The Healthy Mummy app wants to help mothers with their food and fitness

It may not come as a surprise if your Instagram feed is full of sponsored posts about fitness, but the market for fitness programs is expected to reach US$14.7 billion by 2026.

Australia is making a significant contribution: Sweat cofounders Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce, for example, made last year’s AFR Young Rich List with a combined net worth of $486 million, with most of their earnings having come from Sweat.

Growth in the market means consumers can find a fitness app tailored to their particular needs and circumstances.

Helping mothers get fit and healthy, for example, is Australian company The Healthy Mummy. It was originally founded by Rhian Allen in 2010 as an online community providing mothers with a solution and support network to help them lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way.

As the community has grown – it is now 1.5 million women strong – and the way we now use or access the internet has changed significantly since 2010, Allen said she saw demand from users for a smartphone app.  

“It has been a long process which began with wire frames and designs. The concept evolved over the build as different stages of the design came to life and amendments and scope change were made,” she said.

“In the final stages of beta testing additional amendments were made, which led to a couple of extra months work on the project. The UX needed more work, as well as additional functionality of the app. The beta stage also helped up decide to launch stage one of the app first and create a stage two launch for additional app components.”

The app, Allen said, “takes into account what it is like to be a busy mum”. It provides users with customisable menus, 4,000 recipes, 350 instructed workout videos, and a ‘coach’ to help support and motivate them.

Users can access basic features through a freemium subscription, or join with a paid membership. They are asked upon sign up to choose their food and fitness preferences, and are then given a customised program.

There is no shortage of app-based fitness and weight loss programs out in the market, with Allen acknowledging the likes of Sweat, from Kayla Itsines, and Michelle Bridges’ 12 Week Body Transformation, however she believes The Healthy Mummy is different.  

“[It also] provides the leading app in customisation, recipes and fitness programs, and it also offers everything tailored to mums,” she said.

“So family friendly and budget friendly recipes, increased meal serves for the whole family, daily support and fitness programs to do at home for busy mums, plus a comprehensive post natal fitness plan for any new mums using the app.”

The launch of stage 2 of the app is planned for mid-2019, with Allen promising “many more new components to make it easier for any mum to achieve a healthier lifestyle”.

Also working in the space is personal trainer and former Bachelor Sam Wood, who launched fitness program 28 by Sam Wood three years ago. Workouts go for 28 minutes, with programs running for 28 days at a time.  

With more than 150,000 users taking part, Wood recently launched an app to help spur the program’s growth.

According to Wood, the average user spends around 40 minutes on the app per day, with members staying on the program for around three to four months at a time.

Image: Rhian Allen. Source: Supplied.