Fitness startup Grow Fit raises $4.5 mn from Manipal Education Group

Grow Fit, a Bangalore-based fitness startup that offers nutrition, mental wellness, stress, sleep and activity through a combination of expert advice and selling nutrition products, has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding led by MEMG (Manipal Education and Medical Group), the PE arm of the Manipal Group. Besides, The SAR Group and The Grover Trust, Grow Fit’s seed investors, also participated in this round.

Post the funding round, Dr. Ranjan Pai, the MD & CEO of MEMG, will be joining the Board of Directors.

The company plans to invest the funding into the expansion of solutions, all through mobile. The venture also plans to integrate different sources of data from wearable technology and medical reports in order to make the app a one-stop, comprehensive companion for wellness.

According to the company, it combines data science, medical science and behavioural insights to help people achieve their health goals.

Grow Fit’s one-on-one chat-based coaching programme connects users all over India to experts in physical health. Besides, Grow Fit also encompasses mental health through a separate app called Grow Self.

During September last year, the fitness app entered the functional beverages field with the acquisition of Drink King.

Over six million lives are lost in India every year due to lifestyle diseases, and around 300 million people are living with or are at risk of contracting them, according to the WHO. The economic burden of lifestyle diseases in India which is estimated to be over $4.58 trillion by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.

In this high time, many fitness startups are offering healthy solutions to fight lifestyle diseases. Fitcircle, Healthifyme, ObiNo and many other platforms are offering solutions in this space.

These companies have also been able to win the confidence of investors and have raised funding from various investors and have been working hard to set their foot on the ground in a highly competitive market.