[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 the motivation behind founding the wellness reservation platform "Obut." Obut is a platform that allows users to freely enjoy activities such as Pilates, yoga, and barre with a single membership. By purchasing a 2, 4, or 8-session membership valid for 30 days, users can choose from over 750 partner studios.

Before founding the company, CEO Anna Yeon was deeply passionate about fitness, having worked as a health trainer. She decided to create Obut based on her own experiences-such as being unable to use the remaining sessions of a membership when her Pilates studio suddenly closed, or being forced to continue attending a studio simply because her membership period had not expired, even when she wanted to try a different activity. She hoped that, much like traveling or searching for popular restaurants, users could easily select their preferred studio through a single platform and enjoy various workouts with an integrated membership.

She said, "When I stopped exercising, it was inconvenient to have to go around comparing prices and searching for a place I liked. There were also many times when I wanted to switch to a different activity but couldn’t because I still had sessions left." She added, "After seeing that most women around my age had similar experiences, I was inspired to start my own business."

The early days of the startup were challenging. Unlike foreign markets, where there are many large, branded fitness centers, the domestic fitness industry is still dominated by small business owners, making it difficult to significantly increase the number of partner studios. There was also resistance to joining the platform. Whenever this happened, CEO Anna Yeon personally met with business owners to explain the advantages of joining. As a result, the number of partner studios grew from just over 100 last year to more than 750 now.

She recalled, "Unlike products or food, which can simply be delivered, fitness is based on offline experiences. Studio owners worried about the possibility of difficult customers, and many felt burdened by having to handle various administrative tasks related to joining the platform on their own. It was not easy to persuade them to join, especially given the still-conservative nature of the 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 mainly focus on gyms, Obut recruited partner studios specializing in activities popular among women, such as Pilates, yoga, and barre, and designed its marketing to evoke a feminine and clean image. Recently, Obut also participated in an event held at celebrity Lee Hyori's yoga studio, hosted by the yoga magazine Ayoga, further raising its profile among women in their 20s and 30s.

Having made remarkable progress this year, Obut aims to expand to around 2,500 partner studios next year for quantitative growth. The company also plans to diversify its fitness categories and expand membership subscription benefits to attract users more aggressively. CEO Anna Yeon said, "Our goal for next year is to further solidify Obut’s unique sensibility while continuing to achieve quantitative growth. We are also planning to expand our subscription model so that users can enjoy even more benefits."