Indian's Warm-up Session with Fitness and Healthcare Supplements

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It goes pretty much without saying that the pressures of modern-day work culture leave little or no room for taking up health and fitness seriously. We are so involved in our lives that the major health factors often take a backseat. Well, reason it out saying there's a lot to be done and the time at hand is less, we do ignore our well-being.

However, recent time has seen a large chunk of the young working population in India is taking health and fitness seriously. The fast pace of life is making working professionals hit the gyms, fitness centres, attend aerobics, yoga and more.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Fit India Movement" has contributed a lot in creating awareness around staying fit & the importance of having a healthy lifestyle. Many workplaces are organizing workshops to help their employees in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. But there has been an acceptance problem among the consumers when it comes to health supplements, which recently has seen a change.

Indians are opening up to health supplements and to understand the reasons, highlights and future trends, Entrepreneur India spoke to Divij Bajaj, CEO/Founder of Power Gummies, Aesthetic Nutrition Pvt LTD.

Having introduced chewable dietary supplements, the company recently raised a Pre-Series A funding led by DSG Consumer Partners. Talking about the change Divij said, "A lot of people in India are warming up to the idea of consuming health and fitness supplements, such as protein bars, vitamin gummies, etc. According to a study by TechSciResearch, the healthcare and dietary supplement market in India is expected to reach US$ 308 Billion by 2022."

But what's making Indian's more towards health supplements, what are the future trends that the industry will see?

5 Possible reasons

● The "want' to stay fit:

People seem to have understood the fact that physical and mental health are both co-existent, which means if you are physically unhealthy in the first place, then your mental health will go for a toss.

"The co-relation is the reason why we are witnessing a steady rise in the number of people opting for gym memberships. According to estimates by various reports, there are close to six million people that are spending actively availing health and fitness services in India," he said.

● Understanding the importance of nutrition

Nutrition plays a vital role in staying healthy & fit. "People understand that they need to intake nutrition. Every nutrient plays an essential role. This is building a new age fort for the health supplement industry and is motivating companies to explore and provide better result-oriented and fast-acting options for customers," Divij explained.

● A steady rise in disposable income

Your income is very much related to your expenditures. This is an important reason that has led to the meteoric rise of the health supplement market in India.

"It goes pretty much without saying that the more you have, the more you'll spend. Urban India is spending heavily to avail the best fitness services and dietary supplements because there is a want and hunger to stay fit is as strong as ever," he said.

● The pop-culture influence

Celebrity influence in India has grown by leaps and bounds. People love to follow what their favorite celebrities and influencers are doing.

"The fact is all of us follow the likes of Virat Kohli and Milind Soman on various social media handles, don't we? And, we like it when celebrities flaunt their six-pack abs on social media. It is something that inspires us to take health and fitness a bit more seriously," he points out.

● India is the "youngest' nation

According to a report published in The Guardian, there are close to 600 million young people in India. Furthermore, the average median age in India stands at 28.4 years, making it one of the world's youngest countries.

"It's simple youngsters want holistic development, which means they are taking steps to ensure emotional as well as mental wellbeing along with professional development," he explains.

Some Key Highlights:

● According to ResearchandMarket.com, more than 60% of the consumers using dietary and health supplements reside in urban areas, rest in rural areas.

● Herbal food products and health supplements form a major chunk of the market followed by digestive supplements.

● If given the option, more than 65% of people prefer having alternative options other than pills.

Future Trends:

The healthcare and supplement market in India and globally is expected to witness an upsurge owing to the steady rise of urbanization.

"As we are moving forward, we are witnessing the narrowing down of health supplements into various segments, such as eye health supplements, body-building supplements, beauty supplements, weight management, dietary supplements, etc. a practice that is leading to specializations," he said.

With the ongoing demand, it is an exciting time for the health supplement industry in India, which means there are a lot of opportunities for the taking.

"This means that companies dealing in health, fitness and dietary supplements will have to rethink their marketing strategies. Going social is perhaps the best way to achieve desired results as most of the young working professionals have an active online presence," he adds.