FITPASS: Democratizing Indian Fitness with a Shared Economy Buffet Model and B2B2C Scale

"There is nothing in the Indian consumption basket that you pay for the whole year upfront—except fitness. We decided to fix that broken pricing model." This bold mission, led by Akshay Verma, co-founder of FITPASS, is transforming how 1.4 billion Indians approach their well-being. By replacing expensive annual gym memberships with a flexible, ₹999-a-month "all-you-can-eat buffet," FITPASS has built India's largest universal fitness membership network, bridging the gap between 5,500+ premium centers and the aspirational Indian middle class.

Founded in 2015 by Akshay and his sister Arushi Verma, FITPASS was born out of a personal struggle to stay active without being tied to a single location or a rigid workout format. From an initial pilot of 70 centers in South Delhi to powering India's first fitness-focused credit card with SBI and influencing national health insurance regulations, the FITPASS journey is a masterclass in capital-efficient scaling. While competitors burned through hundreds of millions in venture capital, FITPASS remained bootstrapped for years, eventually matching 75% of the revenue of industry giants with a fraction of the funding.

The Problem: An Industry Priced and Structured All Wrong

Before FITPASS, the Indian fitness market was stuck in a legacy mindset. Gyms and studios demanded ₹30,000 to ₹40,000 upfront for an annual membership. "If you go for a haircut every three weeks, your hairdresser doesn't ask you to pay for the year," Akshay observes. This upfront pricing created a massive barrier to entry and a deep lack of trust. If a trainer left or a member moved offices, their money was essentially gone.

Furthermore, the "monotony of the treadmill" was killing motivation. A single gym couldn't offer the variety that a modern consumer craves—yoga one day, CrossFit the next, and Zumba on the weekend. To get that variety, a user would need three separate, expensive memberships. FITPASS identified this as a fundamental mismatch between the product and the consumer's lifestyle.

The Secret Sauce: Understanding the Gym Owner’s CAC

A marketplace only works if both sides win. While the benefit to the consumer was clear, FITPASS had to convince gym owners that letting "random" people walk in for a low fee was good for business. The answer lay in the unit economics of Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and capacity utilization.

"Revenue is a vanity metric; the real metric is profit," Akshay explains. Most gyms have a limited reach of 2-3 kilometers. Finding a local resident willing to pay ₹13,000 upfront is expensive and difficult. By partnering with FITPASS, gyms get access to a massive stream of customers at **zero acquisition cost**. FITPASS commands more than 40% of the capacity for many of its partners, ensuring a steady revenue stream that accounts for the gym's fixed costs of rent and maintenance.

The B2B2C Pivot: SBI Pulse and the IRDAI Revolution

When the "Early Stage Capital" in India was locked out by heavily funded players, FITPASS had to innovate its distribution. They realized that banks and insurance companies were chasing the same 18-35-year-old demographic. This led to the launch of **SBI Pulse**, India’s first fitness-focused card, which now issues 60,000 cards a month.

But the biggest impact came from a three-year battle with the Indian authorities. Akshay and his team worked with the **IRDAI** to redefine health insurance. "Health insurance was actually sickness insurance—it only protected you if you got hospitalized," he notes. On September 4, 2020, the regulation changed: fitness services like gym memberships must now be included in health insurance products. This move effectively turned every health insurance policy into a potential gateway for FITPASS, cementing their role as a national wellness infrastructure.

Surviving the Lockdown Curveballs

FITPASS’s journey has been a series of "curveballs," from Demonetization in 2016 to GST changes in 2017. However, the pandemic was the ultimate test. Gyms were shut from March 2020 to November 2021. Instead of giving up, the team focused on their "negligible attrition" culture. By maintaining a committed team and relying on their asset-light model, they were able to bounce back stronger, proving that a resilient process is more important than a perfect market condition.

The Future: A One-Stop Solution for Indian Wellness

Looking ahead, FITPASS is expanding its ecosystem beyond the gym. With the integration of AI personal coaching (**FITCOACH**), teleconsults (**FITFEAST**), and e-pharmacy services, the platform is becoming a holistic wellness partner for the Indian household. As the national focus on health increases, FITPASS is ensuring that fitness is not a luxury, but a basic, accessible utility for all.

"We solved Supply first because that was the bigger challenge," Akshay concludes. "Today, we don't have to convince gyms; they come to us. We’ve turned a broken industry into a democratic one, and we're just getting started."

Key Takeaways

For Fitness Enthusiasts: Don't settle for monotony. Use universal memberships to keep your body guessing and your motivation high through variety and convenience.

For Asset Owners: Focus on your passion—training and experience. Outsource the "pain" of customer acquisition and marketing to tech-first partners to maximize your profit.

For Entrepreneurs: You don't always need the most funding to win. A capital-efficient model and a relentless focus on the consumer's "consumption basket" can beat hundreds of millions in VC burn.

About the Guest

Akshay Verma is the co-founder of FITPASS. A former Leveraged Finance Banker with experience in London and New York, he is also an accomplished sportsman who has played football for Delhi and cricket for Oxford University. Akshay holds degrees from St. Stephen's College, the University of Oxford, and Columbia University. Under his leadership, FITPASS has scaled to become India's leading fitness membership platform, serving millions through its innovative B2C and B2B2C channels.