Antelope by Beurer: Bringing EMS Training to the Subscription World With circuly

Antelope is Beurer’s dedicated EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) training brand — a technology Beurer integrated into its portfolio to bring professional-grade muscle activation to home fitness. What looks like wearable athletic clothing on the surface is, in reality, a high-performance training device: an EMS suit equipped with embedded electrodes that stimulate muscles during workouts for faster, more efficient training results.

As interest in EMS grew, Antelope saw a clear opportunity: instead of requiring customers to purchase the suit upfront, they could offer it as a flexible, affordable subscription.

But designing and launching an equipment subscription from scratch requires more than adding a “Rent” button. It demands operational structure, fraud protection, automation, and a seamless eCommerce experience. And Antelope wanted all of this without splitting purchase and rental into two separate websites.

This is where circuly came in.

The Customer

Antelope is the EMS fitness brand inside Beurer’s product ecosystem — a family-owned German company with over 100 years of experience in health, wellness, and medical devices.
Antelope’s mission is to make EMS training accessible to everyone through high-quality EMS suits paired with smart digital coaching via the Antelope GO app.

The Challenge

Antelope did not have an existing subscription model. They wanted to launch one from the ground up — but with very specific requirements:

1. Offer “Buy” and “Rent” in the same Shopify store

No second website. No separate system. No disjointed experience. The subscription option had to appear natively on the same product page, as simply as a button that says Rent next to Buy.

2. Seamlessly integrate subscriptions into existing Shopify architecture

Their current shop was already heavily optimised. They needed circuly to plug in without disrupting product pages, checkout flows, or backend logic.

3. Build the entire operational engine behind subscriptions

Since subscriptions didn’t previously exist, Antelope needed:

• subscription management
• recurring billing & invoicing
• credit checks
• asset tracking for EMS suits
• return & refurbishment processes
• cancellation flows
• upgrade/downgrade paths
• buyout management

—all automated, not manual.

4. Reduce support workload through customer self-service

A subscription model comes with additional customer touchpoints, plan adjustments, returns, swaps, buyouts, updating address information etc.

Antelope wanted:

• a customer portal
• self-managed returns
• self-updated payment methods
• visibility on invoices
• subscription overview

Self-service wasn’t a “nice-to-have.” It was essential for cost control and fast customer resolution.

5. Fraud prevention from Day 1

Subscriptions drastically lower upfront costs — and EMS suits are high-value hardware.
Antelope needed:

• automated credit checks
• fraud scoring
• order blocking rules
• payment protection

6. A small, low-risk pilot to test demand

They wanted to start small, gather data, validate the model, and scale once the results were clear.

The Solution

Antelope partnered with circuly to design, launch, and operate their entire subscription backend, fully integrated into their main Shopify storefront.

circuly now powers:

• subscription sign-ups directly on antelope.beurer.com
• the “Rent” button displayed seamlessly next to “Buy”
• automated recurring billing & invoices
• contract creation and lifecycle management
• asset tracking for every EMS suit
• return workflows for cancellations and exchanges
• credit checks and fraud prevention
• buyout options at the end of the term
• a customer self-service portal connected to their existing Beurer UX

Everything runs behind the scenes, while customers enjoy a smooth shopping and training experience.

The Benefit

With circuly, Antelope could launch a subscription model without rebuilding their website, reinventing their processes, or training a new team.

They now benefit from:

• A fully integrated buy + rent experience inside Shopify
• Automated subscription operations from day one
• Strong fraud and credit check processes
• Customer self-service to reduce support costs
• Full visibility over EMS assets
• Scalable operations ready to grow beyond the pilot phase

The result: a modern subscription model launched quickly, affordably, and with the operational depth required for high-value fitness equipment.

Antelope Subscription Business Model

Antelope’s model combines hardware rental with digital coaching, giving customers access to a complete training ecosystem.

Product: EMS training suits
Minimum duration: (configurable depending on product)
Digital add-ons: Antelope GO app subscription for guided workouts
Subscription type: Equipment rental with optional software layered on top
Buyout option: Yes — customers can purchase the EMS suit at the end of the term
Target markets: B2C fitness, home training, rehabilitation, and performance athletes

It may look like a clothing subscription — but it’s fundamentally a high-value hardware subscription, supported by digital content.

Where circuly supports Antelope

Behind every Antelope subscription is a complex set of regulatory and lifecycle workflows, all automated and powered by circuly. These operations allow Antelope to stay compliant, reduce support workload, and deliver a seamless experience to customers from sign-up to buyout.

Cancellation management (German Compliance)

Germany requires businesses to offer customers the right to cancel within the first 14 days. For a hardware subscription like Antelope’s EMS suits, this means handling not only the cancellation, but also the full reverse-logistics workflow.

circuly automates every step:

1. Cancellation request is received (via portal or support).
2. System checks eligibility:
   • If within 14 days → early cancellation is allowed.
   • If after 14 days → cancellation is scheduled for the end of the minimum term (3, 6, 12, or 24 months).
3. For eligible cancellations:
   • Circuly generates and sends the return label automatically.
   • The EMS suit is tracked as “in return transit.”
   • Once received, the system marks the device as returned and updates inventory.

This keeps Antelope fully compliant with German consumer protection laws — while giving customers a smooth, predictable experience.

Automated subscription renewals after minimum term

EMS subscriptions at Antelope run for a minimum duration (e.g., 3, 6, 12, or 24 months).
After the minimum term ends, circuly automatically:

• renews the subscription on a monthly basis, and
• keeps billing active until the customer chooses to return the product or cancel.

This builds compliance directly into the model: Customers don’t have to reaffirm their subscription every year — it simply continues, ensuring uninterrupted training. And if they want to stop, they can manage it directly from their portal.

Buyouts directly through the customer portal

For long-term customers — especially those who subscribe for 12–24 months — Antelope offers the option to buy the EMS suit.

circuly makes this fully self-service:

• Customers see their buyout eligibility and price directly in the portal.
• They can complete the buyout without contacting support.
• The system automatically updates:
  • subscription status
  • asset status
  • financial records
  • inventory lifecycle

This reduces manual work and turns committed subscribers into long-term product owners with minimal friction.

Lessons for Brands Exploring Product-as-a-Service

Antelope shows how to launch a hardware subscription correctly:

✔️ Start with a pilot and validate demand

✔️ Keep rental and purchase in one store — don’t split customer journeys

✔️ Protect assets using credit checks and fraud logic

✔️ Combine hardware subscription + digital subscription for higher LTV

✔️ Use automation and self-service to keep ops lean

✔️ Track assets to support refurbishment and reuse cycles

This is a strong blueprint for any brand launching equipment-as-a-service.

Conclusion

Antelope didn’t just offer an EMS suit — they transformed high-value fitness hardware into a scalable subscription model. With circuly powering operations, payments, asset tracking, and fraud protection, Antelope launched a seamless rental experience inside their existing Shopify store, without splitting customer flows or rebuilding their infrastructure.

The result is a future-ready EMS subscription business that can grow from a controlled pilot into a full-scale subscription channel — all while staying operationally lean and customer-centric.