Interview with Valerie Bönström
What is the Mrs.Sporty concept?
Our market research has shown that only 10 % of women in Europe achieve the minimum recommended amount of physical activity. We have made an attempt to discover the underlying cause of this situation and now we can say it is, among others, due to an insufficiently developed offer of physical activities at schools as well as due to the fact that sport in many cases has not made its way into the lifestyles of most Europeans. This is why we decided to create a simple, yet very effective training and nutrition concept to "get the women onto their feet". We wanted to offer women a club available at their fingertips, located along the road to the supermarket, the bakery or on the way home. We want to create a place where you meet friends and have a good time, and where you can do something good for yourself. Besides exercising together, our community allows women to share opinions, make friends, chat and have fun together – and at the center of every group there is always a coach ready to assist any member at any time.
What is so unique about the concept?
The countless success stories of our club members! The coach and the club members know each other by name and the coach supports and motivates the women throughout the training. This is roughly the same for other courses too, but our greatest advantage lies in our outstanding flexibility. Women love organized courses, but it is often difficult for them to fit a session into their busy and tight daily schedules. Mrs.Sporty is always at their disposal. Besides that, the limit for a single club is 600-700 people. This allows the coach to pay enough attention to each club member and her personal performance.
What are the achievements of Mrs.Sporty to this day?
Since the opening of the first club in Berlin, our network grew to include several hundred clubs. Most of them are located in Germany, but we also expanded our business to other countries, such as Austria, Switzerland and Italy. The success is based on the entrepreneurial commitment of our franchise partners. They manage the clubs while running independent businesses at the same time. The greatest advantage of this solution is that the club is always "the apple of their eye". The commitment of our franchise partners is unbelievable.
Who are the target members of Mrs.Sporty clubs?
A lot depends on the region and on our franchise partners, but in most cases our members are somewhere between 25 and 70 years of age, with a vast majority between 35 to almost 50. Of course, everyone is welcome we have 18-year-old girls exercising with their mothers and 76-year-old grandmothers. There is no age limit for our members. 80 % of women attending our clubs have not done any physical exercise since finishing their school education, and resumed only at our club.
How has the concept developed over the past 5 years?
The biggest changes concerned personal training and concept development. We wanted to optimize the offer for our club members as much as possible. At the beginning, a special nutrition plan was not that important to our members, but now we offer an effective 10-week nutrition concept which fully supports women in forming new and healthy eating habits. This development has been met with great enthusiasm. What's more, over these five years we have managed to strengthen our corporate identity – all clubs are stylishly and brightly furnished, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
What are the future plans for Mrs.Sporty?
We are focusing on further expanding our brand and, what I personally find important, empowering women so that they can follow an active lifestyle and establish their own businesses – most of our franchise partners are women. Being financially independent and running your own company is, at least in my opinion, a great experience. I believe that the potential of the Mrs.Sporty brand won't be fully exploited for years, and that there are a lot of women who can enthuse about a concept that brings exercise and healthy eating together.
What role does Stefanie Graf play within the Mrs.Sporty concept?
Stefanie Graf was part of the development of the concept from the very beginning. She is one of the co-founders of Mrs. Sporty. The idea of assisting and encouraging women to be physically active has always been very inspiring to Stefanie. A complex and sustainable nutrition and training concept was very important to her – she herself contributed not only her professional experience in exercising, but also in healthy eating. She sees herself as an ambassador whose role it is to promote the benefits of women doing sports.
