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FDA banning more food dyes, custom cold plunges, Equinox launches run club, and more...

Published on

April 25, 2025

by

Jake Heyen

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

This week we’re covering:

  • FDA banning more food dyes.
  • Custom cold plunges.
  • Equinox launches run club.
  • And more...

Hope you enjoy!

Recent Headlines

The FDA officially bans 8 new food dyes. After banning Red Dye No. 3 in January, RFK Jr. and the FDA are planning the phase out of 8 additional dyes. With the plan for all to be fully eliminated within the next couple years.

  • This is a big deal. Not just because of the dyes, but because it’s proof the FDA is finally starting to move toward modern food standards. It validates the entire clean label movement we’ve been seeing in recent years. I mean, it’s literally a meme that the same exact products look totally different in the U.S. than the U.K. This move was long overdue.

Superset launches Products 2.0. A new way for fitness coaches to turn their training into scalable, sellable programs. Turn any spreadsheet workout plan into an app based product you can sell instantly.

  • I wanted to highlight this because it’s a nice glow up story. Superset was founded back in 2020 and has been relatively quiet. But this new direction looks focused, slick, and well timed. Instead of trying to be another all in one coaching app, they’ve carved out a clear, underserved vertical here - turning spreadsheet programs into dynamic products. Props to them and could be a turning point in their trajectory.

HYBRD officially launches mobile app. Designed to help hybrid athletes track, manage, and optimize their training. Integrating all of your training data into one place and providing insights to optimize your performance.

  • This app hits on 2 trends we’ve seen in recent years. 1) Hybrid training. More and more people are including both running and lifting into their programming, but the apps are lagging behind in terms of providing tailored plans, data tracking, and performance optimization. And 2) Most consumers have several apps and trackers they use on their fitness journey. All with siloed data and activity. Consumers need OS systems that centralize all this data into one place for efficiency and proper tracking.

The Cold Life launches custom cold plunges. A new builder experience where you can customize the color of your tub. Along with adding a custom logo if you want.

  • I’ve talked about the trend of fitness & wellness equipment becoming more design focused. And this feels like a nice happy medium in the market between your standard cold plunge and your luxury custom built tubs that go for upwards of $15,000. Something that appeals to the crowd that wants some customization for their space, but doesn’t want to fully take out a loan.

Equinox launches Precision Run Club. Providing a unique in-and-out of club experience for specialized programming. Combining their indoor treadmill classes with outdoor community runs.

  • I’m very intrigued to see how this goes. The appeal of most run clubs is the tight-knit, authentic community aspect. Which, most big corporations struggle to build because it often feels forced and corporate. But this  doesn’t appear to be the exact move Equinox is trying to make. It appears more like they are taking the components of what people enjoy about run clubs - outdoor group running - and combining that with programming at their luxury fitness clubs. I actually really like this move.

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