The phenomenal growth of the Indian economy is well documented, however, wellness and spa companies wanting to do business there need to be surgical in their analysis of the opportunities if they are to create successful businesses.
Although the wellness and spa sector is forecast to grow from inr700bn in 2012 to over inr1 trillion in 2015, this number hides a plethora of variables, many of which have been thoroughly laid out by a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the Indian wellness economy Imperatives for growth: the wellness industry – an invaluable document for those considering investing.
The report shows strategic deals with partners are driving much of the growth: up to 65 per cent of all deals since 2009 have been of this nature. International operators targeting India, initially aiming for the 15 bigger cities, are now going into second and third tier locations to maintain growth. In hair and beauty they include Dessange, Saks and Toni & Guy, in fitness, Fitness First and Anytime Fitness and in spa, Six Senses.
PwC says the market has been characterised by small businesses, but the arrival of corporate players will drive investment as they look for funds to fuel expansion.
The greatest consumer demand is in three areas: hygiene, curative and enhancement. As a result, sales of products represent up to 60 per cent of the market, with services at only 40 per cent. As well as being a greater proportion of volume, products also have higher value – PwC says EBITDA for beauty and wellness products ranges from 20-30 per cent, while services operate at 8-20 per cent.
This indicates that spa operators who enter this market off the back of powerful retail brands will have both a strategic advantage and higher revenues.
There are other clues about demand: wellness-related F&B sales, skin and haircare and alternative therapies represent more than half the value of the market, meaning operators need a business model which plays to this. Fitness is growing fast, with 50 per cent of openings this year in that sector of wellness, so spas which make exercise a core offering could tap into this demand.
Standards and training appear to be the biggest hurdles to overcome in terms of industry development, but the greatest challenge overall will be creating a margin in the face of low consumer spend, discounting and global inflation. But those that navigate their way through these challenges could build businesses with exciting potential.
Liz Terry, editor twitter: @elizterry
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Interview: Lee David Stephens
Thai-based management company
MSpa runs 44 spas with 450 staff. The
General Manager talks to Katie Barnes
about a recent deal with Per Aquum
and its rapid expansion
Interview: Kathryn Moore
MSpa’s operations director is creating
a brand new wellness concept and a
fast track spa manager programme
Company Profile Promotion: GOCO Hospitality
After just four years of operation GOCO Hospitality is regarded as a global leader
in wellness hospitality segment of the industry. With 22 projects on its books,
spanning three continents, we look at what underpins the company’s success
Company profile promotion: Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone spa brand has been newly revamped and revitalised to better communicate its core offerings as a natural, scientific and soul-centred skincare and lifestyle brand
Green: Being green
Ecocert’s new Being label is the first
public-facing green certification for
spa operations, eco-friendly
Promotional Feature: Part 4 - Pre-Opening
Opening a spa successfully is all about planning. Gary
Henkin, president of WTS and Doug Chambers, principal
of Blu Spas, share their experience of pre-opening
Company Profile Promotion: Aromatherapy Associates
Global product company Aromatherapy Associates knows how
to make treatments and retail work in a spa environment and
partners with operators to make a real point of difference
Industry survey: Price to pay
A GSWS report on global therapist pay focuses on differing salary composition, benefit and commission structures. Lisa Starr takes a closer look
Spa Retreat: Running on juice
Juice Master founder Jason Vale tells
Kate Cracknell about its retreats and
how juicing can help prevent disease
Interview: Wee Wei Ling
Neena Dhillon meets the founder of
St Gregory: the spa brand owned by Pan
Pacific that’s just opened a wellness
floor in Singapore’s ‘hotel in a garden’
Research: Moving target
A McKinsey study highlights the fast-changing
spending patterns of China’s
luxury consumers. Leonor Stanton
finds out what this means for spas
Advertisement Promotion: A gift from Ez-Runner...
Vouchers can be used as a stand-alone system integrated into your website or added as a module of Ez-Runner’s leisure management software to control your spa facility
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
The phenomenal growth of the Indian economy is well documented, however, wellness and spa companies wanting to do business there need to be surgical in their analysis of the opportunities if they are to create successful businesses.
Although the wellness and spa sector is forecast to grow from inr700bn in 2012 to over inr1 trillion in 2015, this number hides a plethora of variables, many of which have been thoroughly laid out by a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the Indian wellness economy Imperatives for growth: the wellness industry – an invaluable document for those considering investing.
The report shows strategic deals with partners are driving much of the growth: up to 65 per cent of all deals since 2009 have been of this nature. International operators targeting India, initially aiming for the 15 bigger cities, are now going into second and third tier locations to maintain growth. In hair and beauty they include Dessange, Saks and Toni & Guy, in fitness, Fitness First and Anytime Fitness and in spa, Six Senses.
PwC says the market has been characterised by small businesses, but the arrival of corporate players will drive investment as they look for funds to fuel expansion.
The greatest consumer demand is in three areas: hygiene, curative and enhancement. As a result, sales of products represent up to 60 per cent of the market, with services at only 40 per cent. As well as being a greater proportion of volume, products also have higher value – PwC says EBITDA for beauty and wellness products ranges from 20-30 per cent, while services operate at 8-20 per cent.
This indicates that spa operators who enter this market off the back of powerful retail brands will have both a strategic advantage and higher revenues.
There are other clues about demand: wellness-related F&B sales, skin and haircare and alternative therapies represent more than half the value of the market, meaning operators need a business model which plays to this. Fitness is growing fast, with 50 per cent of openings this year in that sector of wellness, so spas which make exercise a core offering could tap into this demand.
Standards and training appear to be the biggest hurdles to overcome in terms of industry development, but the greatest challenge overall will be creating a margin in the face of low consumer spend, discounting and global inflation. But those that navigate their way through these challenges could build businesses with exciting potential.
Liz Terry, editor twitter: @elizterry
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Interview: Lee David Stephens
Thai-based management company
MSpa runs 44 spas with 450 staff. The
General Manager talks to Katie Barnes
about a recent deal with Per Aquum
and its rapid expansion
Interview: Kathryn Moore
MSpa’s operations director is creating
a brand new wellness concept and a
fast track spa manager programme
Company Profile Promotion: GOCO Hospitality
After just four years of operation GOCO Hospitality is regarded as a global leader
in wellness hospitality segment of the industry. With 22 projects on its books,
spanning three continents, we look at what underpins the company’s success
Company profile promotion: Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone spa brand has been newly revamped and revitalised to better communicate its core offerings as a natural, scientific and soul-centred skincare and lifestyle brand
Green: Being green
Ecocert’s new Being label is the first
public-facing green certification for
spa operations, eco-friendly
Promotional Feature: Part 4 - Pre-Opening
Opening a spa successfully is all about planning. Gary
Henkin, president of WTS and Doug Chambers, principal
of Blu Spas, share their experience of pre-opening
Company Profile Promotion: Aromatherapy Associates
Global product company Aromatherapy Associates knows how
to make treatments and retail work in a spa environment and
partners with operators to make a real point of difference
Industry survey: Price to pay
A GSWS report on global therapist pay focuses on differing salary composition, benefit and commission structures. Lisa Starr takes a closer look
Spa Retreat: Running on juice
Juice Master founder Jason Vale tells
Kate Cracknell about its retreats and
how juicing can help prevent disease
Interview: Wee Wei Ling
Neena Dhillon meets the founder of
St Gregory: the spa brand owned by Pan
Pacific that’s just opened a wellness
floor in Singapore’s ‘hotel in a garden’
Research: Moving target
A McKinsey study highlights the fast-changing
spending patterns of China’s
luxury consumers. Leonor Stanton
finds out what this means for spas
Advertisement Promotion: A gift from Ez-Runner...
Vouchers can be used as a stand-alone system integrated into your website or added as a module of Ez-Runner’s leisure management software to control your spa facility
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
