Habuild leans on repeat users to expand beyond yoga

Digital wellness startup Habuild, founded by Saurabh, Trishala and Anshul in 2020, has shifted its focus from yoga to include strength training, nutrition and AI-led meal planning, as chief executive Saurabh Bothra revealed during an interview with The Economic Times. The platform boasts 690,000 active users, with a notable 50-55% repeat subscription rate and around 70% attendance for its online yoga classes.

Saurabh attributes these high figures to the value users derive from the programmes, which fosters word-of-mouth referrals and boosts retention.

Facing competition from free workout content on YouTube, Instagram and a burgeoning nutrition-tracking app landscape, Habuild argues that abundance, not scarcity, is the primary obstacle for users. The sheer volume of options leads to information overload, causing people to do nothing. Saurabh asserts that Habuild's unique advantage lies in accountability rather than content, a quality that free platforms cannot replicate.

The company has maintained profitability from its inception, with revenues reaching Rs 112 crore in FY25, a threefold increase from Rs 36 crore in FY24. Net profit also more than tripled to Rs 57 crore, up 237% year-over-year. Habuild's online-first model enables the company to keep costs low and invest in new wellness offerings while running free programs as a marketing tool.

Around 90% of new users come through referrals, primarily via WhatsApp, which helps Habuild maintain low customer acquisition costs. The company plans to expand into multilingual classes, additional trainers, food and sleep tracking, and other offerings led by Trishala Bothra. The Nagpur-based startup expects these new formats to attract younger users, with 60% of its user base aged between 35 and 55, comprising mostly women. Users under 35 account for approximately 20% of total users.

Looking ahead, Habuild plans to introduce AI-led health tools to personalize nutrition at scale while adhering to strict guardrails to ensure focus on health, food, and habit-building. With a 55-member tech and product team working on such initiatives, the company aims to help users maintain their well-being through personalized nutrition plans.