On 25 February, the Chinese workout application, Keep filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong to become the first public company of its kind. Launched in 2015, Keep has stormed the market ever since, with over 300 million users and almost 1.2 billion RMB ($190 million) in revenue over Q1-Q3 in 2021.
Such extraordinary performance has made Keep the world’s largest online fitness platform, winning over high-profile companies such as Tencent and SoftBank, and has been valued at $2 billion after its latest funding round.
Keeping it up is the key to success, whether it’s losing weight or anything else – that is what Keep is all about. The founder, Wang Ning made the app a constant companion for fitness lovers of all levels to help create routines and make exercise fun.
Keep also utilises new technologies and develops signature products, such as AI-generating customised workouts and smart devices and hardware, so that exercise can be interactive and home-based. All efforts lead to an effective one-stop service system from online content to physical equipment and expanded revenue sources. Keep’s private-label products generated over 638 million RMB ($101 million) during the first nine months of 2021.
Keep’s success reveals the fitness fanaticism amongst young Chinese people – over 70% of its monthly active users were from the post-90s generation in 2021. The pandemic boosted this number; more people exercise at home due to travel restrictions and concerns of catching the virus. Keep’s daily download rocketed by 478% in just one month after the pandemic outbreak.
Its monthly membership increased from 1.9 million in 2020 to 3.3 million in 2021. Workouts at home has become a trendy lifestyle in China, and the market is expected to continue growing to 895.8 billion RMB ($142 billion) by 2026.
