New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS): UAE-based digital platform for beauty and wellness services Beawel launched its operation in India here on Tuesday.

Beawel aims to make spa, salon and fitness centres accessible to everyone through its user website and mobile app.

"The company started last year in Dubai. We will start our global operations from this year. We will also move to Egypt and Turkey. Beauty and wellness sections are generally ignored. That's why we thought of coming up with it," Beawel chief executive officer Anand Choudha told IANS at the launch of Beawel, which was inaugurated by hair expert Jawed Habib here.

"For the travel industry, there are sites that make booking and ticketing easy. The second place people spend their money on is a restaurant. So, there are many portals that give the search, review and buy options for restaurants as well. But for beauty and wellness, there are hardly any," he added.

Headquartered in Delhi in India, Beawel will also mark its presence in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and then move on to Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and other cities.

"India's beauty and wellness market is set to double from approximately Rs.40,000 crore in 2012-2013 to Rs.80,000 crore by 2017-2018. India is a hot bed of consumerism and talent today. The middle class and the upper middle class are forthcoming to new trends and they have disposable income too. We can't ignore India," said the Dubai-based Choudha, who co-founded Beawel with Ahmad Rizvi.

The site can help merchants get more footfall and feedback from their consumers. Beauty and wellness savvy people can now just go online and check a nearby salon or wellness centre according to their vicinity and preference. 

To ensure they give the best to their users, Beawel will list those salons and spas and fitness centres that already have a chain in the country. "There will be a certain price bracket as well as our target is the middle class and the upper middle class."