Kickboxing-inspired brand 9Round has extended its international reach with a Master Franchise Agreement for South India, which covers around 20 per cent of India’s area and population.

The deal will see 50 new clubs open up across the territory – including the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – over the next seven years. Arun Bharathi, Balaji Jeyakumar and Sharmila Jayakumar make up the master franchisee team. They plan to open the country's first 9Round location in Chennai or Bangalore in early 2023.

"Based on our proven track record in Asia and the rapid expansion of franchises in India, which has grown to become the world's second-largest franchise market, India is an ideal location for 9Round's continued global expansion,” said Shannon Hudson, founder and CEO of 9Round.

9Round was founded by Hudson and his wife, Heather, in 2008, in South Carolina, and over the last 14 years has expanded into 700 locations worldwide with 400 in the US.

In July this year Hudson gave an exclusive interview to HCM where he explained how the 9Round concept is based around authenticity and accessibility.

“It all starts with authenticity – I won a world title as a professional kickboxer and wanted to bring real kickbox training to the average person in the most convenient format,” he told HCM. “Convenience is our USP – because of our circuit training format, there are no class times. Customers walk in, are greeted with their fighter name, get a killer session and are out of the door in 30 minutes.”

This circuit system was developed by Shannon around a proprietary and copyrighted system of nine challenging workout stations. The brand also provides a wearable tracker to record heart rate, calories burned and workout time, as well as an app that offers on-demand trainer-led workouts. The app has over 11,000 members and is available on all devices, including Roku, Apple, Android and Amazon Fire.

“We add new content to this app each week and franchisees can upsell, down-sell and include this app with memberships – it’s been a great addition,” added Hudson.

9Round operates in over 20 countries including the US, Canada, Costa Rica, Australia, Japan, Ecuador, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, UAE and the UK.

"As we continue to grow the brand's global presence, each new agreement brings 9Round one step closer to our goal of helping people all over the world become stronger, both mentally and physically, in just 30 minutes,” added Hudson.