Daybreak - IV drips move from hospitals to spas—to ‘fix’ the elite’s hangovers and hair loss

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

IV drip therapy has gone from being a fad among celebrities like the Kardashians, to becoming the wellness treatment for the uber rich. There is a growing consumer interest in quick, customisable wellness solutions and plush clinics across the country are cashing in on it. Whether you are looking to treat a hangover, get glowing skin, lose weight or simply optimise your overall well being – there is an IV infusion for you. The catch, of course, is that these treatments can cost anywhere from Rs 2,500 to Rs 80,000 per session. But the exorbitant prices of these treatments has hardly been a deterrant for its target audience. In fact, if anything, it’s only shot up to fame. The Ken reporter DVLS Pranathi spoke to multiple cosmetic clinics – from Kaya, to others like Reviv, Elixir Wellness and Kosmoderma. All of them see IV treatment as their key to tapping into India’s steadily growing health and fitness industry. In fact, today, some of these clinics are doling out thousands of IV drips every month. But in a country where the cost of healthcare is through the roof, and regulations around IV drips are still in the grey, this treatment is just as controversial as it is aspirational. *This episode was first published on January 2, 2025Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.The Ken is hosting its first live subscriber event! Join two long-term and contrarian CEOs, Nithin Kamath of Zerodha and Deepak Shenoy of Capitalmind, as they discuss the mental models, decision making frameworks, and potential outcomes related to a very real possibility: an extended stock market winter that lasts 24 months or more. Click here to buy your tickets. 

Hi, this is Rohan Dharma Kumar. If you've heard any of the Ken's podcast, you've probably heard me. My interruptions, my analogies and my contrarian takes on most topics. And you might rightly be wondering why am I interrupting this episode too. It's for a special announcement. For the last few months, I and Sita Raman Ganeshan, my colleague and the Ken's deputy editor, have been working on an ambitious new podcast. It's called Intermission.

We want to tell the secret sauce stories of India's greatest companies. Stories of how they were born, how they fought to survive, how they build their organizations and culture, how they manage to innovate and thrive over decades, and most importantly, how they're poised today. To do that, Sita and I have been reading books, poring over reports, going through financial statements, digging up archives, and talking to dozens of people. And if that wasn't enough, we also decided to throw in video into the mix. Yes, you heard that right. Intermission has also had to find its footing in the world of multi-camera shoots in professional studios, laborious editing, and extensive post-production.

Sita and I are still reeling from the intensity of our first studio recording. Intermission launches on March 23rd. To get alert, as soon as we release our first video. episode, please follow intermission on Spotify and Apple Podcast or subscribe to the Ken's YouTube channel. You can find all of the links at the ken.com slash I am. With that, back to your episode. I'm sure you've heard of the American reality show called The Kardashians, which is based on the Kardashian Sisters.

Now, of course, the show is not for everybody, but it does capture the lifestyle of the rich and famous in a way that a few other shows have managed to do. And that includes the crazy lengths to which the Kardashians and their ilk are willing to go for health and beauty. And actually, that reminds me of this one particular episode from about two years ago, where Kim's sister, Kendall Jenner, was meeting up with her friend Haley Bebo in Miami. Hey! We are on our way to see some friends and we're just going to get some nice IV bags. It's just what we consider a really fun day. On the show, you see both Kendall and Haley lounging on these big white couches in what looks like somebody's living room.

And suddenly, they are being hooked to full-fledged Ivy lines, the kinds you would only otherwise see at a hospital. Kendall explains it because post-COVID, she's been, quote-unquote, obsessed with her health. Can we put extra C in your IV just because of the COVID? Yeah, okay. Things like this, they comfort me. They help because it just makes me happy. Now, this was back in 2022. Today, almost three years later,

IV drip therapy has gone from being a fad among celebrities like the Kardashians to becoming the wellness treatment for the Uber rich. There is a growing consumer interest in quick, customizable wellness solutions and plush clinics across the country are cashing in on it. Whether you're looking to treat a hangover or get back. glowing skin or lose weight or simply optimize your overall well-being, there is an IV infusion for you. The catch, of course, is that these treatments can cost anywhere between $2,500 to $80,000 but the exorbitant price of these treatments has hardly been a deterrent

for its target audience. In fact, if anything, it's only become more popular. The Ken reporter DVLS Pranati spoke to multiple cosmetic clinics. From Khaaraj, to others like Revive, Elixir Wellness and Cosmoderma. All of them see IV treatment as their key to tapping into India's steadily growing health and fitness industry. In fact, some of these clinics today are doling out thousands of IV drips every month. But in a country where the cost of health care is through the roof and regulations around IV drips are still in the grade, This treatment is just as controversial as it is aspirational. Welcome to Debray, a business podcast from the Kemp.

I'm your host, Nick Da Sharma, and I don't chase a new cycle. Instead, every day of the week, my colleague, Rahal Philipose and I will come to you with one business story that is worth understanding and worth your time. While Ivy drip therapy really blew up post-COVID, it was actually first introduced in India back in 2008 by a cosmetic clinic called Cosmoderma. Chaitra Anand, the founder of the 19-year-old clinic, said it was initially met with skepticism. Back then, people didn't have a clear understanding of what taking supplements meant in the first place. But today, drip bars are popping up like juice bars or nail salons, and they

look just as luxurious. Pranati found that most clinics offer anywhere between 10 to 25 varieties of drips for skin, energy, recovery or fitness. You see, branding is everything. So typically these clinics are worlds apart from the sterile clinical feel of a traditional hospital. They look more like spas. Even the names that they pick for these treatments are a lot catchier and less intimidating than something you would find at a hospital.

Like at Revite Clinic, its two most popular IV drips are called the Royal Flush and Hydromax drip. The first is for. hormone regulation while the other one is for fitness enthusiasts because it helps with recovery. Similarly, at Elixir Wellness, everything Elixir has gained traction among younger clients for its comprehensive benefits. It was initially branded as an anti-aging drip, but somewhere around the line, the clinic decided to rename it as more and more 20-somethings started opting for it. Again, the hallmark of the Ivy drip industry is personalization.

So at Revive, for instance, a custom IV is selected and administered after a client fills out an extensive eight-page questionnaire. But Brannati found that typically, the formula on offer was largely the same across clinics, but with minor variations. In fact, she noticed an interesting coincidence at four of the clinic that she visited in Bangalore. The manufacture of their products' ingredients, especially glutation, was the same. They were all manufactured by a 50-year-old company. called Laika Labs Limited. Now, glutathione happens to be an ingredient found in a lot of skin drips. And it is among the most popular offerings at most drip bars.

And that is largely because it is marketed for its skin brightening ability. And that is actually the average price point of most of these treatments. So to ensure that customers keep coming back, most of these clinics offer discounted packages that would include anywhere between three to six drip sessions. And five different clinic founders told Pranati that offering deals like these help companies retain about 80 to 90% of their customers. Sahel Gupta, the founder of one such clinic called Bodycraft, explained the economics of it all. He said that the cost margin for a typical IV drip is about 25% of the cost of goods sold.

So if he delivers the service at 100 rupees, about 25 goes into the making of the concoction. Gupta said that Bodycraft has seen a two-time growth in its revenue since it first introduced ivy drips in 2023. Flexor 2 has seen tremendous growth. It claims to administer around 1,100 IV drips per month across its Mumbai and Delhi locations. And now these clinics are going all out. From collaborating with influencers to setting up drip bars at big events like weddings and office parties, they are doing everything it takes to cash in on this new health trend.

But the thing is, not everybody is convinced, particularly the medical fraternity. More on that in the next segment. Let's talk about how IV drips actually work. At their core, they are a medical treatment that involves infusing a solution of water, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients directly into a patient's bloodstream. At least five different founders explained the science to Pranati. They said that any supplement taken orally gets absorbed only a person. to 40% after it passes through the gut. But IV treatments ensure 90 to 100% absorption because they

are injected right into the bloodstream. This means that the body gets an instant and concentrated dose of the nutrients without any wastage. But most medical professionals will be quick to point out that IV drips often address temporary discomforts rather than underlying health issues. Raymond Savio, the lead consultant of critical care services at Apollo hospitals in Chennai, called it a symptomatic boutique therapy. People in the medical community, Savio included, believe that this sort of treatment feeds off the placebo effect. The impact is more psychological than physical in the long run.

While for most part, it is perfectly fine for people to take these drips since most of these are nutrients and vitamins that are already present in the human body, Doctors say that not all drips are safe, especially when a doctor's prescription is not a prerequisite to injecting them. For example, there is a popular IV drip for pregnant women. It contains folic acid, calcium and antinosure medicine and helps boost energy levels. But a gynecologist that Pranati spoke to told her that the safety of IV vitamin therapy during pregnancy or breastfeeding remains unstudied. Another factor to consider is the actual efficacy of these treatments. While the effects are almost immediate for some, they do not last very long,

which means that most people who opt for IV drips have to make regular visits to the clinic for consistent results. For instance, a 30-year-old doctor said that they did not see any signs of glowing skin, not until they took six sessions of glutathion. And they spent about $9,000 rupees per session, but they were told to keep taking it until they saw results. The other factor to consider is the amount being administered. Chaitra Anand, the founder of cosmoderma, said that typically there are two types of doses. 100 ml for something like a fat burn drip and 500 ml for illnesses like flu.

The amount also varies based on doctors' recommendations. Some clinics like Elixir offer double and triple doses of glutathion in a sense. single session. But a clinic like elixir claims to do it based on weight. So if somebody is about 70 kilos, they could be administered about 1,800 M.G, which is triple of the dose of person weighing 50 kilos. All things considered, it is still unclear whether IV therapy is truly transformative or just an expensive delusion. Adding to that is the fact that when comes to regulations, it is still uncharted territory. Stay tuned for more on that.

Medical experts say that IV drip treatments are typically administered without proper oversight or safety protocols. And this largely has to do with the fact that this is a regulatory gray area. The biggest issue here is that these drips use prescription medication, which only qualified medical professionals can administer.

But instead, they are offered in salons and spas by people who are not necessarily trained. It also doesn't help that some of the ingredients that they use are not rigorously tested or even approved by the US drug regulator or the Indian equivalent. Plus, a clinic or a hospital must be registered before it can deliver any kind of injectable service in a state like Karnataka. But many are not, which adds to the ambiguity and raises concerns about the potential effects. There is also a lack of approval.

Take the case of COQ10, for instance, which is an enzyme that is mainly used for muscle cell recovery for people who engage in a lot of physical activity. But it is not approved in India in the short form as of now. It is only available orally. Yet, you can still get it at many of these clinics. And then, of course, there's also the risk of complications. People with abnormal magnesium or potassium levels due to conditions like kidney disease, or excessive alcohol consumption may suffer from abnormal heart rhythms or muscle weakness due to IV infusions.

But despite the risks and the lack of regulation and scientific evidence, the IV drip market is rapidly expanding here in India. And it is projected to reach 500 million US dollars by this year 2025. And as long as the innovations and consumer interest in quick, customizable wellness solution keeps growing, it seems like ivy drips are not going anywhere. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of the Ken, India's first subscriber-focused business news platform. What you're listening to is just a small sample of our subscriber-only offerings. A full subscription unlocks daily long-form feature stories, newsletters and podcast extras.

To subscribe, head to the Ken.com and click on the red subscribe button on top of the Ken website. Today's episode was hosted by Snickda Sharma and edited by Rajiv Siyah.