What Women Want from Fitness Brands: Field Notes from a Male VC

I choose to adapt the Mel Gibson movie title to fully appreciate the irony behind this article.

Caveats first

_{1. This is not an opinion piece on gender politics in Sports. I’m aware of the dichotomies in our society - “Sports'men' are paid more”, “Women matches don’t get enough sponsors”.
These trends must change, towards better equity.}

_{2. Fitness is a fast-growing space, and we’re on our own learning curve here; backslaps & brickbats are both welcome. Write to us at consumer@z47.com (if nothing else, only to educate us).} 

^{It never hit me that while Aamir Khan pedaled his way to victory in “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander”, Ayesha Jhulka wasn’t on the field to fight for Model College. Nor did it feel weird that Student of the Year centered around the male athlete. Fortunately, the situation is changing for the better - Dangal proved “chhoriyaan chhoron se kam nahi”, conclusively, at the box office. In either case, I’m not one to judge the producers – I likely suffer from the same subconscious biases.}

^{Which is why a recent set of interviews/focus groups we conducted (thanks Rohan, Kishan and Divyanshi) revealed what felt like revolutionary insights – but in hindsight was obvious. I share the same below, tentatively and open to feedback. And to (at least partially) cover for the author’s weaknesses, I will quote directly from the respondents. 🙂}

What we saw and heard

^{A recent survey showed over 68% of urban women were now engaged routinely in physical activity as part of their wellness. My mom, who previously chose ‘temple-run’ as her exercise regime, now has an online yoga coach. Among my fittest friends is a woman who out-runs, out-cycles, and out-sports me at everything—while also being a partner at a consulting firm. This mega-trend comes to life in a verbatim we heard in an interview: “The only thing I looked forward to at the school Sports Day was the Glucon-D. Now in my 30s, I’ve got a personal trainer, and a yoga & pilates habit, 4 days a week.”}

^{This wave isn’t limited to our cities. We spoke to women in their 50s and 60s in Ludhiana who added a “# of steps” competition to their monthly kitty party. Whoever won got an extra dessert. They all had smartwatches and went for daily morning walks. Some of them did Yoga 1-2 times a week with an online tutor. All of them now had a dedicated “walking shoe”, a “sports pyjama” and had tried a gym membership.}

^{We spoke to women in their 30s and 40s in Palakkad who have ‘baddy coaching’ on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are also (excitedly) learning to swim at the ‘new pool near the post office’.} 

<sup>We spoke to Coaches who observed how homemakers in Apartments and RWAs were playing/training in the afternoons (importantly, increasing overall utilization of the sports/gym infra). And how they (as if on a mission) completed their steps furiously while the kids were learning rollerskating or football. 

We also spoke to young girls who were breaking boundaries to enroll into Cricket coaching. “Why should boys have all the fun?” Why indeed.

We found a diverse set of consumers solving for fitness in myriad ways – and ready to pay for it. One proclamation, however, united them all –</sup>

We are not happy with the fitness products we use!

Why Women in Fitness are Underserved

^{Across ages, income levels, and geographies, the dissatisfaction was loud and clear. The women needed no warm-ups - the focus group jumped right in, listing pain points faster than we could jot them down.}

1. Workout-Wear Woes: India = Cotton / Can’t wear this outside / Swimwear shyness

2. DON’T JUST “pink it and shrink it”

3. The Innerwear Despair

4. ‘Miss/Mrs’ Coach

5. “Gym-wala protein kharaab hai”
‍

1. Workout-Wear Woes

^{Workout wear has not been designed keeping the modest Indian woman in mind. Shout out to the brands that are out to solve this (Blissclub and young brands like Terractive, Cava etc). In this article, we make the case for many more success stories building India-first solutions.} 

“India = Cotton” – for mass and mass-premium

^{We, Indians, love our cotton. It keeps us cool and comfy. It doesn’t smell. It’s affordable. And it’s ‘natural’. ‘Poly’ is the enemy – its tight, its cheap, it smells, its plastic, its ‘chip-chip’. Ewww. But cotton is dull and basic.} 

^{Having worked in Apparel, I know this simplistic view of the world is wrong. Having built in the Foods category, I learned changing ‘deep ingrained values’ is a losing battle. A cotton-based fabric mix (spandex, poly mix) that works for India is a glaring opportunity. Fabric that feels, breathes and ‘prices’ like cotton, with the benefits of “Activewear” (Bamboo etc?). Marry design innovation with this fabric to serve the massive demand for cotton athleisure.}  

“Can’t wear this outside” – for Bharat and older TG

^{‘Loungewear’ vs ‘Activewear’ is a luxury afforded by GDP / capita - for Bharat, there is no difference. The ‘baggy tshirt and pyjama’ look in the Gym is not a fashion choice, it’s a ‘wearability’ constraint. This silhouette, fabric and marketing problem is worth solving – again, India/Bharat backwards. Our bodies are shaped differently, our garment silhouettes should follow.}

“Swimwear Shyness” – for everyone 

<sup>We’ve imported a design choice for India – and nobody’s thrilled. There is an opportunity to solve swimwear for Indian women. Unmet needs were shouted out to us - differing definitions of modesty/wearability, Indian body types, bigger cap for thicker hair etc

Women we spoke to are concerned about privacy, and log-kya-kahenge is certainly an added concern. Pools aren’t a part of our cultural fabric – but they are now in societies/neighborhood where you are not anonymous. We heard of several stories of having a ‘swimsuit for jab ham baahar travel karte hain’. For everything else (including the water park), the trusted ‘lined Salwar Kameez’ is called to the arena.</sup>

^{New offerings are inevitable – maybe a ‘swimwear for India’ brand across women, men and kids?}  

2. Don’t “pink it and shrink it”

^{‘Pink it and shrink it’ has been the default for shoe and apparel design – what Nike does, to operate at a global scale. As the market deepens, women want the same thoughtfulness on product development that men currently enjoy. Brands like Skechers have done this well and have been rewarded commensurately in the bottom line. Whether assortment, design or material – the female athlete will need more from brands, than merely adapting a ‘male first product’.}

3. The “Innerwear despair”

^{Speaking of problems that I’ll never fully appreciate – Innerwear for women is still unsolved (No woman gasped in shock reading this line). We heard of issues on multiple dimensions - Fit, material, comfort, designs, and use-case (running, sleep, outfit etc).} 

^{‘Category heads’ of brands talk of ‘several innovations’ abroad that have not yet reached India. Imo some of this may be importing innovation, but the rest is designing customer-backwards. Sounds like a problem which forces a missionary irate customer to turn into a founder. More power to you.} 

4. ‘Miss/Mrs’ Coach

^{The demand for female coaches and trainers has never been higher. This extends from Swim coaches for kids to Baddy coaches and Gym trainers for adults. We heard a few “feel safer/ more comfortable around women coaches” statements – especially from parents – which Male coaches, then, validated in FGDs (an opportunity to organize the supply and charge for it)?‍}

5. “Gym-wala protein kharaab hai” 

^{As a country that loves ‘Carb-on-Carb-action’ (Aloo paratha, Masala dosa), we surprise no one with our protein deficiency stats. What will not solve it, is the “6-pack-in-a-tub” in a product – because it looks too scary.} 

^{“Usme to steroids honge”, “Very unhealthy for the body” – false claims, but I urge the reader to buy trusted brands that meet the quality bar. We’re lucky to have two portfolio companies solving for quality and transparency deeply - The Whole Truth for adults and Little Joys for kids. More power to TWT and Mosaic Wellness teams!}

So, where to build for women in fitness? ‍

^{Fortunately, this part some Founder will cover in her/his pitch. The best I can do is put buzzwords out into the universe. In classic jargon that only a VC can speak with confidence, the I ‘generate’ the following opportunities (Note: Not all of this requires VC funding)}

• ^{Lululemon/Uniqlo for India/Bharat: Fabric innovation and Silhouette play}
• ^{Speedo for India/Bharat: Premium & Entry-level + Casual & Specialized gear} 
• ^{High-NPS Active Innerwear for women (is that an oxymoron)}
• ^{Fitness Footwear: for women AND men. More here.}
• ^{Coaching: Online/Offline (RWA, Gyms): Cult.fit++, Cult.fit-- and everything in between)}
• ^{Are there categories I’m completely missing?}

^{If you are building in these spaces, please do reach out (if nothing else, just to educate us further). Coffee is on us.} 

^{For now, I will stop here - to listen more. Fortunately, the signals are now loud enough for even a male VC to hear.}