4 Local Wellness Brands Share How They Thrive During the Pandemic
Growing or launching a wellness business? Get inspired by how these local businesses pulled it off in the course of Covid-19.
“We were about to close the business already prior to the pandemic but mat sales surprisingly picked up during the ECQ and has been good ever since. We even launched new designs and more product lines.”
— Jess and Rhon, founders of Natura Yoga
True or false: Within the past year, you bought a yoga mat, tried kombucha, or at least downloaded a meditation app.
If you answered "true," welcome to the club.
Self-care helps me feel more in control and regain peace in the midst of uncertainty. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. The global economy of wellness used to be worth a whopping $4.5 trillion!
No wonder that despite Covid-19's impact on the business industry, according to the Beth McGroarty, vice president of research for the Global Wellness Institute, “at the big-picture, long-term level, the case for the wellness concept and wellness markets post-pandemic looks very bullish.”
The idea of “self-love” in terms of wellness flourished way back in 3000 BC, but the Covid-19 pandemic spurred its ideals. Despite many businesses going bankrupt, the self-care industry found creative ways to show up for its customers.
“Home has turned into a sanctuary,” explained Shin, a consumer insight strategist. “It’s also turned into a wellness hub, where people build their self-care routines and find simple joy in their everyday lives.”
Some of my favorite brands are now embracing more sustainable ways to do business. Entrepreneurs who were thriving in brick-and-mortars and bazaars got scrappier—they built their online stores to serve more people than ever. Our go-to yoga studios are now accessible online. Like The Yoga Playroom.
“Since the pandemic in March 2020, the studio was closed, luckily I don’t need to pay for the studio rent. I started teaching via Zoom right away, as a way of supporting my yoga community, I offered yoga classes for free for a few months.”
— Dr. Joy Chua, founder of The Yoga Playroom
How brands can ride the wave of wellness
Forbes Councils Member Nicole Dunn writes, “I think wellness in 2021 will be of the utmost importance in consumers' lives.” She recommends brands to welcome everyone, instead of being exclusive.
To do this, she encourages wellness brands to:
Offer affordable pricing to attract more consumers who are now interested in self-improvement
Bring something new to the table that will set you apart from the competition
Share your brand story and how you’re helping people through this difficult time
Strengthen your online presence
Natura Yoga, a brand that offers locally designed mats and equipment for yoga enthusiasts, thought they would have to shut down the business because of the pandemic.
But to their surprise, sales picked up at the start of the ECQ in March last year until today.
“We think that people during this time have become more proactive in maintaining their physical and mental well-being. Our brand and products have become safe spaces where people can recollect during these unpredictable times,” write Jess and Rhon, founders of Natura Yoga.
Natura Yoga leans on the power of technology to keep their business healthy, “Since every business nowadays is online we thought of improving our online presence. We made a website and recently hired an agency to do our social media to improve our branding and increase sales.”
Bring value to your community, online
Dr. Joy Chua, an Ophthalmologist at Chua Eye Center and founder of The Yoga Playroom, started practicing yoga in the latter quarter of 2014 and took up yoga teacher training in 2017.
She had no plans of formally teaching back then, but right after graduating, she started practice-teaching with her husband and children, using the space in the kids’ playroom.
Later on, her friends started joining and bringing in more students. This prompted Doc Joy and her husband to build a proper yoga studio at the annex building of their eye center, aptly naming the studio, “The Yoga Playroom.”
Dr. Joy is one of many teachers who brought their practice online. Below are her ups and downs in teaching yoga classes online, in her words.
Challenges:
The set-up in a virtual yoga classroom must have a well-lighted, spacious room. Must also invest in a good camera, computer or laptop, and mic to have clear audio.
Teaching yoga with a wireless mic can be challenging too, sometimes when you move, the mic moves too.
Internet connection that fluctuates during the class. You can freeze if your connection drops while you keep talking or demoing, the students can freeze too if their connection drops. Classes can be canceled because of poor connectivity.
Also, for the students to be able to join, they need space at home and a good internet connection.
Students need to be adjusted verbally instead of physically.
Challenging to watch students move on the screen, give instructions and adjust them verbally, and demo the yoga poses all at the same time, but this gets easier with practice, or does it?
More challenging to teach beginners with advanced practitioners in the same class.
Opportunities:
For the studio, through the help of social media, we can invite students from everywhere to join the class. TYP now has students from Naga and Isabela who still regularly practice with us.
TYP teachers and students don’t need to travel to go to the studio but can teach and practice at the comforts of their homes.
Dr. Joy adds, “I would still prefer teaching at the TYP studio over Zoom. In person, I can see the student well, and they can see me better too, adjust them physically, energy exchange is amazing, we have playtime after, and we all leave after class elated. But for now, I am grateful for this technology that can reach anybody who would like to practice in the comforts of their homes. We make do with what we have.”
You can check out Doc Joy’s yoga practice on her YouTube channel.
Should you launch a wellness business during this pandemic?
“I think one of the most difficult decisions a business owner has to make is when to open his/her business because timing is crucial, and your launch can dictate the momentum of your business.”
— Kit de Silva, founder of Luces Living
It may be counterintuitive for some to venture into a new business in such unpredictable times—but not for Kit de Silva, who founded Luces Living, a creative and conscious space meant to gather a mindful community, back in September 2020.
Since then, they have:
Held regular yoga classes, craft workshops, and humble events for the local community in their holistic care suite and mixed-use spaces
Opened an eco shop featuring sustainable, local products
Opened a plant-based café wherein they partnered with local farmers to offer healthy and flavorful dishes
Challenges:
Though Luces Living makes it look so easy, Kit shares a glimpse of what it took to build Luces in the time of Covid-19.
“The pandemic has encouraged us to innovate the way we approach our customers and how we make them feel safe around our spaces.
For our yoga classes, we require prior registration, bringing their mats and towels, and limiting the class to 12 students (our space can hold at least 60 students max) to make sure there is a safe distance between each student.
For the café, we only accept dine-in by reservation and a limited seating capacity of 18. Pre-ordering and contactless transactions are also available, and al fresco dining within allotted time slots to lessen their waiting time and exposure from being outside.
For events, our Surya hall and Chandra deck can hold a total of 150 pre-pandemic, but we decided to keep it at 30 guests max at the moment. We take extra measures to regularly sanitize our tools and our spaces, as well as keeping an open-air setting to maintain healthy air circulation throughout the premises.
The main challenge is, of course, keeping our guests and our team safe without sacrificing the quality of service we provide. This has been our top priority even before we decided to open last September.”
Opportunities:
Kit recognizes the bright side that comes along with the challenges.
“…since the quarantine, Luces has become an accessible destination for the local community. People can discover their province and support small, local businesses that strive within the area.”
Offer something more than a product
Also, during this pandemic, Danise launched Sun Space, a brand that offers cork mats and empowers holistic daily movement in a safe and supportive space.
“I think one of the biggest challenge is the saturation of the market. There a lot of options available online and I had to make sure that our voice as a brand is clear – that we’re not just a cork mat product, we’re a business focusing on evolving one’s spaces for the mind, body, and soul… We want to be a safe space for wellness and allow you to practice the art of being well while isolated, ” writes Danise via email.
Keep it real and virtual
When asked if she’ll go back to doing business the way she used to, Dr. Joy of The Yoga Playroom responds, “Once the pandemic is over, I still plan to teach online, to cater to those who can’t go back to the studio yet and also open the studio to teach in person… Also, only a limited number of students will be allowed per class. Unlike before, when TYP can accommodate 28 students, now or after the pandemic, maybe only 8 students per class will be allowed. Pre-booking of mat space will also be implemented. More classes will be added to the schedule to accommodate more students interested in the practice.”
Danise of Sun Space shares, “We’re currently focusing our energy online. But a part of our long-term goals is to open a store/studio.”
On the same note, Luces Living founder Kit looks forward to the day that we can all gather—with safety and peace of mind, “Luces is an experience itself. We know what social media is capable of in terms of reaching a wider audience, however, we still prefer holding on-site classes and events because energy is everything and nothing compares to sharing energies in actual spaces. From our architecture down to the services we provide, we want people to walk into our doors and draw connections not only with others but also to connect with themselves. More than a place, we work towards making Luces an experience that whenever people visit us, they feel a sense of peace, positivity, warmth, and lightness.”
Wrapping up
Whether you opened your business 5 years ago or decided to start one in the middle of this pandemic, you can bet that the wellness industry is here to stay and grow stronger through the years.
Even if running a business today isn't a walk in the park, there's a promising future at the end of the road.
Dr. Joy, Kit, Danise, Jess, and Rhon emphasized the value of establishing their brands online and reaching people through social media. They prove that businesses can thrive if they go out of their way to show up and serve their customers the best way they can. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
Now, let’s talk about YOU.
Do you have a wellness business or plan to launch one? We’d love to support you and help you get the word out! Leave a link to your site in the comments, and we’ll share it with our friends. 👇🏼
Special thanks to the following for letting us pick their brains. Send love their way today!
Jess and Rhon of Natura Yoga
Dr. Joy of The Yoga Playroom
Kit of Luces Living
Danise of Sun Space
