LG and SM Entertainment establish Fitness Candy

LG Electronics and SM Entertainment come together to form Fitness Candy, a digital healthcare entertainment experience with the goal of bringing F.U.N – an acronym for First, Unique and New

Majorly owned by LG Electronics, Fitness Candy, will introduce an app with subscription-based healthcare content services by September at the earliest.

The opening of Fitness Candy was held at the Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, western Seoul, with LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan and SM Entertainment co-CEOs Lee Sung-su and Tak Young-jun in attendance.

“The target number of paid subscribers is 50,000 next year, with a target annual revenue of 10 billion won [$7.7 million],” said Kim Bee-oh, Fitness Candy senior executive vice president, during the event.

LG aims to develop the app and plans to further expand into electronic healthcare devices while SM Entertainment will be creating content involving the K-pop content. The services are set to be priced around KRW 20,000 to KRW 30,000 per month.

Fitness Candy also expects to expand overseas in the future though a time frame has not been detailed.

“While the previous home appliance business has been focusing on the functionality and performances, LG Electronics will now lead the smart home appliance paradigm centering on consumer experience,” Cho said.

Lee said that “this will be an opportunity to contribute to the global fitness and healthcare industry by combining SM Entertainment’s music, dance and artist-related content and LG Electronics’ IT technologies.”

Fitness Candy ambassadors — model Han Hye-jin, dancer Aiki, and actress Choi Yeo-jin — and athletes, including triathlete Heo Min-ho, Olympic gold taekwondo practitioner Lee Dae-hoon and silver medal speed skater Lee Yu-bin, also attended the event.

The healthcare sector, which has been boosted by the pandemic and social distancing measures, was among the new business areas picked by LG Electronics for its growth potential after the company exited from smartphone and solar energy businesses.

The electronics maker added healthcare devices to business objectives in its corporate charter in March, heralding an expansion into fresh fields beyond home appliances.