of the international Olympics, with India actively taking part in it and winning medals for the country. Bodybuilding and powerlifting championships are other such examples. Today fitness industry in India, is chiefly driven towards heath, well-being, good looks and confidence. Resistance training, aerobics, Zumba, aerial yoga, Pilates, MMA, kickboxing etc. have become the fitness trends over a few years in India.
However, the fitness industry in India is largely an unorganized, fragmented
Head High Up in Pride : Ms Suparna Gupta and Prakash Shah from GS Marketing
and unstructured sector, waiting to be consolidated into an organized entity. More recently, it has been witnessed that many mom-and-pop structures are making way for organized retailing in the gym business and the trend will only accelerate in the coming times, with the entry of global players, home grown startups as well as online marketplace business models, structured around the gyms and fitness domains- not only fitness services, but also products.
The market is looking up in India. Thanks to today’s fast paced, hectic modern lifestyles which seldom allow a person to workout actively or follow a well-crafted fitness regime. Now gyms and fitness studios are on people’s smartphones. This has forced many people to do whatever
Competitions in Progress at 2nd Fitexpo
they can to keep themselves fit and active and a healthy diet often tops the set of try-outs. Heart healthy, probiotic, sugar-free, fat-free, low-cholesterol, baked, boiled are some of the lines we see appearing in product packaging these days. Furthermore, muscular and toned bodies of celebrities and fashion icons coupled with healthy lifestyles are making Indian consumers embrace fitness
like never before. Furthermore, muscular and toned bodies of celebrities and fashion icons coupled with healthy lifestyles are making Indian consumers embrace fitness like never before. People are spending quite a sizeable money to look and feel good. The trend is encouraging people to take out time from their busy schedules and visit the gym or follow a strict workout routine in the comfort of their homes by taking personal training services.
In the midst of this encouraging momentum, the exhibition industry is doing its bit to propel the growth further and to make the sector more organised. The recently held Fitexpo in Kolkata, hailed as a one of its kind event in Eastern India, brought together fitness enthusiasts, who participated in over a dozen activities including Women’s & Men’s Body Building Championships, Strongman, Power lifting, Fitness dance workout, Zumba, Mixed Martial Arts, Grappling, Fencing, fitness seminars and many more. The success of the event can well be measured by the sheer growth in the size and scale of the event. The second edition of Fitexpo grew by three times in terms of net sq.ft of area covered, as compared to the first edition. The event was organised by G.S. Marketing Associates from 25th to 26th November, 2017 at the Science City Exhibition Hall, Kolkata. The exhibitors showcased fitness equipment, gym plans & health food supplements.This unique, inspiring atmosphere generated extensive sales and networking opportunities for aspiring companies looking to build a formidable reputation in the rapidly developing Indian health and wellness market, worth Rs. 620 Crores. Both the exhibitors and the visitors seemed very pleased with the outcome of the event and vouched for the need for having such a event in Eastern India.
The Fitexpo is presented by BODYLINE SPORTS, which is one of the leading names in the Sports and Fitness world, that champions the fitness industry for over two decades.
Talking to Exhibition Showcase, Prakash Shah, Managing Director at G.S. Marketing Associates said, “We are very pleased to see the outcome of the 2nd edition of Fitexpo. We have already released the dates for the next edition, which will be even bigger and will span across more days. We are delighted to have the support of so many local & national sports associations, and their presence adds a lot of experience & guidance to our activities here.”
