Yoga, though common in India for centuries, was once the preserve of obscure sects and hippies in the West. All that’s changed. Now, every town has Yoga teachers and studios. The Yamas and NiYamas have become a way of life and you may even find yourself bowing when someone greets you with Namaste.
The popularity of Yoga has seen businesses capitalize on its success. Traditional sports brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma all have their own collections of Yoga, covering leggings, tops, mats and accessories. But what’s interesting about the biggest brands in Yoga is that they all grew from way back when Yoga wasn’t really that much of a thing. Their size pretty much reflects how far back they started.
Yoga clothing is a fiercely competitive market. The move from mat to high street fashion has been fast and Yoga clothing has long since become a fashion statement. You are likely to wear Yoga clothing now as casual wear and possibly have never set foot in a yoga studio in your life. That’s reflected in the figures – the global clothing market for Yoga was estimated to be worth $27 billion in 2023 with that rising to $55 billion by 2034. Chump change it’s not.
Lululemon
Lululemon was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson in Vancouver, Canada. It originally was a retail store for Yoga and athletic wear but has since expanded into everything from skin care to lifestyle apparel. It has more than 770 physical stores along with a very strong online presence. It’s IPO took place in 2007 when it raised $327 million and has since featured numerous times on Fortune’s fastest growing companies list. It has a strong community based following with offerings like 25% off for for fitness instructors. In 2022, its net revenue alone was over $8 billion, stretching to $9.6 billion in 2023. It’s by an “asananic” stretch the largest ‘originally yoga’ company to have made it big with over 38,000 employees

Alo Yoga
Alo Yoga began in Los Angeles in 2007 and has seen explosive growth since. With a heavy marketing use of influencers, Alo Yoga covers everything from clothing to everyday street wear and over 50 Yoga studios. It even launched a skin care brand in 2023. Alo Yoga markets itself as marking clothing that is as suitable on the Yoga mat as it is fashionable on the street. Originally founded by Harris and Marco DeGeorge who wanted to spread good through the power of Yoga, its 2022 Revenue is estimated at $250 million.

Manduka
Spending $25,000 on designing a Yoga mat might seem a bit much and it probably was an even bigger deal to do it in 1998. Buts that’s exactly what Peter Sterios, an architect by trade, did and it’s paid off handsomely since. Famous for its long lasting mats with the signature PRO mat, Manduka has passed 2 million sales in Yoga mats alone. Manduka has also expanded into towels, props and other accessories. It raised $25 million in funding and is estimated to have annual revenues north of $25 million.

prAna
Founded in 1992 from a garage in California with a mission to make sustainable and stylish fashion, Prana was heavily influenced by Yoga. It was acquired in 2014 by Columbia Sportswear for a whopping $190 million. A breakdown from Columbia Sportswear for PrAna revenues is not available.

Beyond Yoga
Jodi Guber Brufsky and Michelle Whaler founded Beyond Yoga in 2005 and it is one of the fastest growing athletic apparel brands in America. Growing by 30% each year for the last ten years is no small achievement and it was no surprise that it attracted the attention of the famed Levi Strauss & Co. A deal was struck in 2021 to buy the company for $400 million and its revenue in 2023 was a whopping $115 million.
