Active Overwatch 026

Here’s your weekly roundup of news, trends, and stories in the health & fitness space. A list of what’s happening, new innovations, interesting finds, and more.

Weekly roundup

LMNT caught up in controversy. In a claim that their electrolyte packets contain up to 400mg of maltodextrin, which is not listed on the ingredients. Maltodextrin is a sugar substitute that can spike glucose and insulin.

• I brought up the need for directory products in last’s week Active Times issue, basically databases that educate consumers on brands and product quality. This LMNT controversy reinforces that need in my opinion. These wellness CPG spaces are crowded with brands and largely driven by marketing, which makes it difficult to navigate for consumers. One of my favorite directory products is Oasis Water, because they do their own independent testing of the brand’s water quality so you know the information is accurate. This is the direction I see the directory space going - each directory being independent testers and trusted sources for their specific vertical.

Hyperice recovers the World Series. As Shohei Ohtani dislocated his shoulder in game 2 and did not miss any games after. The Venom 2 Shoulder by Hyperice played a part in keeping him loose.

• This is a prime example of how new wellness tech goes beyond consumer use cases and has wide scale implications. I don’t know the true extent of Ohtani’s injury. But in years past, when recovery tech was not as advanced, he may have missed a game or two. Completely affecting both the play and fan viewing experience of the World Series.

Apple is testing glucose monitoring. This was a private test for a glucose monitoring app. Nothing will be released for now, but with metabolic tracking being so trendy, Apple might be entering the space in the future.

• Historically continuous glucose monitor’s (CGMs) were primarily used by people with diabetes to track their blood sugar levels in real time. But in recent years, these devices have become popular for people that don’t have diabetes because they give insights into how the foods we eat impact our bodies. It’s a noninvasive patch that you put on the back of your arm and the patch data syncs to an app. Popular ones include Lingo by Abbot and Levels. It’s a trendy topic, and with Apple flirting around in the space, it makes me even more intrigued.

Centr launched a treadmill collection. Featuring 9 different cardio machines, including standard and tread versions. Centr started as a workout app, but they’ve been rolling out more and more physical equipment recently such as benches, weights, and other fitness accessories.

• Physical products are not always a sexy, high margin business, but Centr has played it right strategically. Though they started as an app, their progression into equipment is a great example of a strategy I talked about in the past - which is latching on to a space that is trendy, in this case Hyrox. Back in October of 2023, Centr became the official equipment provider of Hyrox. Putting their brand front and center of the growing space. Puma did the same thing, making shoes that cater to Hyrox athletes, and now they are also an official partner. It’s a great strategy for brands to leverage hot markets and adjacent audiences to grow.

NFL players eat 70,000+ Uncrustables a season. With Denver consuming the most at 700 per week and New Orleans rounding out the list with only 50 per week.

• This makes sense as it’s a tasty and easy energy source. But what intrigued about this is the hidden opportunity for new or better-for-you brands. Take a brand like Chubby, who makes better-for-you PB&J. It might be hard to break into, but instead of grinding away at single sales direct to consumer, there could be a unique way to partner with sports leagues that operate at high volume levels.