Cure.fit, an Indian fitness, health and lifestyle brand with $400 million in funding, announced this morning the official kickoff of its U.S. launch. Its app is now available for free download on the App Store and Google Play.
Founded in 2016, the brand gained steam in its home market by taking a holistic, integrated approach to wellness. The strategy is demonstrated through its range of sub-brands: cult.fit for workout classes delivered virtually and across branded fitness centers, care.fit for video and in-person clinician consultations, mind.fit for mental health therapy sessions and guided mindfulness exercises, and eat.fit for healthy food home delivery.
For its U.S. launch, the cure.fit app brings over the virtual components of cult.fit, mind.fit and eat.fit. After signing up, users can access live group exercise and yoga classes, workout guides, meditation sessions, and healthy cooking recipes.
Of note, its live classes use a device's camera to observe the user and gauge how much effort they're putting into the workout. It uses these "Energy Meter" scores to rank each class's hardest worker and logs in weekly performance reports.
The company plans on adding additional programs down the road, a representative for Cure.fit told MobiHealthNews, and is aiming to begin charging users a fee before the end of the year.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cure.fit is quick to describe itself as "India's most popular health and fitness app." In addition to the $400 million lifetime raise, the company boasts 300,000 subscribers in India. It has already gained 12,000 U.S. subscribers after a beta it kicked off last month.
The expansion also comes at a key moment for the U.S. fitness market. Numerous in-person workout services across the country are still locked down due to COVID-19, which provides a clear opportunity for a fleshed-out, virtual-first wellness brand to make its mark.
“This is an exciting time for Cure.fit, as our rapid growth will afford millions of new users in the [U.S.] the opportunity to enjoy our app during a time when people need it the most,” Mukesh Bansal, CEO of Cure.fit, said in a statement. “Due to COVID-19 and the changing culture, there is a demand for effective methods of working out without having to spend thousands of dollars on equipment or leaving the house. We offer a positive experience for anyone looking to work out, cook or meditate. Our Energy Meter not only keeps users engaged throughout the entire class, it also gives them a goal to help achieve their desired level of fitness.”
THE LARGER TREND
While Cure.fit aims to be a virtual wellness jack of all trades, it faces a healthy amount of U.S. competition in each of those avenues. Major fitness brands and small startups alike already offer app-based workouts, while apps like Headspace and Calm have honed in specifically on app-based mindfullness. And should they ever enter the in-person fitness ring, Gympass and ClassPass have each raised their own hundreds of millions from investors.
And that's to say nothing of the connected workout device companies benefitting from COVID-19 lockdowns. In just the last few months, Peloton announced very strong revenue and subscription increases during its most recent earnings call, Mirror sold itself to Lululemon for an impressive $500 million, and rowing-machine-maker Hydrow's earned yet another eight-figure vote of confidence from investors.
