Focus On Corporate Wellness Means Big Business For Southeast Startups

Corporate benefits have mostly been “stale and analog for decades,” Ed Buckley admits. But companies are starting to bring more than the standard gym stipend to the table with their employees, and they are using local wellness startups to make that happen.

One such startup is Tampa-based Peerfit, a digital platform that helps insurance carriers, brokers, and employers create more personalized wellness programs for employees. Buckley, who serves as its CEO, told Hypepotamus that Peerfit’s mission is to make “fitness and wellness easy and accessible” to employees. 

On the corporate side, this means giving employees access to a network of Peerfit gyms and membership-based workout classes in one app. 

After amassing 13,000 employers, Peerfit is ready for its next chapter. The team announced it is being acquired by Los Angeles-based mobile fitness app giant FitOn.

The acquisition news follows a $40 million in Series C funding announcement from the FitOn team.

 

 

The acquisition ultimately brings FitOn further into the healthcare and wellness space.  “After closing on a major transaction in Q4 of 2020, we knew we were only going to do another deal if it excited both our team and our Board. Given FitOn’s track record and its founding members, we knew we could create something great for users by bringing together the best of digital and in-person fitness and wellness platforms,” added Buckley. 

Fitness is, of course, only one part of the corporate wellness space. “The pandemic brought on a renewed focus to wellness as a whole and employees are looking for benefits that address the entire self. We are now seeing benefits that expand into mental health, mindfulness, nutrition, personal coaching, and even financial wellness. In addition, organizations are looking for solutions that are data-driven and can scale personalization both at the user and company level. User experience, data, and machine language are driving the change and leading the pack in today’s wellness benefits,” added Buckley.

Recent surveys suggest larger companies increased their wellness budget by 22% between 2020 and 2021. That has meant big business for other local startups in the employee wellness space. 

Several we’ve covered previously, like Atlanta-based Wellspring. Wellspring makes it easier to use wellness funds in more creative ways for hybrid and remote employees. It is also reshaping the overall InsurTech and HealthTech market as companies look for ways to retain top talent.