A pandemic isn’t exactly how obé Fitness, a startup providing at-home workout classes, expected to achieve hockey-stick growth.
But with gyms closed and people cooped up at home, obé Fitness’s membership increased by a factor of 10.
For co-founder Mark Mullett, the disease that’s caused this surge has also cost a steep personal toll. “To see explosive growth in the business when I know three people who have passed way due to this – it’s a lot to process,” he said.
But Mullett and co-founder Ashley Mills are embracing their mission to keep people physically and mentally healthy. They’re also evolving their offering to accommodate the needs of their membership during a pandemic
Obé Fitness has since rethought its overall workout offerings, adding workout classes designed for kids and classes for seniors. It also expanded into meditation to help people cope with their new normal.
Production is continuing in NYC, as obé Fitness has been designated an essential business, but with enhanced precautionary measures. Some popular instructors – for example, one sheltering-in-obé place with family in Florida – are recording remotely, with equipment sent to their homes to livestream.
And while obé Fitness is maintaining its always-on customer acquisition strategy – even as it’s seen word-of-mouth and organic referrals soar – the founders are also focusing on customer activation and retention.
“There are a lot of people finding home fitness for the first time,” said co-founder Mills. It’s up to us to educate them on the best in-home situation, and how to set up their space.”
How often people use its platform is a key success metric. Currently, one in five members takes a class every day, and the average member takes class four times a week.
When shelter-in-place orders start to lift, obé Fitness wants people to keep up the habit.
Over the past two years, the company has seen that when a change to work or life setup forces people to start working out from home, they often want to keep up the habit even after their circumstances. That customer behavior encourages Mills and Mullett that their new members will stick around even after they can go back to working out at the gym.
“We’ve seen anecdotally that when they’ve come to us for whatever reason, they become home fitness converts,” Mills said. “There has to be a behavioral shift, where people know that home fitness is a viable solution.”
Ultimately, obé Fitness expects people will both return to their gyms and boutique fitness studios and also squeeze in extra workouts with the flexibility of its platform.
But until people feel comfortable working out in groups again, obé Fitness plans to make as many of its new customers at-home converts as it can.
