The rising popularity of yoga, particularly in developed nations such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, is expected to be a significant market driver. Increased cases of lifestyle disorders and increased understanding of yoga’s medical benefits are pushing up the demand for the product.

As per research, 36.7 million people in the United States practised yoga in 2016. Furthermore, an increase in the number of yoga studios in developing regions is expected to fuel product demand. Many governments have begun to encourage yoga and Ayurveda through various initiatives. In 2017, the Indian government, for example, launched more than a Hundred Yoga Parks across the nation.

So you can see that the demand for yoga mats has increased considerably. People are more focused on their health and fitness now. Investing in a yoga mat business would indeed prove beneficial for you in various ways. So let us now dive into the few things you need to keep in mind before starting your very own yoga mat business.

A successful business is one that conducts research long before the production of the product itself. You can’t merely just order hundreds of yoga mats and start selling them. The most important thing when you’re starting up is knowing what your customer needs.

So you need to identify the need first. What kind of yoga mats are sought after the most? Yoga mats, yoga towels, or a travel mat? Gather information on what kind of yoga mats are in demand. You also need to decide what kind of yoga mats YOU are interested in. By this, I mean that if there is a specific kind of mat that you specialize in or you have expertise in, you need to put some thought into it.

Three things come into consideration when you are trying to identify your market or your customers:

1. You divide the market into niches or segments. Explore your region and look into what percentage or number of people are into health and fitness. Then look for people who prefer yoga as an activity. For example, in the area of health and wellness, you have bodybuilders, yoga performers, dancers, cyclers, etc. Once you’ve identified the specific group you want to cater to, you can make them your target market.
2. Now that you know the number of people who perform yoga and where they reside, you make them your target market. These are the people your product is for, and it should be designed to please them specifically.
3. When you’re designing the yoga mats, keep the choice of your target market in mind. For example, if they are mainly females, then funky and colourful mats would be preferable. Conduct surveys, interviews, or other information collecting techniques to collect information regarding consumer preferences and design your yoga mats accordingly.

Now that you what your customers want and know your market; you are better positioned to determine your supply chain. This includes where you get your products from and how they reach the end consumers.

In terms of making your products available, you will have two options. The first one is to become a producer of yoga mats. Here you will need to own your own factory and be a manufacturer. You could become a yoga mat manufacturer if you either own a factory or have the money to buy one.

You will produce and distribute yoga mats to other companies that will market them wholesale or retail. While it may seem to be a simple concept, it will necessitate extensive analysis. This suggests that to become a yoga mat manufacturer, you’ll need to do a great deal of research into what facilities are for sale, as well as a bunch of other stuff.

Acquiring a plant is a difficult task. However, if you have the required experience or consulting, you will be equipped to do it quickly. A good tip here would be to learn about factory management and get consultancy. You can also learn from entrepreneurs who are involved in this area.

Outsourcing yoga mat production is an alternative to buying a facility and investing in yoga mat manufacturing. If you don’t have enough money to buy a plant or just do not want to deal with the inconveniences of owning a yoga mat factory, you can always search for yoga mat producers and suppliers on your premises or online.

Numerous people are employed in the yoga mat supply chain all across the world. These individuals own factories that manufacture yoga mats in large quantities and will be delighted to sell these goods to you if you are a wholesaler or retailer. Some of the online yoga mat manufacturers include:

• Elysian Enterprises.
• Microcell composite company.
• Liyang Zhongtiang weaving and co.
• Sea Green industrial co.
• Shanghai Eversuccess industries.
• Famosa Corp.
• Ningbo Pidegree Rubber Plastic Industry and many others.

You can approach these manufacturers through their websites or contact information available online and place your order. All producers have certain qualities and specific terms and conditions that you may have to meet. For example, FYXMat has a minimum order limit of 250 mats. Look into all of these options and pick a manufacturer that would prove to be cost-effective for your yoga mat business.

Don’t go for the first producer you find. Instead, do your due diligence, look into each manufacturer’s pros and cons, ask relevant questions, inquire about prices, and get all kinds of information before picking your supplier.

Some manufacturers offer customized yoga mat production services. These services might prove to be costlier or more time consuming than general orders, but they will help you meet the needs of your target market more effectively. As discussed before, if your target market is females, then you can custom design mats in specific colours and designs.

Another benefit of customized yoga mats is that you can decide the thickness, traction, and material used to manufacture your yoga mats. You find out what your customer needs and design your yoga mat with your specific qualities. Apart from this, if you want to emphasize your brand image, then you can print your company’s logo on the yoga mats!

Making a business plan is not mandatory, but it is beneficial to get things into order. Making a good quality business plan for a business is one of the most important things you can do for it. In the yoga mat business, it’s no different. Although things don’t always go as planned in business, preparing is still essential to starting your own yoga mat business.

To write a business plan, you’ll need to do some research, and it’s better if you do it yourself rather than hiring anyone to do it for you. Writing your own business plan allows you to have a better insight into the market and your competitors. If you know all the stakeholders of your business, you will be better prepared to deal with any hardships that might come along the way in your yoga mat business.

Your business plan should include all the details of your business, from the supply chain to the promotion and prices of products. The following are some of the essential things you should include in your business plan if you’re going to write one:

• A description of the business and your product or service: So you write about your yoga mat business and what kind of products you’re planning to sell. For example, you could say that your business produces eco-friendly non-PVC yoga mats that are very hard to find. This section of the business plan can also highlight the aims and objectives of your yoga mat business. These are the things that you aim to achieve through the establishment and functioning of your business.
• Your Market Research: The business plan also needs to include information about your target market, i.e., the group of customers you identified earlier as your potential customer group. This section can include information about their age, the yoga parks they visit, their gender, their preferences, and all other characteristics that can help you create an excellent product for them.
• Your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats: A SWOT analysis means an analysis of your business’s core competencies. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses allows you to realize where your business may be lacking and what its plus-points are. The opportunities are all the options available through which your yoga mat business may flourish or do better. Threats are all the hindrances that could potentially harm your business or give your competitors a competitive advantage over you.
• The Operational Plan: If you are starting your business as a team, you can use it to identify who performs what role in the business. This section includes information on all the team members and how each member’s skills contribute to reaching the objectives. For example, you could write that John is in charge of supply and handles the acquisition of products.
• The Marketing Plan: This section of the business plan includes how you aim to promote the yoga mats and convince the customers to buy them. You can write about your advertising strategies (if any). If you plan on creating a social media presence, write about how you are going to do it and what platforms you are going to use for it.
• The Financial Plan: this section of the business plan will include all necessary monetary information about the business, e.g., how you are going to fund it, how much the business start-up process is going to cost you, how much profits you expect (forecasted financial statements), what cash flows you expect, etc. This plan gives an idea of the profitability of the business.

All these elements will lay down your business in an organized way. You can use this business plan as a pitch for investors as well.

A crucial thing to consider during the planning process is how you’re going to sell your yoga mats. Online or offline?

Online Platforms:

If you plan on selling yoga mats online, you can do so through a website or social media platforms. If you are not a technology professional, creating a website would be difficult. And a web developer will set you back some cash.

As a preliminary step, you can sell your goods on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Many local firms function by uploading images of their goods along with pertinent information to their social media channels. Customers may position orders by sending direct messages to your page or calling the phone number you give on your page.

Proper digital marketing tactics will help you reach a larger audience. You can also get paid promotions on social media as well. This is a cheap and convenient method to sell products but is going to require effort if you want to reach a large audience.

Brick And Mortar:

Another way to market your items is through an offline shop or a brick-and-mortar establishment. This is very close to the shops in the neighbourhood. Clearly, this type of selling medium will be costly, and many expenses must be addressed. Rent, maintenance bills, employee salaries, interior decorating costs, storage costs, and so on are all expenditures that come with running a brick and mortar business.  Even though this method is costly, it has advantages. Typically people over the age of 45, for example, are not very keen on using technology and would prefer buying from a store where they can check the products themselves instead of ordering them online. Then some distrust online shopping and would avoid doing so.