With rise in general awareness about health issues and appearance, an increasing number of people are realising the link between a healthy body and healthy mind. In an exclusive interview with The Pioneer,VlCC Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh area head Sonia Kumar spoke about the holistic fitness and complete wellness of mind, body and soul. She said that men have become equally aware and conscious about wellness and are coming forward in the same ratio as females.
What are the major challenges faced by the wellness industry in the current scenarioIJ
Though health related problems are increasing considerably these days, the people are also becoming more aware about their health.
With the changing lifestyle and habits more people are becoming obese with even juvenile diabetes becoming common these days and this is mainly due to the irregular eating habits and their increasing consumption of junk foods. But after trying all sorts of therapies and medical options available in the market they prefer to come to us at the end.
However, there are some people who look out for holistic fitness focusing on a healthy mind and body. We are a pioneer in this field and promote complete DNA related programmes which are not just meant for slimming but provide solution for varied medical issues.
We look after the skin, body and mind related problems, provide good diet planning to our customers and managing all this is not at all an easy task. VlCC is open for all and even persons without major health issues are coming to us for medical related consultations.
To manage demands of people we have number of dietitians, in house dermatologist, physio-therapists, beauty therapist, slimming therapists and regular doctors are also available to deal with food and nutrition section. People are also approaching us to seek medical and beauty related advice.
In the price sensitive Indian market, what is VlCC doing to increase its market shareIJ
We have different marketing strategies. We give advertisements in newspaper and other media. We organise events regularly. Basically we work on wellness and nothing beyond it. The best thing is we are doing everything scientifically. We have Ayurveda, spas and have launched various products as well. There is no comparison with the other health related therapies and techniques available in the market as we don’t work on challenges but work only for spreading awareness and promoting good health. Various kinds of challenges also come in our way but we try to manage it all.
Being a center head of the wellness industry, what are the major responsibilities and challenges whichyou face in coordinating the businessIJ
I have to see the entire operation. Everything related to administration, recruitment and sales. At present I am managing all the seven centers of the company and I really enjoy my work and actually love it. I have been travelling regularly for the last 15 years to promote the business.
In the State capital Dehradun, what is the demography of your customers and how do you see thedemographic profile changing with timeIJ
Everybody is approaching us. If we talk of medical issues anybody can come irrespective of age. Generally middle aged ladies approach us with different issues like body fitness, through and after delivery and weight reduction. Women are also approaching us to reduce age effects, to get good figure and to avoid various side effects of medical problems.
Now even males are approaching us. The ratio of male and females approaching us is nearly 50:50. People from all sections of society including the middle and higher sections approach us.
What prompted you to commence this business in DoonIJ
I am from beauty background and always wished to be in this profession. I have been associated with this company since 2005 then took a break for seven years and joined again last October. Since my children have grown up now and settled down I thought to make a comeback in this industry. I did my Diploma in beauty from Shahnaz Husain Institute and always wanted to be in the beauty business and so I am back here.
How has the beauty and wellness space evolved since you entered this businessIJ
It has grown a lot. The industry started with one flagship. And now has reached global proportions. The number of its centers has now increased to more than 200.
What avenues do you see for growth in this businessIJ
We are expanding the total number of centers. We have gone global. Besides, we have got number of institutes where we train people to excel in the same field. We also make our ownVlCC products for personal care.
What are the major demands of the customersIJ What is VlCC doing to meet the expectation of itscustomersIJ
We provide all sort of latest facilities to our customers and meet their varied demands. We keep adding different techniques. At present we have international line, premium line and our own VlCC line.
