How SWTHZ Delivers on Wellness Demands of All Kinds
Partnership
Sponsored By SWTHZ
The rapidly growing studio has a top-notch understanding of what educated and new consumers are after in the wellness space
SWTHZ, a leading supplier of recovery and holistic health services, facilitates wellness in more ways than one. Keeping a close ear to the ground to provide for the modern consumer while also managing to deliver a wide range of offerings that appeal to everyone, the brand meets both specific and broader wellness demands at the same time.
With this multifaceted approach, SWTHZ hasn’t just taken large steps forward, but leaps and bounds in terms of franchising. The brand has 31 open locations and 16 under construction. Future advances are expected as well.
“This deliberate exposure to hot and cold is only going to grow in adoption,” said Mike Tan, COO at SWTHZ. “There’s going to be more down the line. We’re only scratching the surface as to the reasons why people are going to use this.”
Meeting New Demands
It’s difficult to find anything in the fitness industry more prevalent right now than strength training. Mindbody forecasted a surge in popularity for the modality ahead of 2024 and the past few months have proven it to be an accurate one.
SWTHZ has everything anyone needs to recover fast and effectively to get back in the gym quicker for more. The brand’s infrared sauna and cold plunge therapy services are especially impactful in this regard.
“We know if you strength train, inflammation and joint pain tend to be one of the first things that comes up,” said Tan. “With cold plunge and infrared sauna, first they increase blood flow. Blood flow is particularly important when you think about reducing inflammation.”
In the sauna, infrared wavelengths penetrate the skin, reaching deep into the muscles to enhance recovery. The cold plunge further stimulates blood flow and offers anti-inflammatory benefits.
However, strength training doesn’t just test the body, but also the mind. The benefits of infrared sauna and cold plunging touch the mental and physical side of things as well.
“You’ve also got the other part of strength training, which is stress on the mind,” said Tan. “These modalities that help release the appropriate hormones to be able to regulate a lot of that so you’re in a much better place.”
All these factors help users get a better night’s rest as well, which remains the ultimate recovery tool.
“For those people that train aggressively and train hard, in some scenarios they will experience challenges with sleeping, depending on the time of day that they’re training and how muscles are breaking down,” said Tan. “They’re repairing themselves. So in any case where you can again support blood flow, reduce stress hormones, or things of that nature, you’re going to improve sleep. What happens when you sleep better? You’re going to recover better.”
It’s all a part of SWTHZ’s desire to be on top of all things wellness. If another fitness modality takes off like strength training, the brand will be there to support it at the drop of a hat.
“There’s a lot of buzz around a lot of stuff,” Tan added. “At the end of the day, it’s our job to be aware of what these trends are and how they potentially fit into our product roadmap. We’re always going to be aware of what’s out there and if it makes sense in terms of it fitting within this luxurious contrast therapy wellness experience that we want, then we’ll be interested in bringing it into the member experience.”
Wellness for All
Even while catering to the specific demands of current wellness consumers, SWTHZ pays attention to the general fitness community with equal vigor. It’s an important group to pursue in furthering the growth of wellness — and a lucrative one.
SWTHZ reports that 20% of the population in North America has a gym membership, but 50% don’t use it. That data suggests the gym is no longer the first place people visit to begin improving their health. SWTHZ is eager to make itself available and welcoming as a new, alternative starting point for a healthier lifestyle.
“The world is telling us that just going to the gym doesn’t work for everyone,” said Tan. “They’re looking for alternative solutions and in this context, at SWTHZ, you’ve got three types of members. You’ve got individuals who are looking to recover from fitness, those who are coming in for mental health reasons, and then the individuals just looking to live a healthier life and recognize the benefits of hot and cold exposure. If you think about that, there’s a really big total addressable market.”
“I think it’s just very important that because our product is able to impact a very broad range of health outcomes, we’d be crazy not to have a product that is able to appeal to that broad of an offering,” he added. “From a business perspective, it makes sense. From a product perspective, it makes sense because it doesn’t require a different product or experience.”