The Massage Company (TMC) has signed a deal with FranGlobal, Asia’s largest franchise reseller, to open 50 massage centres across India; potentially delivering up to an estimated $50 million in network revenue.

India is poised to be at the forefront of the wellness revolution. A study by GSK in 2017* revealed that over 67 percent of workers throughout Asia felt that their working environment was causing them physical pain, with more than 60 percent stating that their working environment was causing them head pain specifically. The report found that this was the cause of a significant drop in productivity. These factors, along with India being the 10^th largest spa market worldwide and valued at $2.13 billion**, says Elliot Walker, CEO of TMC, were key to the company selecting India as the target for the young company’s first international market expansion.

TMC was founded in 2016 by Walker and Charlie Thompson, who until recently was chairman of the UK Spa Association. The first membership-based massage franchise outside the US, there are now centres in Surrey, Kent and Buckinghamshire, with more centres planned in London, Hampshire and Birmingham within the next year.

The company says that the FranGlobal deal indicates a major milestone in its growth plans. “We aim to become the global leader in membership-based massage and we consider India to be a sizeable market which will enable us to achieve this goal”, explains Thompson.

TMC has teamed up with FranGlobal – which has also partnered with the likes of global estate agency network REMAX and food travel experts SSP Group – to chart aggressive plans to revolutionise the Indian massage sector, starting with the launch of a centre in Delhi NCR before penetrating deeper into Tier-1 cities, pan-India.

Single unit investment opportunities from 6,000,000 INR are currently being offered, with franchise owners anticipated to break even within 20 months.

“Our network of over 70 brokers across India will help us to make TMC the leader in membership-based massage”, says Gaurav Marya, chairman of FranGlobal. “We will launch TMC at The Master Franchise Show 2019 in June. This is one of the biggest trade shows that we host, drawing in over 50,000 attendees every year so we’re confident that it will make a big impression”.

The massage membership model has seen significant growth over the past 15 years in the US, underpinned by the proven benefits that regular, affordable massage by highly trained therapists have to offer – way and above that experienced with an occasional massage. UK centres have so far opened with multiple pre-bookings in place and are already operating in excess of forecasted revenue. “With the support of high calibre partners such as FranGlobal in countries across the world, we are confident that we can continue our driving wish to bring regular, high-quality massage to the mainstream; transforming views which consider it a one-off treatment, to massage becoming a vital part of a better, more balanced lifestyle”, says Walker.

The Massage Company aims to continue its penetration of international markets throughout 2019, with a specific focus on Sweden, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.