Beach Body Now Sells More Than $1 Billion In Product

You might not be familiar with the name "Beach Body", but I'll bet you know "P90X". Still scratching your head? Think 10 years ago and late night infotainment commercials. Does that ring a bell? I sat down with one of Beach Body's founders, Jon Congdon to get the scoop on the company's history and where it's heading. Beach Body is the company behind P90X and many other DVD workouts. But not just DVDs. At least not anymore. All of their workouts, and more are now available through their website, allowing you to access their content, which also includes guided nutrition, through any device (phone, tablet or computer) anywhere you've got an Internet connection. Beach Body launched in 1998, saw its first sales in 1999 and today does North of $1 billion (yes, with a 'B') in sales every year. And if you're thinking their business has been single handily disrupted by the Internet, think again.

Beach Body On Demand

In fact, the company is perhaps now in a better position thanks to the proliferation of high-speed Internet access and streaming technology, which in turn means their subscribers can access their content anywhere. And all the while can't share the DVDs with friends or as easily pirate their content to platforms such as Bit Torrent. It's probably too soon to say that Beach Body's streaming platform - aptly named BOD (Beach Body on Demand) - is a runaway success, but all things seem to indicate that the 2-year old service is on a path to streamline the company's marketing, retention, and interaction with their subscribers. Today, BOD boasts over 1 million subscribers with the bulk of them lasting about a year. Those aren't bad numbers though the retention is partially explained by their package offering; $99 for a one year commit or $59 for 6 months. Both include a 30-day trial. There is a latter option, which is 3-months for $39, though that only includes a 14-day trial. So suffice to say they want you opting for the first two. Conversely, you could still buy the DVD sets. But those will run you $60-120 a pop. That's hardly the same value compared to BOD, which provides you to access to all of their workouts. On Beach Body's end, they win since they don't have to ship you a physical product and as I already mentioned their risk is mitigated since it's arguably more challenging to copy and share with friends, or other less than legal distribution platforms. That said, today 70% of their sales are from BOD, whereas the rest are derived from DVD sales. In other words, the DVD isn't completely dead. But that isn't to say that Beach Body is entirely dependent on the aforementioned products to drive their sale.

Additional Content to Think About

The company also offers additional content, plus a few consumer packaged goods. The biggest of the bunch is their shake, aptly called Shakeology. They've also got a few products that target the older crowd, or those seeking something less "gym rat" worth. One of them is "3 Week Yoga Retreat," which is endorsed by Leeza Gibbons. So suffice to say Beach Body has come a long, long way in just 20 year's time. And with that in mind, the founders, Jon Congdon and Carl Daikeler, have maintained a majority ownership in the company save for a small percent being sold to a small private equity group out of White Plains, New York.

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