Fertility issues in non-metros too: Monitor-maker Inito says 40% of sales are from non-Tier 1 cities

Not just metro cities but young couples from even Tier 2 and 3 cities are concerned about the issue of infertility and are trying multiple means to take care of that.

According to a Bangalore-based medical technology startup Inito that offers a device -- fertility monitor, 40 percent of its sales comes from the non-Tier 1 cities.

Complexities in conceiving have become a common issue in the country led by a rapid change in the lifestyle of people.

According to a recent report, about 33 percent of India's populace over 30 years of age is suffering from lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, blood pressure and thyroid. Pregnancy in such a scenario thus becomes difficult.

However, many a times the difficulty is not solely led by medical conditions but also due to the lack of proper knowledge about the ovulation cycle.

Inito's fertility monitor which was launched in December helps women track their ovulation days at home via a portable device and a connected app. The device comes with tests strips and allows users to perform lab-grade medical tests at home.

Users are required to dip the test strips in urine and put in the device. The device is then attached to the phone and the app displays the result. It identifies six fertile days.

The company claims it not just measures Estrogen & Luteinizing Hormone (LH) but also takes into account the cycle variations unique to every woman.

"Initially, the buyers were majorly from metros. However later on, Tier 2 and 3 started ramping up. Right now, 40 percent of our sales come from non Tier 1 cities. We now have buyers from places like Kashmir and Assam too," Aayush Rai, co-founder, and CEO, Inito told Moneycontrol in an interaction.

Founded in 2015 by IIT alumni Rai and Varun AV, the company claims to be increasing the chance of a woman getting pregnant naturally by about 89 percent.

"Getting customer insights for building the product did not come easily. Since this is a very sensitive topic, people refrain from talking about it which made it difficult for us as a team to understand the user journey," said Rai talking about the difficulty faced during the initial days.

Going forward, Inito also plans to start diabetes, thyroid and Vitamin D test kits on its platform. Inito has raised about USD 1 million from angel investors.