Organised players in the fitness industry are expecting to grow in the coming years despite the economic slowdown as they take up the responsibility of developing the market by creating awareness about better health practices.

In the Rs 2,500 crore fitness industry, the organised sector expects to double its share from the current level of a mere five per cent in three years’ time.

“Unlike the developed world, where the top five players occupy 50 to 60 per cent of the industry, in India it is around five per cent”, said Vivek Anand, managing director of FitnessOne.

Despite a rapid growth in awareness levels during the past four years, only 1.5 per cent of the urban population regularly do workout. The national average is even lesser at 0.1 per cent, against the global figure of 15 to 20 per cent, he said.

US-based Snap Fitness, which launched its operations in India last November, also sees a huge growth potential in the country.

“We typically have small-size affordable neighbourhood gym formats, which are highly successful even during recessionary times,” said Srilekha Reddy, Snap Fitness’ director, branding. The company had chosen India at its next destination.

Despite international players such as Snap setting up shop in India, the industry has just a few companies who have the capacity to scale up their operations. Unlike, the huge majority gyms in the unorganized sector, they are looking out for ways to spread awareness about fitness through seminars and workshops and to promote the culture of working-out as part of their business development.

However, some of the bigger players who choose to grow the franchisee route to expand, are also giving an opportunity to the local players to scale up their operations. Further, association with organised players also helps these gyms access latest equipment and provide value-added services like nutritional guidance to their customers. Snap Fitness plans to open 250 gym clubs in tier-I and II cities in India, aiming at capturing 10 per cent share of the market. FitnessOne also proposes to have 150 centres within that time span.