Hyrox in China: Why functional fitness is becoming a scalable commercial opportunity
China’s fitness landscape is changing fast, and HYROX is emerging at the forefront. Founded in Hamburg in 2017, the fitness racing brand made its mainland debut in Beijing in November 2024. Since then, HYROX in China has aggressively expanded beyond its initial niche appeal. Its momentum in the mainland reflects a broader market reality. As […]
How do Chinese people lose weight?
Over half of Chinese adults were overweight in 2022. In combination with this statistic, the beauty standards in China are relatively unforgiving towards extra weight, with social discussion trends amplifying the public’s general awareness and anxiety over the issue. In 2022, 77% of Chinese netizens believed they had weight issues. Social media has driven interest […]
This fitness influencer’s Tiktok exploded through the COVID lockdown in Shanghai
Throughout April 2022, Will Liu appeared to be the most popular search on Baidu, with over 5 million search indexes in total. Liu’s search indexes doubled that of other popular celebrities. So who is Will Liu, and what makes him so popular? Who is Will Liu? Will Liu is a Taiwanese singer and actor, best […]
“Beauty value” economy in China (颜值经济): How social media made ‘face score’ a valuable asset
The “beauty value” economy in China, known in Chinese as 颜值经济 (yán zhi jing ji) is a recent internet slang, in which “yan” means face and appearance, and zhi represents the value of a person’s appearance. Several psychological aspects of the “beauty value” economy in China make it so prosperous. Firstly, working on one’s own […]
Market Tidbits transcript #7: How and why China’s fitness industry is transforming
Allison Malmsten: Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Market Tidbits. This week we focus on China’s fitness industry and how it has changed over the last few years. This week, I’m super excited to talk about the topic of China’s fitness industry. I’m joined by Steffi Noel, a project manager at daxue consulting […]
Hosa Fitness closed its doors. What is causing the downfall of China’s traditional fitness centers?
In June 2019, the fitness chain Hosa Fitness (浩沙健身) closed overnight, causing a heated discussion. Hosa Fitness started in 1999, and it had 86 stores in 2009. How could such a big fitness brand go out of business? What are the problems of fitness centers in China? Will all of China’s traditional fitness centers face […]
[Podcast] China paradigm #21: How to make profit in the fitness industry without establishing a gym
China Paradigm interviews Tom Xiong, founder of Move Shanghai. Move Shanghai is a platform that partners with gyms, fitness classes, and even luxury hotel swimming pools to bring the experience of fitness to Shanghai. In this podcast we learn about the business model and how Move Shanghai makes profit and collaborates with venues, why this […]
Market report: Technogym in China
Market report: Technogym in China More market report in China Technogym was founded in 1983, headquartered in Cesena, Italy. Due to its continuous development and innovation, Technogym has now become one of the world leaders in the products and services industry for training and rehabilitation. The company also promotes the wellness lifestyle, a way of […]