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Mar, 07 2014

Uniqueness, riding the growth wave

Who thought that there will be something like a senior citizen care center? Who imagined about a hearing and speech improvement centre and an antenatal services centre for women? But with today's enormously growing wellness industry, such concepts are com

The wellness industry in India is poised to touch Rs one lakh crore (Rs one trillion) by 2015, with a compounded annual growth rate of 15-17 per cent, from about Rs 70,000 crore in 2012. With this tremendous growth, the unique concepts in the sector are getting a real boost. Consumer purchase habits and preferences have gradually evolved. This led to an increase in demand for health and wellness products and services. The entire wellness Industry is growing. Various wellness products such as medical and nutritional products, fitness equipments, consultation, eye testing, dental check up, beauty, slimming, hair and skin care are all being brought under one roof by big retailers. Unique concepts like antenatal services and voice scan therapy have also shown major demand.

 

Opportunities and challenges

Presently, Indian franchise industry has more than 3,700 franchisors from different sectors and more than two lakh franchisees running business successfully. Every sector has its potential opportunities for entrants. Vadodara based, 'Kadji, The care' is an organisation which works exclusively for the care and recovery of those who are dependent on others for their day to day living irrespective of their disease history. The brand is working towards one of its kind goal since 2011. Dr Nikunj Chavda, Founder, Kadji, The Care proudly says, “We were astonished to see number of families who were looking for such residential care centre for their dependent elderly who were not able to execute their daily routine. We are even providing opportunities to hundreds of people to join hands with us in this noble cause. The 'senior living and assisted living with full time paramedical attention' sector in India is booming nowadays. There clearly exists an untapped opportunity for development of this sector. This industry is already matured and shared by federal governments of western countries, which is not the case in India.”

Uniqueness clubbed with innovation can be prolific for any brand in franchising. American Nonsurgical Spine Institute (ANSSI) is a franchisee based medical model specialising in nonsurgical treatment for serious neck and back conditions.  The primary treatment modality utilised is Vertebral Axial Decompression, VAXD.  VAXD is a US patented, FDA approved Class II medical device.  VAXD is designed to treat serious back and neck conditions without the use of drugs, needles or surgery.  No hospitalisation is required and published research studies demonstrate an 80 per cent success rate treating patients with these conditions. ANSSI was founded by Dr. Joseph Cammarata, a US based spine specialist. Dinesh Dalvi, COO, ANSSI says, “This revolutionary treatment is now available in India that decompresses the spine and as a result, we get relief from neck and back pain.”

Another brand offering unique prospects is Garbhasanskar under the umbrella of Garbhasanskar Antenatal Services Pvt. Ltd. The brand offers Garbhasanskar services for pregnant ladies under its module, Srujanankur. Srujanankur offers unique Antenatal services based on Yoga and Ayurveda. Srujanankur's primary offering 'Garbhasanskar' is a copyrighted program, which employs a unique technique of conveying the good qualities and good values of life to the baby during pregnancy.

Dr. Yogesh Joshi, M.D, Garbhasanskar Antenatal Services Pvt. Ltd says, “The franchise owner or area franchisee of our brand need not be a doctor or of medical background. India has a very potential market with nearly 1.2 billion deliveries in 2013. Even If we can capture 25% of the market then also it shows a huge potential for the industry.”

Bengal Speech & hearing Clinic is specialised in hearing testing, hearing aid and speech therapy and has been serving the state of West Bengal for the last four years. Hearing+ is a unit of the brand which is an ISO certified company and have the largest chain of clinics (14 clinics) in west Bengal and Orissa. A Nationwide disability surveys have estimated hearing loss to be the second most common cause of disability and in India 90 million people suffer from significant auditory loss. So, this surely shows a bigger opportunity in this sector. The brand wishes to join hands with franchisees that are not running more than three businesses. Having experience in healthcare industry is preferable. Somnath Mukherjee, Director, Hearing Plus, brand owned by Bengal Speech & Hearing Pvt Ltd says, “Every brand has some or the other opportunity to offer to the investors but for us real challenge is social stigma associated with Hearing Problem. There is a lack of awareness about recent advancement in Audiology and Hearing aid technology.”

Amongst all these brands is one more unique name- Dr Bharti's Holistic Health Hospital. It is one stop solution for all your life style related problems especially Joint Disorders i.e. Osteo-Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Slip-Disc, Cervical & Lumbar Spondylosis, Fibromyalgia and all other auto-immune and degenerative joint disorders. Over one lakh patients have been successfully treated in over a decade.

USP

Each brand's USP makes it different from other. Kadji takes immense pride in its residential care of dependent elderly in modernised infrastructure. The brand had a successful execution of care plan with the help of allied health care professionals. Dr. Bharti's Holistic Health hospital boasts of being unique in its treatment approach. The brand claims itself to be the only hospital in India where patients are treated successfully and surgery has been advised as a last resort. Brand's Managing Director, Dr. Pankaj Bharti says, “We operate from Lucknow and provide full support to the franchisee in the form of doctor and training to the staff. We also provide complete treatment tools to the franchise.”

ANSSI takes immense pride in its revolutionary treatment that decompresses the spine and as a result, one gets relief from neck and back pain. Because of the incoming of patients from all parts of the country and an excellent financial business opportunity, a decision was made to create a franchise model. 

Focus shift

Wellness players have responded to the major changes coming up in the industry and have shifted their focus from traditional offerings to new generation unique concepts.

Mukherjee of Bengal Speech & Hearing Pvt Ltd says, “There is no organised player at a national level catering to hearing and speech disorder which provides Bengal Speech a competitive advantage. In India about 10 per cent of the population is suffering from hearing and speech problem. The Market of Hearing Aid industry is estimated to be Rs 550 Crore growing at a rate of 20 per cent.”

Kadji, The care has shifted its complete focus on complete care of the elderly. 60+ is the fastest growing segment in the world. There are more than 100 million elderly people in India, a rate which is rising at the mark of 3.8 per cent per annum. This figure is expected to touch 250 million by 2040. Out of these figures almost 60-75 per cent of elderly are dependent on others for their day to day livings of which 30% of elderly need specialised care centre to provide their medical needs under professional supervision in homely environment for their long term stay and care. Kadji, The care provides a rewarding yet satisfying opportunity to the budding franchisees. 

Training and support

Every unique brand offers a special training and support system to its franchisees. ANSSI follows a franchisee owned and franchisee operated model and assists its franchisees with site selection facility, design, and facilitate start-up operations and train its committed staff to handle patients, maintain medical records and reports. Bengal speech and Hearing clinic offers complete franchisee training, and recruitment Support from its end. Garbhasanskar follows a franchisee owned franchisee operated module. It offers all required support like HR, training, promotion and marketing.

Expansion plans

As per francorp, 15 per cent of the present organised beauty and wellness market is franchisee-run. Most brands are planning quick expansion for growing their network. Bengal speech and Hearing clinic plans to expand its franchisee network on a Pan India basis on a FOCO and COCO model and also tie ups with hospitals and other healthcare centres to increase the point of presence, thereby saving costs. Bengal Speech and hearing Pvt Ltd has plans to open another 150 centers in the next 5-6 years. Garbhasanskar plans to expand Pan India and is seeking franchisees for New Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Chandigarh. Dr. Bharti's Holistic Health Hospital plans to franchise its hospital in both metros and tier II cities. ANSSI is inviting franchisees from pan India.

So, as the industry evolves, brands that can provide unique experience to its customers will surely create a niche and competitive edge in this matchless wellness market.

 

Franchise facts:

 

Brand

Area

Investment

RoI

Breakeven

Centers

Kadji

2000 sq ft

Rs 5 lakh

-

-

2

Bengal Speech & Hearing clinic

500-700 sq ft

Rs 15-18 lakh

40%

2 years

14

Garbhasanskar

250-500 sq ft

Rs 8-75 lakh

90-95%

1-1.2 years

2

Dr. Bharti’s

1300-1500 sq ft

Rs 16-25 lakh

45%

One year

1

ANSSI

500 sq ft

80 lakh

65%

One year

3

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