[NE Coffee Chat] Obut: "A Fitness Platform for Women in Their 20s and 30s... Enjoy Freedom with a Single Membership"

Targeting Women in Their 20s and 30s with a Wellness Concept
Partner Studios Grow to 750 This Year
Aiming to Diversify Fitness Categories Next Year

"I wanted to improve the inconveniences I experienced while enjoying exercise in my daily life."

Anna Yeon Obut CEO. Obut

On December 26 in Jongno-gu, Seoul, CEO Anna Yeon explained her motivation for founding the wellness reservation platform "Obut" in this way. Obut is a platform where users can freely enjoy activities such as Pilates, yoga, and barre with a single membership. By purchasing a membership for 2, 4, or 8 sessions on a 30-day basis, users can choose from over 750 partner studios.

Before starting her business, CEO Yeon was deeply committed to exercise, even completing a yoga instructor course. She decided to create Obut based on her own experiences, such as being unable to use up remaining memberships when her Pilates studio suddenly closed, or being forced to continue at a studio because she had time left on her membership even when she wanted to try a different activity. She hoped that, just like traveling or exploring restaurants, users could easily select a studio they liked through a single platform and enjoy various workouts with one integrated membership.

CEO Yeon said, "When I stopped exercising, it was inconvenient to go around comparing prices and searching for a place I liked, and there were many times I couldn't switch to a different activity because I still had sessions left. Looking around, I realized that most women of a similar age had similar experiences, which led me to decide to start this business."

The early days of the startup were not without challenges. Unlike foreign markets dominated by large chains, the domestic fitness market consists mostly of small brands run by individual business owners, making it difficult to quickly increase the number of partner studios. There was also some resistance to joining the platform. Whenever such issues arose, CEO Yeon met with business owners in person to explain the benefits of joining. As a result, the number of partner studios grew from about 100 last year to over 750 now.

CEO Yeon reflected, "Unlike products or food that can simply be delivered, exercise is based offline, so some business owners worried about 'what if strange customers come,' and many felt burdened by having to handle various administrative work related to joining the platform alone. It was not easy to persuade them to join the platform in the still-conservative domestic fitness market."

Obut is experiencing rapid growth with its "wellness" concept targeting women in their late 20s to 30s. Unlike traditional fitness platforms that focused on gyms, Obut recruited partner studios specializing in Pilates, yoga, and barre-categories popular among women-and tailored its marketing to create a feminine and clean image. Recently, Obut also attended an event hosted by the yoga magazine Ayoga at a yoga studio run by celebrity Lee Hyori, further raising its profile among women in their 20s and 30s.

Having made a noticeable leap forward this year, Obut aims to expand to around 2,500 partner studios next year for quantitative growth. The company also plans to diversify its exercise categories and expand membership subscription benefits to more aggressively attract users. CEO Yeon said, "Our goal is to further solidify Obut's unique sensibility and continue quantitative growth next year. We are also planning to expand our subscription model so that users can enjoy even more benefits."