December 4, 2024 • 26 mins
In this episode, we're talking with Peter Webb, CEO of Nuforma. Although reliatively new to Pilates, Peter brings with him an extensive 25-year background in the HALO sector. We dive into the innovative world of Nuforma, which takes a groundbreaking approach to make Pilates more accessible to a wider audience.
We'll look at how Nuforma's unique reformer units, which come equipped with monitors and self-service functionalities, are transforming traditional Pilates classes. Peter shares insights into the company's journey, including the development of the equipment and its expansion strategy. Whether you're an operator looking to introduce Nuforma to your gym floor or simply interested in the burgeoning Pilates sector, this episode is a must-listen!
About the Nuforma, Webb states, "Obviously, this is a a much different type of unit than you would have versus a 'classical' reformer. It's made of steel. It's German engineered. It has the monitor, and so on. We've also added a new element-a weight plate system."
Key themes discussed
- Nuforma launches new equipment in Pilates market.
- Pilates studios expanded; personalized workouts with monitors.
- $17,000 German-engineered reformer with gyrotonic-like features.
- Pilates classes on gym floors, self-service concept.
- Nuforma total immersion-enhancing a personalized Pilates experience.
- Recurring revenue model similar to razor blades.
A few key takeaways:
1. Introduction of Nuforma: Peter discusses the unique aspects of Nuforma Pilates, which looks to modernize and make Pilates more accessible to a wider audience. The Nuforma reformer incorporates a monitor with pre-recorded classes and a 'sound shower' speaker system, allowing users to have individualized workouts within a group setting.
2. Expansion and Accessibility: 'Traditional Pilates' classes often face issues of limited capacity and specialized appeal. Nuforma's model allows for flexible scheduling and self-guided workouts, making Pilates more readily available and lowers the barrier to entry.
3. Pivot from Studios to Manufacturing: Although Nuforma operates five studios, the company is shifting focus to manufacturing and selling its reformers. This includes making them commercially available to gyms, hospitality sectors, and other multi-site operators, as opposed to focusing solely on expanding its studio network.
4. Franchise and Global Reach: Nuforma is exploring franchising. They have already established franchises in Australia and Saudi Arabia and are working on launching in the UK. This aligns with their mission to make Pilates a more 'mainstream' fitness activity globally.
5. Unique Equipment Features and Benefits: The Nuforma reformer is distinct from other Pilates equipment because it is designed to cater to different mobility levels and body types. It includes a weight plate system and a high-low pulley system, which are not typically found in 'classical' reformers. This makes it versatile and user-friendly, appealing to a broader audience and providing a fuller range of movement options.
Click here to download transcript.
Resources:
- Peter Webb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterawebb
- Nuforma: https://www.nuforma.net
- Prospect Wizard: http://www.theprospectwizard.com
- Promotion Vault: http://www.promotionvault.com
- HigherDose: http://www.higherdose.com
Connect With Us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehaloadvisors/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Integritysquare
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@halotalks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/integrity-square/
Website: https://www.halotalks.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I am super excited to announce that we now have a formal
partnership with the prospect wizard. And when I say
wizard, I mean wizard. Obviously, you have a website.
This allows you to convert
(00:23):
Immediately goes to you, your sales team, or anyone else in the club
instantly. MIT shows a study that if you contact the lead within
10 minutes, chance of them converting goes up 9 times
that of the average. We got the Atlanta Clubs on it, Vida
Fitness, Gold's Gym, Mountainside, City Fitness
Philly, College Park. Become one of the
(00:45):
next halo companies to deploy the wizard. It's easy to
use. Go to the prospectwizard.com. Get a free
30 day trial. Talk to my boy, Dave Gallon. He will get you all set
up, and let the leads flow based on the wizard.
Go get them. This is
Pete Moore on Halo Talks NYC. I have the pleasure of bringing from
(01:07):
across the pond in London, Peter Webb. We're
gonna talk about new form of Pilates. We're gonna talk about the growth of this
category, and we are going to discuss how
Pilates is going to continue to change the world and hopefully fight
obesity, loneliness and diabetes. So, Peter, with that, welcome to the
show. Thanks very much, Pete. Great to be with you. Awesome.
(01:30):
So you wanna just give us a little background on, on how you got into
the space here and then we'll talk about the growth and the the impending,
potential, raise to to continue to grow the studio base.
Yeah. Certainly. I mean, I've I've joined the company 4 months ago as a CEO.
Myself, I'm not from a Pilates background, but I've heard obviously so
(01:50):
much about it in the industry. And I've been in the industry for 25 years
and just I've always been involved in mainstream fitness, I would
say, into the cardio and strength, etcetera. And although I knew
the benefits of Pilates, I'd never experienced MAP based
Pilates or Reformer Pilates. And
I had left the industry for 5 years from equipment sales.
(02:13):
I've been in the industry for 20 odd years selling old commercial grade
equipment. And then
an email came in from a recruitment firm saying, are you interested in looking at
this piece of equipment? And I clicked on it, call
it fate, whatever it was, and discovered a little bit the
name Nuforma. And I looked at it, and
(02:36):
I thought this is something new. I knew Pilates was on the up and
up, continues to grow. It's the fastest growth sector in
I'm sure in the US as it is over in Europe here.
And this just caught my eye as being something different
because it was trying to make and it is making
Pilates accessible to a wider audience.
(02:58):
I think Pilates has been a little bit guilty in the past of
being to to a certain sector, predominantly,
certainly less males attracted in the in the Pilates environment.
And and this just caught my eye, and I thought, why is
this claiming to be different, and what is the difference that it brings?
(03:18):
So so having said that, you know, a lot of the Pilates groups around
the US, they've either customized their own
reformer. They might have been on a degree and kinda
might have reengineered that. They might be on a license.
So tell me what the difference is between the Nuforma
unit. Are you using it for only Nuforma
(03:42):
Pilates Studios? And when you say it's be it's
becoming more accessible, it's a 3 part question. So I'm gonna make sure I
remember what I'm asking. So the the third part is what makes it more
accessible? Is it place? Okay. So,
if I take you back to the origins, the or the origins of Nuforma came
about from Sam Kellard, our founder, had one of the biggest,
(04:05):
reformer studios in the UK. And just like
a lot of people who are on your on your podcast, invention came
out of necessity because of the global pandemic closing a studio.
And she openly admits I cried for 2 days, and then I
thought, no. What this is an opportunity. What am I gonna do?
And she looked at all the barriers that were
(04:28):
preventing her from having more people come to the
studio, different demographics. And that was really
accessibility of instructors. During COVID,
you couldn't share accessories like jump boards that you add
into a normal reformer. So all these
barriers, she she dealt with them 1 by 1 and completely
(04:50):
reengineered and redesigned the the reformer to
create the new former. Okay. So on the new former
now, that was then placed into people's homes as a a
retail site sale, or is that all just a commercial
inside the studios? No. So it's it's started with her own studio,
and she grew from 1 studio to 5 studios over
(05:13):
a 2 year period. And those studios acted as a test
bed because there were some on inner city London,
outer London. So we had the chance to
look at how different demographics were using or were
attracted to Pilates. And
that allowed the product to be tweaked and changed.
(05:36):
The biggest probably the biggest differentiator is that the
the Nuforma contains a monitor that
has all prerecorded classes within that.
And the individual is coming to
basically be on their own individual reformer and do their own
workout for how they feel that day, what
(05:59):
they're wanting to achieve. And in our studios,
we have one instructor who's always
available, but their role is really just to give technique and
correction rather than teaching an actual class.
Got it. So there's no start time for a class in the form of
studios? No. So so a member will come along. They
(06:21):
book their new former on half hour time slots.
So a problem we have in the UK, and I'm sure this is very similar
in the US, is that Pilates classes are at capacity. You just
can't physically get booked into a class. Yeah. That's what we're seeing here.
Majors interested is just some some classes. Some studios
have a 100 classes a week. I mean, literally, those keep putting them on the
(06:43):
menu. Yeah. And and we're talking to major
multisite operators, and they say, Pilates is just going through the
roof. We're doing 10 hours of back to back classes, but we can't meet
the capacity. And having people booking
on half hour time slots means that it's more flexible for
the user and the member of the club,
(07:06):
and, also, that they're doing the type of workout that is unique to
them and what they need to get from the from the new former rather
than what the class instructor is is is teaching.
This is Pete Moore. I wanna let you in on a little secret. There's this
company called Promotion Vault, and what they do is they give out rewards
(07:27):
from retailers that allow you to incentivize your
members without having to do zero down and 1 month
free or giving away shakes or giving away T shirts.
What you wanna do is build a rewards program that lasts,
that people value, and that doesn't discount your own products and
services. So here's the deal. There's something called rewards vault. The
(07:49):
rewards vault is going to allow a member to set up their own
profile. They are going to answer questions. You are gonna get those
answers. You're gonna be able to target those members, and you're gonna reward
them inside your club, inside your spa, and outside of
the club, and outside of the spa to get them to become loyal,
to get them to pay their monthly dues, and to be
(08:11):
rewarded properly for the actions. A lot of companies are cutting back on
rewards. You shouldn't be. Promotion Vault's your answer. Trust me.
This is real.
You know, when you take a look at I mean, my personal behavior
is I excel at classes when I am physically
present around other people. And that's that one that gets me to make
(08:34):
sure I go and I don't say I'll just, you know, I'll go when I
feel like, you know, you know, I've already booked the class. I made a commitment.
But also if I'm doing a soul cycle class, you know, my 45
to 60 minutes on a on a bike in a class has definitely
better metrics, you know, and achievements than
when I do it at home. So are you still seeing, 1, is
(08:55):
30 minutes kinda like the the right times time,
you know, bite? And are people going in there and kinda psychologically
feel like, hey. I'm in a class. I might not be, like, you know, in
cadence with everyone else, but that's not what I'm here for.
Yeah. What's the dynamics of that? Yeah. So the sessions are actually
50 minutes long. So you can book in half hour time slots, but the sessions
(09:17):
are actually an hour long. So it's a 50 hour session, a 50
minute session, with 10 minute kind of setup time,
etcetera. But, yeah, you're right. You're you're in a an
environment that everyone's training, but you are,
we have a a sound shower, which basically, sends
the tuition down just to your bed. So you're completely immersed in what
(09:40):
you're doing and focused on your training, but you're with others as
well. Am I on headphones or am I on,
earphones plugged into the device or on Bluetooth? Or am I,
like, so so so grounded in my area that you're able
to kinda, like, noise, you know, to minimize
or minimize, I guess. Yeah. So we have something called a a a
(10:02):
sound shower speaker. So you have each new former has an individual
speaker. And just like when you go into a museum where they they
basically bring the sound down to only you can hear
it Okay. That's what we utilize. Although we have the capability to
have Bluetooth headsets as well, but for our individual
studios, then we use the SoundShower. So so so the the 50
(10:24):
minute workout, we got 10 minutes to set up, and then the 50 minute workout
starts for everyone at the same time, or is it on any kind of, like,
I got here 10 minutes after you, so I'm gonna start later? Or is everything
starts at the same time? Yeah. No. No. So you go you go to your
monitor, you sign in, and you have a choice of over 200 different Pilates
classes that you wanna do. You select what your workout is. You can pause.
(10:45):
You can rewind. You are in control of your
own individual class and in the studios as an instructor around.
The the big thing that you the big thing that with Nuforma is that everyone
who's experienced Nuforma has
basically realized this is a a a completely different way
to Pilates. There's the the redesign of the bed, if you see the bed, there's
(11:09):
no strings for me. There's no springs visible.
Pilates reformer, if you look at a traditional reformer, to me, looks
a bit like a torture torture piece of equipment. I
wouldn't go near them myself personally, but this is there's no
springs. They're low level, and they're inviting, and people wanna get on
them. Gotcha. So the development that's recently
(11:32):
happened in in 24 is that people are saying, look.
This this piece of equipment is unbelievable. You can't keep it
to yourself. So we've made a massive pivot change to go from
the studios to now making this commercially available
to the commercial market. And what's the price that you're
what's the price that you're trying to hit on a on a
(11:54):
commercial sale? And how does that rank up against the
other Pilates machines? The
so we're we're listing at for in US
dollars around 17,000,
list. But, obviously, this is a a much different
type of unit than you would have as a a classical,
(12:17):
Cadillac reformer. It's made of it's made of
steel. It's called it's German engineered. It's
it has the monitor, etcetera, etcetera. So and, also, we've
added a a a new element to the reformer in that
we have added a weight plate system.
So it has an addition of a high low pulley system on there as
(12:39):
well because you only have the functionality
in in a linear movement with with springs on a reformer.
But Sam's background is also in gyrotonics. So she
wanted to find a way to increase mobility and additional
movement. So we've we've increased the function of
the the the traditional reformer to
(13:02):
be much more accessible to people from all
sizes, all different mobility levels,
shapes, height, which can be a little bit restricted on a standard
reformer. Gotcha. And then from a standpoint of the studios that you
have, I can probably look at this on the web, but how many
reformers do you have in a new form studio?
(13:25):
And and is there a reason for the number you're
gonna tell us? We we most of our
studios range between 10 12 beds. And that's basically
because that allows one instructor with
a basically changeover instructor at a halfway point
during the day, so it's more efficient from a staffing perspective.
(13:49):
We we had a lot of interest in
Australia. One of our investors is from his original investors from
Australia, and they've set up a franchise operation in
Bondi in Australia. And just purely because of the
popularity of Pilates there,
they've actually gone for 20 bed studio. Yeah. I was gonna ask you that
(14:11):
because if you're not really running it based on, like, an
instructor and, like, trying to be around an instructor or
in proximity to, and it's really, like, more of a spotter. I I would
presume that could be really interesting as a way to do things and
and try and max out the square footage. Yeah. So so,
originally, this is only obviously from a studio concept. What we're
(14:33):
finding now is that we're speaking to a lot of operators who are looking
at this is a solution to bring Pilates out to
the studio onto the gym floor. And we're put looking
at 2 to 3 new formers on a gym
floor concept because, again, people can't get into the
studio, so they can come on to the gym floor and
(14:55):
actually have the tuition from them from the
monitor, and it's completely self-service. And I
said, originally, I'm not from a Pilates background. And when I joined
Nuforma, I was like, look. You're saying I can do a Pilates class without the
need for for an instructor and full tuition.
And I got on, and I did a 50 minute class
(15:16):
completely unaided. I felt confident, and I
had completed my 1st reformer class without
any need for an instructor, felt confident, and
really got the benefits of that workout. That for me is groundbreaking.
This is Pete Moore. Here's the last tip for you of the podcast.
(15:38):
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If you have not gotten on the workout recovery train
(16:01):
yet, your time and your stop is now. You
gotta get these products in there before these workout recovery and spas
end up saturating your market, having your members walk out of the club
and going into one of their locations for $200 per
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(16:23):
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(16:45):
From the standpoint of of some of the other feedback that you get,
and harkening back to, like, I if I'm doing a a workout
off of a video, I I'm just I'm not giving it a
100%. You know? I'm I'm at 85%. But when there's somebody
there, you know, I feel like I'm I'm I'm
responsible, you know, for giving giving my all. So from
(17:07):
that standpoint, the in your experience, taking a 50
minute, you know, Pilates class around other people that are
also taking a class, even if the instructor is, you know,
on a on a screen, what what does that
feel like? Or, you know, did you say, like, I don't say it doesn't I
don't need to be in that other type of environment, or or
(17:30):
what are your thoughts? Yeah. I mean, it's it's it's it's it's interesting when we
have conversations when they've just people have used Nuforma for the first time, and
they said, how how long do you think you've been exercising for? And they're
like, feels like 25, 30 minutes because they are so
immersed that the we have our own recording studio, so we are producing all
our own content. And we've Sam and and
(17:52):
and Nikki in our education head who heads up our education
have approached the the content that we
display in in in our programming that they're looking at it
from a instructor perspective. So the cues that you're getting,
the prompts that you're getting are all as if they would be teaching a
class, but based on an individual level.
(18:14):
And that's that's where we've got the feedback of
from beginners to Pilates, but also people who've been doing
Pilates for a long time. They feel like they can be a little bit more
adventurous and push themselves because they're not
necessarily limited by what's happening in the class and feeling they have
to go with what the class is saying to do that day. Got
(18:36):
it. And then from a from a rollout standpoint, so you're gonna be
coming so you're gonna be selling the equipment to anybody who wants to buy
it. I can I'll be a Gold's Gym, and I wanna buy 4 machines, and
you're like, here it is, you know, drop ship and pay
for it. What if they wanna get the content as well? Is there is
there a monthly licensing fee per machine?
(18:58):
Yeah. So there's a monthly licensing fee, which we basically, we
release new content every month. So for instance, we've we've just
released a new back series. There's a a new series
on menopause, for example. So every
month, new content's coming out, and that's incorporated within the the
content fee. Gotcha. What what is that per machine, if you
(19:20):
could disclose? That that's around
about, what are we on? Dollars? So £50, £75
a month. Got it. Guidelines. Got it. And
then from a standpoint, if I wanna open up a new form of Pilates
studio, is that something I can do? Do you have a franchise disclosure
document out or licensing agreement? Or what's your thoughts? Obviously, you've only been
(19:42):
on a job for a month, so I might be asking you some more long
range questions. But No. So before I came on
board, we've I said we already had a interest in Australia from an investor.
They've set set up their 1st franchise in Australia. We've set up a
master franchise agreement in Saudi Arabia. We're just about to launch
the the 1st franchise site in the UK. So
(20:05):
because this is such a differentiator and a unique,
unique offering, we are actually having a lot of franchise
discussions right now. To be honest, we would
like to be focusing purely on the manufacturing equipment
side. So we are looking at partnerships
with franchise, providers in
(20:27):
specific territories as well. So that's an interest to us. Yeah. What's your
so do you give me some, give me some background because most
people who have like, you've been in the manufacturing
of equipment and sales of of equipment. Obviously, with this, you've
got a recurring revenue stream coming from the 75 a
month. So it's a little bit of a different, like a razor razor blade
(20:49):
type of model, which obviously, for everybody listening here,
is a very successful model in Yeah. The shaving
industry and then and other, you know, companies or Swiffer.
As an example, if you wanna just take, like, products. I'm gonna I'm
gonna sell you the the hardware, and then I'm gonna plug something else in. It's
very high margin, which is awesome. But, you know, a lot of people that are
(21:11):
in your position, in the US, like, with
Solid Core, they're like, look. We do really well at the unique and animal level.
We're just gonna build more studios. I don't wanna sell my equipment
to anybody. I wanna keep my equipment for myself and make that as, like, kinda
part of, like, the competitive moat around it. Yeah.
Do you coming in from a, a sales
(21:33):
like, I I wanna rewind for a second. Every company has got a
mission. That mission is decided by the stakeholders of the company
and and driven by the CEO of the company. So I would say that if
you weren't the CEO of this company, that running
into a manufacturing and sale of machines versus
rolling out studios would be counterintuitive to me. However,
(21:56):
given that that is your skill set, you don't really look at that and
say, I don't know. I don't care what, you know, I'm I'm concerned about,
like, inventory build up. I'm concerned about working capital. You
might say, like, look. I've done this many times before. I I I know how
to manage that. So what kinda guides you
towards being a hybrid versus saying, hey. I
(22:17):
took this job. I'm sure when they put the job out, I'm I'm assuming it
was to, like, run 5 studios and grow another 10.
You know? So talk us through that. What was it to to to focus on
the machine, Shel? Yeah. No. No. No. When when they put
the the the the recruitment out, it was basically
because they were switching out to studios. So the studios are 5
(22:39):
studios. We're not gonna be opening any more studios. They have been
used as a as a test bed and are
now just purely show sites for Newformer. But but they make a lot of
money, though, on the studio. Right? Yeah. But the mission the mission
of Sam, the founder, has been to,
I said, increase the audience of Pilates
(23:02):
and change the scape of Pilates. That's her mission.
She Okay. She wants to build she wants to build
build a world where Pilates is the norm rather than
being a specific niche or an exception.
And and Nuforma is the vehicle to allow
this because it breaks down barriers. So if
(23:24):
we can get that equipment into hospitality
sector, clinical physicians, multisite
operators, that's the goal. That's the
goal. Well, great. Well, we got a lot of those in the US that are
that know the benefits in Power Pilates. I've had
trouble in the past kind of, like, staffing that as a full time,
(23:46):
you know, profit center. So this could be super interesting.
If you're gonna be at any of the events, in the US,
you know, we should definitely meet up, in person to see how we can help
you. This this podcast would be a great way to get this out there
and, you know, explain to people what the business model is and the opportunity.
So just, you know, in in parting here,
(24:10):
you know, from an entrepreneurial standpoint and from
leadership standpoint, any quotes or phrases that you like to
refer back to or knowing that it's just somewhat early stage, but maybe it
doesn't feel early stage to you? I I I
think quite a quite a funny phrase we've we've got
within internally is that,
(24:31):
if if Joseph Pilates was alive today, he
would have invented Nuforma. That's a very bold
statement. Very bold statement. In a good way. Because
because Pilates has been around for years, but
nothing has really dramatically changed about
how the reformer looks and how it feels. And
(24:55):
Joseph Pilates was all about invention. That's that's where Controlology
and Pilates came from. And
we think we think with Nuforma, we've we've got a differentiator that is
completely unique. When when we showed the product at FIBO, the
biggest expo fitness trade expo in in Europe this year,
that was the first time we'd ever taken it out of the studio and put
(25:17):
it onto a trade expo floor. And everyone
said, this is a complete game changer. This is a differentiator.
It looks nothing like the other, trade show stands
that I'm seeing here. This is something different, and that's the momentum
that we're we're looking to continue to spread the word of what
NuPharma can bring to to help people's lifestyle get better.
(25:40):
That's awesome. We'll look forward to, seeing the product
and, and seeing the growth in the US. Feel free to use our
term halo health hack and lifestyle outdoor. Trying to break that as a halo
sector. And, congrats on the new position and listen.
Absolutely. Really appreciate your time and all the work you're doing as well. Thanks a
lot.
I am super excited to announce that we now have a formal
partnership with the prospect wizard. And when I say
wizard, I mean wizard. Obviously, you have a website.
This allows you to convert
(00:23):
Immediately goes to you, your sales team, or anyone else in the club
instantly. MIT shows a study that if you contact the lead within
10 minutes, chance of them converting goes up 9 times
that of the average. We got the Atlanta Clubs on it, Vida
Fitness, Gold's Gym, Mountainside, City Fitness
Philly, College Park. Become one of the
(00:45):
next halo companies to deploy the wizard. It's easy to
use. Go to the prospectwizard.com. Get a free
30 day trial. Talk to my boy, Dave Gallon. He will get you all set
up, and let the leads flow based on the wizard.
Go get them. This is
Pete Moore on Halo Talks NYC. I have the pleasure of bringing from
(01:07):
across the pond in London, Peter Webb. We're
gonna talk about new form of Pilates. We're gonna talk about the growth of this
category, and we are going to discuss how
Pilates is going to continue to change the world and hopefully fight
obesity, loneliness and diabetes. So, Peter, with that, welcome to the
show. Thanks very much, Pete. Great to be with you. Awesome.
(01:30):
So you wanna just give us a little background on, on how you got into
the space here and then we'll talk about the growth and the the impending,
potential, raise to to continue to grow the studio base.
Yeah. Certainly. I mean, I've I've joined the company 4 months ago as a CEO.
Myself, I'm not from a Pilates background, but I've heard obviously so
(01:50):
much about it in the industry. And I've been in the industry for 25 years
and just I've always been involved in mainstream fitness, I would
say, into the cardio and strength, etcetera. And although I knew
the benefits of Pilates, I'd never experienced MAP based
Pilates or Reformer Pilates. And
I had left the industry for 5 years from equipment sales.
(02:13):
I've been in the industry for 20 odd years selling old commercial grade
equipment. And then
an email came in from a recruitment firm saying, are you interested in looking at
this piece of equipment? And I clicked on it, call
it fate, whatever it was, and discovered a little bit the
name Nuforma. And I looked at it, and
(02:36):
I thought this is something new. I knew Pilates was on the up and
up, continues to grow. It's the fastest growth sector in
I'm sure in the US as it is over in Europe here.
And this just caught my eye as being something different
because it was trying to make and it is making
Pilates accessible to a wider audience.
(02:58):
I think Pilates has been a little bit guilty in the past of
being to to a certain sector, predominantly,
certainly less males attracted in the in the Pilates environment.
And and this just caught my eye, and I thought, why is
this claiming to be different, and what is the difference that it brings?
(03:18):
So so having said that, you know, a lot of the Pilates groups around
the US, they've either customized their own
reformer. They might have been on a degree and kinda
might have reengineered that. They might be on a license.
So tell me what the difference is between the Nuforma
unit. Are you using it for only Nuforma
(03:42):
Pilates Studios? And when you say it's be it's
becoming more accessible, it's a 3 part question. So I'm gonna make sure I
remember what I'm asking. So the the third part is what makes it more
accessible? Is it place? Okay. So,
if I take you back to the origins, the or the origins of Nuforma came
about from Sam Kellard, our founder, had one of the biggest,
(04:05):
reformer studios in the UK. And just like
a lot of people who are on your on your podcast, invention came
out of necessity because of the global pandemic closing a studio.
And she openly admits I cried for 2 days, and then I
thought, no. What this is an opportunity. What am I gonna do?
And she looked at all the barriers that were
(04:28):
preventing her from having more people come to the
studio, different demographics. And that was really
accessibility of instructors. During COVID,
you couldn't share accessories like jump boards that you add
into a normal reformer. So all these
barriers, she she dealt with them 1 by 1 and completely
(04:50):
reengineered and redesigned the the reformer to
create the new former. Okay. So on the new former
now, that was then placed into people's homes as a a
retail site sale, or is that all just a commercial
inside the studios? No. So it's it's started with her own studio,
and she grew from 1 studio to 5 studios over
(05:13):
a 2 year period. And those studios acted as a test
bed because there were some on inner city London,
outer London. So we had the chance to
look at how different demographics were using or were
attracted to Pilates. And
that allowed the product to be tweaked and changed.
(05:36):
The biggest probably the biggest differentiator is that the
the Nuforma contains a monitor that
has all prerecorded classes within that.
And the individual is coming to
basically be on their own individual reformer and do their own
workout for how they feel that day, what
(05:59):
they're wanting to achieve. And in our studios,
we have one instructor who's always
available, but their role is really just to give technique and
correction rather than teaching an actual class.
Got it. So there's no start time for a class in the form of
studios? No. So so a member will come along. They
(06:21):
book their new former on half hour time slots.
So a problem we have in the UK, and I'm sure this is very similar
in the US, is that Pilates classes are at capacity. You just
can't physically get booked into a class. Yeah. That's what we're seeing here.
Majors interested is just some some classes. Some studios
have a 100 classes a week. I mean, literally, those keep putting them on the
(06:43):
menu. Yeah. And and we're talking to major
multisite operators, and they say, Pilates is just going through the
roof. We're doing 10 hours of back to back classes, but we can't meet
the capacity. And having people booking
on half hour time slots means that it's more flexible for
the user and the member of the club,
(07:06):
and, also, that they're doing the type of workout that is unique to
them and what they need to get from the from the new former rather
than what the class instructor is is is teaching.
This is Pete Moore. I wanna let you in on a little secret. There's this
company called Promotion Vault, and what they do is they give out rewards
(07:27):
from retailers that allow you to incentivize your
members without having to do zero down and 1 month
free or giving away shakes or giving away T shirts.
What you wanna do is build a rewards program that lasts,
that people value, and that doesn't discount your own products and
services. So here's the deal. There's something called rewards vault. The
(07:49):
rewards vault is going to allow a member to set up their own
profile. They are going to answer questions. You are gonna get those
answers. You're gonna be able to target those members, and you're gonna reward
them inside your club, inside your spa, and outside of
the club, and outside of the spa to get them to become loyal,
to get them to pay their monthly dues, and to be
(08:11):
rewarded properly for the actions. A lot of companies are cutting back on
rewards. You shouldn't be. Promotion Vault's your answer. Trust me.
This is real.
You know, when you take a look at I mean, my personal behavior
is I excel at classes when I am physically
present around other people. And that's that one that gets me to make
(08:34):
sure I go and I don't say I'll just, you know, I'll go when I
feel like, you know, you know, I've already booked the class. I made a commitment.
But also if I'm doing a soul cycle class, you know, my 45
to 60 minutes on a on a bike in a class has definitely
better metrics, you know, and achievements than
when I do it at home. So are you still seeing, 1, is
(08:55):
30 minutes kinda like the the right times time,
you know, bite? And are people going in there and kinda psychologically
feel like, hey. I'm in a class. I might not be, like, you know, in
cadence with everyone else, but that's not what I'm here for.
Yeah. What's the dynamics of that? Yeah. So the sessions are actually
50 minutes long. So you can book in half hour time slots, but the sessions
(09:17):
are actually an hour long. So it's a 50 hour session, a 50
minute session, with 10 minute kind of setup time,
etcetera. But, yeah, you're right. You're you're in a an
environment that everyone's training, but you are,
we have a a sound shower, which basically, sends
the tuition down just to your bed. So you're completely immersed in what
(09:40):
you're doing and focused on your training, but you're with others as
well. Am I on headphones or am I on,
earphones plugged into the device or on Bluetooth? Or am I,
like, so so so grounded in my area that you're able
to kinda, like, noise, you know, to minimize
or minimize, I guess. Yeah. So we have something called a a a
(10:02):
sound shower speaker. So you have each new former has an individual
speaker. And just like when you go into a museum where they they
basically bring the sound down to only you can hear
it Okay. That's what we utilize. Although we have the capability to
have Bluetooth headsets as well, but for our individual
studios, then we use the SoundShower. So so so the the 50
(10:24):
minute workout, we got 10 minutes to set up, and then the 50 minute workout
starts for everyone at the same time, or is it on any kind of, like,
I got here 10 minutes after you, so I'm gonna start later? Or is everything
starts at the same time? Yeah. No. No. So you go you go to your
monitor, you sign in, and you have a choice of over 200 different Pilates
classes that you wanna do. You select what your workout is. You can pause.
(10:45):
You can rewind. You are in control of your
own individual class and in the studios as an instructor around.
The the big thing that you the big thing that with Nuforma is that everyone
who's experienced Nuforma has
basically realized this is a a a completely different way
to Pilates. There's the the redesign of the bed, if you see the bed, there's
(11:09):
no strings for me. There's no springs visible.
Pilates reformer, if you look at a traditional reformer, to me, looks
a bit like a torture torture piece of equipment. I
wouldn't go near them myself personally, but this is there's no
springs. They're low level, and they're inviting, and people wanna get on
them. Gotcha. So the development that's recently
(11:32):
happened in in 24 is that people are saying, look.
This this piece of equipment is unbelievable. You can't keep it
to yourself. So we've made a massive pivot change to go from
the studios to now making this commercially available
to the commercial market. And what's the price that you're
what's the price that you're trying to hit on a on a
(11:54):
commercial sale? And how does that rank up against the
other Pilates machines? The
so we're we're listing at for in US
dollars around 17,000,
list. But, obviously, this is a a much different
type of unit than you would have as a a classical,
(12:17):
Cadillac reformer. It's made of it's made of
steel. It's called it's German engineered. It's
it has the monitor, etcetera, etcetera. So and, also, we've
added a a a new element to the reformer in that
we have added a weight plate system.
So it has an addition of a high low pulley system on there as
(12:39):
well because you only have the functionality
in in a linear movement with with springs on a reformer.
But Sam's background is also in gyrotonics. So she
wanted to find a way to increase mobility and additional
movement. So we've we've increased the function of
the the the traditional reformer to
(13:02):
be much more accessible to people from all
sizes, all different mobility levels,
shapes, height, which can be a little bit restricted on a standard
reformer. Gotcha. And then from a standpoint of the studios that you
have, I can probably look at this on the web, but how many
reformers do you have in a new form studio?
(13:25):
And and is there a reason for the number you're
gonna tell us? We we most of our
studios range between 10 12 beds. And that's basically
because that allows one instructor with
a basically changeover instructor at a halfway point
during the day, so it's more efficient from a staffing perspective.
(13:49):
We we had a lot of interest in
Australia. One of our investors is from his original investors from
Australia, and they've set up a franchise operation in
Bondi in Australia. And just purely because of the
popularity of Pilates there,
they've actually gone for 20 bed studio. Yeah. I was gonna ask you that
(14:11):
because if you're not really running it based on, like, an
instructor and, like, trying to be around an instructor or
in proximity to, and it's really, like, more of a spotter. I I would
presume that could be really interesting as a way to do things and
and try and max out the square footage. Yeah. So so,
originally, this is only obviously from a studio concept. What we're
(14:33):
finding now is that we're speaking to a lot of operators who are looking
at this is a solution to bring Pilates out to
the studio onto the gym floor. And we're put looking
at 2 to 3 new formers on a gym
floor concept because, again, people can't get into the
studio, so they can come on to the gym floor and
(14:55):
actually have the tuition from them from the
monitor, and it's completely self-service. And I
said, originally, I'm not from a Pilates background. And when I joined
Nuforma, I was like, look. You're saying I can do a Pilates class without the
need for for an instructor and full tuition.
And I got on, and I did a 50 minute class
(15:16):
completely unaided. I felt confident, and I
had completed my 1st reformer class without
any need for an instructor, felt confident, and
really got the benefits of that workout. That for me is groundbreaking.
This is Pete Moore. Here's the last tip for you of the podcast.
(15:38):
We are partnered up with a company called Higher Dose Higher Dose
dotcom. They are the leader in workout
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If you have not gotten on the workout recovery train
(16:01):
yet, your time and your stop is now. You
gotta get these products in there before these workout recovery and spas
end up saturating your market, having your members walk out of the club
and going into one of their locations for $200 per
month where they're paid 39 to you. Let's become an
expert in workout recovery if we are already an authority in
(16:23):
workouts. Higher dose, check it out. There's a
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you augment your products and services to meet the demands of your
members. And, hey, let's get people happy, healthy, and
sweating, and the recovery should be just as good as the workout.
(16:45):
From the standpoint of of some of the other feedback that you get,
and harkening back to, like, I if I'm doing a a workout
off of a video, I I'm just I'm not giving it a
100%. You know? I'm I'm at 85%. But when there's somebody
there, you know, I feel like I'm I'm I'm
responsible, you know, for giving giving my all. So from
(17:07):
that standpoint, the in your experience, taking a 50
minute, you know, Pilates class around other people that are
also taking a class, even if the instructor is, you know,
on a on a screen, what what does that
feel like? Or, you know, did you say, like, I don't say it doesn't I
don't need to be in that other type of environment, or or
(17:30):
what are your thoughts? Yeah. I mean, it's it's it's it's it's interesting when we
have conversations when they've just people have used Nuforma for the first time, and
they said, how how long do you think you've been exercising for? And they're
like, feels like 25, 30 minutes because they are so
immersed that the we have our own recording studio, so we are producing all
our own content. And we've Sam and and
(17:52):
and Nikki in our education head who heads up our education
have approached the the content that we
display in in in our programming that they're looking at it
from a instructor perspective. So the cues that you're getting,
the prompts that you're getting are all as if they would be teaching a
class, but based on an individual level.
(18:14):
And that's that's where we've got the feedback of
from beginners to Pilates, but also people who've been doing
Pilates for a long time. They feel like they can be a little bit more
adventurous and push themselves because they're not
necessarily limited by what's happening in the class and feeling they have
to go with what the class is saying to do that day. Got
(18:36):
it. And then from a from a rollout standpoint, so you're gonna be
coming so you're gonna be selling the equipment to anybody who wants to buy
it. I can I'll be a Gold's Gym, and I wanna buy 4 machines, and
you're like, here it is, you know, drop ship and pay
for it. What if they wanna get the content as well? Is there is
there a monthly licensing fee per machine?
(18:58):
Yeah. So there's a monthly licensing fee, which we basically, we
release new content every month. So for instance, we've we've just
released a new back series. There's a a new series
on menopause, for example. So every
month, new content's coming out, and that's incorporated within the the
content fee. Gotcha. What what is that per machine, if you
(19:20):
could disclose? That that's around
about, what are we on? Dollars? So £50, £75
a month. Got it. Guidelines. Got it. And
then from a standpoint, if I wanna open up a new form of Pilates
studio, is that something I can do? Do you have a franchise disclosure
document out or licensing agreement? Or what's your thoughts? Obviously, you've only been
(19:42):
on a job for a month, so I might be asking you some more long
range questions. But No. So before I came on
board, we've I said we already had a interest in Australia from an investor.
They've set set up their 1st franchise in Australia. We've set up a
master franchise agreement in Saudi Arabia. We're just about to launch
the the 1st franchise site in the UK. So
(20:05):
because this is such a differentiator and a unique,
unique offering, we are actually having a lot of franchise
discussions right now. To be honest, we would
like to be focusing purely on the manufacturing equipment
side. So we are looking at partnerships
with franchise, providers in
(20:27):
specific territories as well. So that's an interest to us. Yeah. What's your
so do you give me some, give me some background because most
people who have like, you've been in the manufacturing
of equipment and sales of of equipment. Obviously, with this, you've
got a recurring revenue stream coming from the 75 a
month. So it's a little bit of a different, like a razor razor blade
(20:49):
type of model, which obviously, for everybody listening here,
is a very successful model in Yeah. The shaving
industry and then and other, you know, companies or Swiffer.
As an example, if you wanna just take, like, products. I'm gonna I'm
gonna sell you the the hardware, and then I'm gonna plug something else in. It's
very high margin, which is awesome. But, you know, a lot of people that are
(21:11):
in your position, in the US, like, with
Solid Core, they're like, look. We do really well at the unique and animal level.
We're just gonna build more studios. I don't wanna sell my equipment
to anybody. I wanna keep my equipment for myself and make that as, like, kinda
part of, like, the competitive moat around it. Yeah.
Do you coming in from a, a sales
(21:33):
like, I I wanna rewind for a second. Every company has got a
mission. That mission is decided by the stakeholders of the company
and and driven by the CEO of the company. So I would say that if
you weren't the CEO of this company, that running
into a manufacturing and sale of machines versus
rolling out studios would be counterintuitive to me. However,
(21:56):
given that that is your skill set, you don't really look at that and
say, I don't know. I don't care what, you know, I'm I'm concerned about,
like, inventory build up. I'm concerned about working capital. You
might say, like, look. I've done this many times before. I I I know how
to manage that. So what kinda guides you
towards being a hybrid versus saying, hey. I
(22:17):
took this job. I'm sure when they put the job out, I'm I'm assuming it
was to, like, run 5 studios and grow another 10.
You know? So talk us through that. What was it to to to focus on
the machine, Shel? Yeah. No. No. No. When when they put
the the the the recruitment out, it was basically
because they were switching out to studios. So the studios are 5
(22:39):
studios. We're not gonna be opening any more studios. They have been
used as a as a test bed and are
now just purely show sites for Newformer. But but they make a lot of
money, though, on the studio. Right? Yeah. But the mission the mission
of Sam, the founder, has been to,
I said, increase the audience of Pilates
(23:02):
and change the scape of Pilates. That's her mission.
She Okay. She wants to build she wants to build
build a world where Pilates is the norm rather than
being a specific niche or an exception.
And and Nuforma is the vehicle to allow
this because it breaks down barriers. So if
(23:24):
we can get that equipment into hospitality
sector, clinical physicians, multisite
operators, that's the goal. That's the
goal. Well, great. Well, we got a lot of those in the US that are
that know the benefits in Power Pilates. I've had
trouble in the past kind of, like, staffing that as a full time,
(23:46):
you know, profit center. So this could be super interesting.
If you're gonna be at any of the events, in the US,
you know, we should definitely meet up, in person to see how we can help
you. This this podcast would be a great way to get this out there
and, you know, explain to people what the business model is and the opportunity.
So just, you know, in in parting here,
(24:10):
you know, from an entrepreneurial standpoint and from
leadership standpoint, any quotes or phrases that you like to
refer back to or knowing that it's just somewhat early stage, but maybe it
doesn't feel early stage to you? I I I
think quite a quite a funny phrase we've we've got
within internally is that,
(24:31):
if if Joseph Pilates was alive today, he
would have invented Nuforma. That's a very bold
statement. Very bold statement. In a good way. Because
because Pilates has been around for years, but
nothing has really dramatically changed about
how the reformer looks and how it feels. And
(24:55):
Joseph Pilates was all about invention. That's that's where Controlology
and Pilates came from. And
we think we think with Nuforma, we've we've got a differentiator that is
completely unique. When when we showed the product at FIBO, the
biggest expo fitness trade expo in in Europe this year,
that was the first time we'd ever taken it out of the studio and put
(25:17):
it onto a trade expo floor. And everyone
said, this is a complete game changer. This is a differentiator.
It looks nothing like the other, trade show stands
that I'm seeing here. This is something different, and that's the momentum
that we're we're looking to continue to spread the word of what
NuPharma can bring to to help people's lifestyle get better.
(25:40):
That's awesome. We'll look forward to, seeing the product
and, and seeing the growth in the US. Feel free to use our
term halo health hack and lifestyle outdoor. Trying to break that as a halo
sector. And, congrats on the new position and listen.
Absolutely. Really appreciate your time and all the work you're doing as well. Thanks a
lot.
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