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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.

Recent Headlines

Avelo opens waitlist for world’s first smart running shoe. The premium Supertrainer measures impact and form, which connects to an app coaching you how to improve performance, reduce injury risk, and accomplish your goals.

• We’ve started to see more and more niche trackers across the industry, including hydration patches, toilet trackers, and even lifting trackers. This is the first we’ve seen for running shoes, and I have a few thoughts. First, having a wearable be something I already wear everyday like shoes is appealing. I have fatigue of wearing a watch and ring all the time to track. Second, I think your average running consumer lacks proper education in terms of form, injury prevention, and how to improve. So having a shoe that can teach and improve you is appealing. And third, I do have slight hesitation on the mass adoption here. It’s a niche product that elite runnings and data nerds will want, but idk about casual runners. It might not be mass appeal right away, but overtime I think this type of tech becomes more mainstream.

Creatine gummy controversies stay hot. With new tests revealing 6 of the top creatine gummy brands on Amazon have no discernible amount of creatine. And Ovrload, who was previously called out for their lack of creatine, allegedly rebranded and is selling the same product.

• So 2 weeks ago I talked about Ovrload getting called out by James Smith for only having 0.5% of the claimed creatine dosage. Then they posted a statement that they were investigating their manufacturer and supply chain. Well now it has been brought to my attention that Ovrload ads are still running, but directing you to a website for a brand called Enerzaa. Same branding, same flavors, same product - shady stuff. NOW we have another controversy as Dan McCormick, the founder of Create,  went out and tested 6 of the top creatine gummy brands on Amazon and found they have no discernible amount of creatine. Look, I think there are gummy supplement brands doing it right (Create is to my knowledge), but you know the saying “a few bad apples can spoil the whole barrel”. Just stay safe out there kids.

April Fool’s Day was on every brand’s mind this year. All feeling the need to launch new fake products and innovations to go viral on social media.

• Maybe it’s cause I’ve only been covering industry news for a year now, but since when did every brand feel it was mandatory to participate in April Fool’s Day? I mean EVERY brand had a post with some fake product they were launching. Most were quite cringey and could’ve gone without posting. But a few were actually clever and gave me a chuckle. Here were a few of my favorites:
  • LSKD’s color changing yoga pants based on your mood.
  • Skratch Labs Marathong hydration belt.
  • Plunge launching canned water from reused plunge water.

FlowHaus officially launches in Utah. A multi-sensory guided sauna and cold bath experience. Featuring hour long “flows” with aufguss rituals, aromatherapy, cold baths, and a 50 person sauna.

• Before jumping into my main thoughts, I wanted to shoutout Mitch Mathews for the launch of this space. FlowHaus looks incredible and the story behind it is even better - check it out here. So this is another trend I talked about a couple weeks ago. These social wellness clubs continue to spawn in all parts of the world. And exactly what I mentioned before is what’s happening. We’re seeing an expansion of experiential levels. Clubs are being launched that cater to all types of consumers and needs. Whether you want the hardcore meditations and chants or you want a simple contrast therapy social club - there are options for everyone.

Remedy Place opens for Boston Seaport location. The largest location yet and features new remedies not found at their other locations including a communal contrast suite, foam to steam infrared, IV day beds, and more.

• More props need to be given here - Dr. Jonathan Leary and the Remedy Place team did a spectacular job putting this space together. But I mainly just wanted to put this in in to reinforce my points above. New places are popping up everywhere, and existing brands are expanding. Social wellness clubs are here to stay.

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