Understanding the health and longevity markets in India.
Where is it coming from?
The health and longevity industry is something that I personally don’t have any idea or relationship with, apart from looking at certain meal replacement products like Huel and the Walmart selling vitamins, I’ve never really concentrated on health and longevity, neither in my personal life nor in a professional setting. So, why this sudden interest here.
I’m gonna be honest, it’s an itch. I have a problem, I’m obsessed with questions, when I see something that’s cool and curious I get obsessed. Nithin Kamath is a person I’ve been following recently and I like that guy, recently he made a tweet about about India’s longevity and health industry and said some facts, them being:
- 0.2% of Indians have a gym subscription and 50% of that don’t go constantly.
- The huge spike in subscriptions during the New Year.
And certain problems around why this is the current state of the statistic. Even among my friends, people go to the gym for reasons that are far away from taking care of their health or living for a longer time. The constant flux I’ve observed is : I’ll look good in front of girls. I want to look good in front of other guys. Along with this, memories of times that have passed by flashed in my mind, times where I was laughed at among peers for floating the idea of going to the Gym, or my relatives giving me this look when I told them I want to go to a Gym ,right. Maybe things have changed now, I’m seeing a lot of health influencers who educate people around all of these things, maybe people are going to the gyms and taking care of their health, maybe not. Right?
And the most interesting point here is that, as an Indian, who grew up and stayed there for the 22 years of my prime life, when I think of health and longevity, going to the gym is the only thing that comes to mind. Not supplements, not preventive health care, not a nutritional diet, not nutritional meal replacements, not abstinence, just going to the gym. Even after being in the US for nearly 2 years that’s how my thinking is. And this is the problem space I’m looking at.
There is huge potential for growth in the health and longevity industry, just a brief analysis of the markets will tell us that companies like Whoop and FitBit have a market in India, but it’s not a pretty one, it’s restricted to the walkways or Mumbai or the Parks of bengaluru. I myself have brought my mother an air fryer so that they’d eat healthy and mom said my dad would not eat food prepared that way, it wouldn’t be tasty.
So you see what I’m getting at. There are people who are concerned about their health and longevity and there are a lot of people who should be.
So this is what this project will entail in the most simplest terms.
- Look at the health and longevity industry in India.
- See what’s happening, the lay of the land, what are different approaches to this, what kinds of products are being offered, the markets that are the most profitable.
- Look at people, existing customers, their demographics and patterns.
- And more importantly look at people who don’t fall under any of the above 3 questions, understand their mental models around health and longevity, what are they doing to ensure their health is well. Their opinions about this industry.
- By doing this, we will identify areas where there is spending potential, but no distribution or, identify products that need to be brought in india. Basically we’ll look at all the perspectives and give an estimation of what is, what can be and what should be in the health and longevity industry in India.
Deeper Dive.
The above section is my rough thoughts. The following section is my rough thoughts powered by AI and organised cleaning, so we have a clear idea of everything we ‘re thinking of doing.
Defining the Market Scope
What We Mean by Health & Longevity
- Preventive Healthcare
- Physical Fitness
- Nutrition & Supplementation
- Preventive Diagnostics
- Mental Wellness
- Longevity Tech
- Comprehensive Health Monitoring
Core Research Objectives
- Market Size & Growth
- Consumer Behavior & Attitudes
- Business Models & Innovation
- Investment Landscape
- Regulatory Environment
- Current government regulations and their impact on the industry
- Tariffs, taxes, and restrictions preventing novel health tech from reaching India
Methodology (Primary Research)
Mixed Methods Approach
- Quantitative & Qualitative Data Collection
- Leveraging existing datasets whenever possible
Demographic Segments
- Ages: 18-60 (in 15-20 year segments)
- Gender: Inclusive of all genders
- Geography:
- Initial focus: Major cities
- Later expansion: Tier 1 and other regions
- Income Classification
- Education Classification
- Access to Healthcare & Health Education
Survey Content Areas
- Current Preventive Health Behaviors & Practices
- Awareness & Utilization of Preventive Health Services
- Attitudes Toward Longevity & Life Extension
- Spending Patterns on Preventive Health Products & Services
- Barriers to Adoption of Preventive Health Practices
- Technology Usage for Health Management
- Future Intentions Regarding Preventive Health Investments
- Price Sensitivity for Various Preventive Health Offerings
- Sources of Influence for Health Decision-Making
Distribution & Data Collection
Survey Distribution
- Leverage AI (LLMs) for qualitative interviews
- Digital survey distribution across targeted demographics
Qualitative Research (Primary)
In-Depth Consumer Interviews
- Preventive healthcare early adopters
- Partial adopters
- Non-adopters
Focus Groups
- Collective health narratives & shared experiences
- Social influences on preventive behavior
- Perceptions of emerging products & services
- Generational attitudes toward aging & longevity
- Community resources & support systems for health
- Cultural factors affecting health decision-making
Expert Interviews
- Healthcare professionals specializing in preventive medicine
- Fitness industry pioneers & innovators
- Nutrition & dietary specialists
- Entrepreneurs developing preventive health solutions
- Investors focusing on healthtech & longevity ventures
- Researchers studying longevity & aging in Indian populations
- Policymakers involved in health promotion initiatives
Interview Focus Areas
- Current state assessment of preventive healthcare in India
- Emerging scientific & technological developments
- Regulatory challenges & opportunities
- Future trajectory predictions & inflection points
- Barriers to market development & potential solutions
- International comparisons & India-specific considerations
- Investment priorities & commercial opportunities
Observational Research (If Feasible)
- Fitness Facilities
- Preventive Health Clinics
- Health Food Stores
- Wellness Centers
- Digital Health Platform Usage
Secondary Research
- Analyzing all publicly available datasets
- Reviewing government reports, investment data, and research papers
- Conducting literature reviews on consumer behavior in healthcare
Next Steps
- Narrowing down research focus areas
- Finalizing methodology & partnerships for data collection
- Moving toward statistical analysis & report writing