More people are looking for ways to stay healthy and decompress at home. Since the pandemic forced the closure of gyms around the world the marketplace for online fitness services has exponentially grown with many new startups trying to get a piece of the growing pie. Some of these apps offer everything from workout plans to nutrition guides. Even the large established tech-companies are moving into the market. Apple launched a fitness app leveraging its existing ecosystem called Apple Fitness Plus that is exclusively for Apple Watch users.
One Istanbul based startup has been attracting the attention of investors with its workout app offering. Ulive recently received $600,000 of investment from funds bullish on the future of at home work out services. This has brought the value of the company to $6 million. The app was designed as an extension of Urban Riders, a fitness studio in Istanbul. The app offers pre-recorded as well as live-streamed sessions covering different types of workouts. There are also 22 instructors working for the company producing workout content. Customers can use pre-recorded sessions to create their own programme.
The app has been able to attract over 75,000 users from around the world. The company has recently set its sights firmly on the US market and plans to open a gym there. The acquisition of a gym in the US is hoped to boost the numbers of subscribers the app has there.
This isn’t the first app to try to break into this market from Europe. The Italian startup Buddyfit attracted €10 million in a series A funding round. They also say that the new funding will be used to fund international expansion plans. Since May of 2019 the company has been able to raise over €18 million. The at home fitness market has been growing for some time even before the pandemic these companies were attaching investment.
There are challenges for companies like Ulive and Buddyfit. Most of these apps rely on a subscription based business model. If the current economic conditions continue they may find it difficult to retain subscribers. This is already happening at the video streaming giant Netflix which has blamed inflation as one of the biggest challenges it faces today. Fitness apps could have a role for public health campaigns as well. They offer a low cost, low barrier of entry way for people to access workout classes from home. In the UK the NHS launched the Active10 app to help to encourage people to take more exercise during the day. It allows people to monitor their activity and set goals. A more fleshed out version of this could include workout classes or nutrition advice and recipes.
As more people look to find ways to stay healthy and fit at home, the fitness and health apps seem to be well placed to take advantage of the trend.
