Soho House CEO Andrew Carnie says members are increasingly seeking fitness, wellness and longevity services such as Pilates classes, padel courts and IV infusions
One of the world’s most sought-after brands is leaning into fitness and wellness as it expands its global influence.
Soho House, a private, members-only club with 46 locations worldwide, is increasingly incorporating wellness into its coveted experience, according to CEO Andrew Carnie.
“(It’s) what our members are telling us they want next,” Carnie told The Guardian in an interview earlier this week.
“New science has come out that tells us we have to have strength,” he continued. “We still do run clubs, but now we have reformer Pilates studios, HIIT classes, padel courts.”
Soho House’s team sees not only the popularity of boutique workout modalities, but high-demand therapeutic recovery experiences built around longevity.
Those include contrast chambers with saunas and cold plunges, IV infusions, 60-minute sessions in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber and personalized diagnostic testing, offered at the Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, U.K., which has its own health club.
The brand also plans to grow its in-house health clubs in the coming years, especially as it opens new locations.
Its Barcelona Pool House features its own health club with PEMF mats (pulsed electromagnetic field, which delivers low-frequency electromagnetic waves into the body to promote recovery), LED treatments and HydraTherm beds and a fully plant-based cafe.
At the Soho Farmhouse Ibiza, members have access to IV drips, contrast therapy suites and hot spring-style baths. A new Manchester, U.K. house will feature an exclusive member’s-only gym with Technogym and Blk Box equipment, a reformer Pilates studio, and saunas and steam rooms.
While wellness is becoming an increasingly important part of the Soho House experience, there are some caveats to the shift as the brand tries to remain loyal to its base, especially when it comes to food and alcohol.
“Our members love a great dining experience,” Carnie told The Guardian. “They don’t necessarily eat more healthily, but they do care more about where food comes from.”
Drinking doesn’t seem to be waning much at the clubs, either, despite alcohol consumption being on the decline in the United States.
Carnie said while there is “a pocket, from 26- to 30-year-olds” who drink less, the trend is more toward “clean” cocktails that boast fewer ingredients and less sugar (the London Soho House signature cocktail is a picante: tequila, agave syrup, fresh lime juice, coriander leaves, garnished with a chili).
Soho House’s planned wellness push comes amid substantial shifts this year, after it returned to being privately owned as of August this year following a four-year stint as a public company. The move was meant to bolster expansion aspirations. New locations are planned for Tokyo, Sydney and Milan.
