Investor-turned-entrepreneur Mira Kapoor’s big bet on urban wellness retreat

Traditionally, wellness retreats evoke images of havens nestled in the lap of nature, away from bustling cities. But Mira Kapoor’s Dhun Wellness is redefining that notion by offering a wellness sanctuary right in the heart of Mumbai—a city that never sleeps. 

As an investor-turned-entrepreneur, Mira identifies a market gap that not many have addressed before—making wellness a part of life without actually moving away from one’s everyday life. 

“I have felt this personally where I couldn’t take out seven days and leave my responsibilities behind to look after myself (at a retreat). So, it was a choice I had to make between myself and my responsibilities,” Mira tells YS Life.  

“I don't want people to feel like they need to make a choice… I feel like you should be able to look after yourself in the environment that you are going to live in each and every day,” she adds. 

Nestled in the heart of Bandra, in Mumbai’s Linking Road, Dhun Wellness spans over 6,000 sq. ft and is designed to help customers heal, recover, and build wellness habits within their regular environment. 

The wellness centre offers services across three verticals—healing treatments including touch-led therapies like ayurvedic massages, sound healing, and energy alignment therapies; recovery treatments such as cryotherapy and saunas that support cellular renewals and enhance sleep; and finally, rejuvenation therapies where Dhun blends aesthetic wellness with internal balances through facials and massages. Dhun targets people between the ages of 30 and 55-years. 

“We are catering to the urban dwellers with lifestyle disorders who want to improve themselves with ancient practices as well as cutting-edge technology,” Mira says.

Addressing the market gap 

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy is projected to grow at an annual rate of 7.3% between 2023 and 2028, to reach close to $9 trillion by 2028. Closer home, India’s wellness economy is also expanding significantly and is expected to reach $256.9 billion by 2033, growing at 5.3% annually from $156 billion in 2024.

While a lucrative industry, the wellness sector is also saturated and competitive. 

In a space where consumers often seek nature as a form of escape and healing, “Our model is pioneering in-city wellness because it brings transformation into the fabric of daily urban living. It is designed to deliver the same depth you’d find in a destination retreat, but with the practicality and discipline of a modern wellness business,” Mira reiterates. 

Dhun Wellness marries the three avenues of wellness—holistic, luxury and in-city. 

“Urban wellness is a huge space that is yet to be tapped…It is like going to the gym. You cannot go to a gym for one week in the whole year and expect to see any results,” she says. How one has to regularly sweat it out for a sustainable lifestyle, Mira believes that one needs to honour one’s unique constitution and enable recovery, rejuvenation and address the signals or symptoms that the body gives. 

“We are not taking you away for seven days and giving you the ideal situation where your food is monitored, you’re walking every day, and you have no stress, burdens, calls or kids calling you. Of course, you’re going to get better in an environment like that. But what happens when you come back? How do you sustain those results?”

Dhun Wellness’ body therapies focus on activating organ systems, easing tension, improving circulation and enhancing mobility. Its signature body treatment, Tulya, for instance, is a 90 minutes experience that helps balance the body’s doshas through deep strokes, stretches, sound healing, and chakra massage. Priced at Rs 12,500, the treatment helps balance energies. 

One of the highlights of Dhun Wellness’ offerings—Cryotherapy—is a three-minute experience where one is put inside a chamber where temperature drops as low as -160 degree celsius. The exposure to cold helps reduce muscle soreness, accelerates recovery, boosts collagen production and enhances calorie burn. The therapy is priced at Rs 7,000 per session. 

Dhun also offers seven-day programmes aimed at improving sleep and balancing circadian rhythm; eliminating deep-rooted toxins and reducing inflammation; gut restoration and one that focuses on women’s health. The seven-day programmes are priced at Rs 1,75,000 each. 

Finding a voice 

An angel investor herself, Mira has been heavily involved in the wellness space since 2019. The 30-year-old celebrity influencer has previously invested in yoga startup SARVA Yoga, organic grocery startup Zama Organics, and plant-based nutrition supplement brand Wellbeing Nutrition. She is also the co-founder and face of skincare brand Akind.

“I am very clear on what I like—I am into beauty, I am into wellness—and that’s what I like,” she said during an earlier conversation with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, adding that she only promotes brands which she uses regularly. 

Reflecting on the lessons learnt as an investor and entrepreneur, Mira says: “Find your unique voice and stick to it. You can be enamored and influenced by trends, but as a founder as well as an investor, you have to back a unique voice and a unique vision, which is unwavering when it comes to trends and the consistent change of a consumer's needs. You will find the right consumer if you stay true to your vision.”

Starting with Mumbai, Mira plans to take Dhun Wellness to other metros as well. “Chronic fatigue, burnout, gut imbalances, and the absence of integrated care are realities across all metros,” she says. 

Dhun Wellness is actively planning to expand to major urban centres across India, cities that are equally in need of a sanctuary that offers both healing and high performance.

Currently bootstrapped, Mira emphasises that as it grows, Dhun Wellness will remain a high-touch, human-led care.