Active Overwatch 050

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

Nike Strength opens first studio in Austin, Texas. After rolling out several running studios in recent years, this is Nike’s first studio focused solely on strength training. Featuring rack and barbell based weight training classes.

• I’ve been to one of Nike’s running studios, and while it was cool, I think it’s a saturated space for group classes. A lot of studios do treadmill HIIT style classes. At the same time, strength training has gone quite mainstream, but there are not really any name brand studios offering classes that are rack/barbell focused - which is a core component of strength training. I think Nike could find a nice lane here with these strength studios.

Sweetgreen and Cadence partner for 5k run series. Which will include 5 runs across New York City. Aimed at being a fun, casual, and healthy community event. Plus free Sweetgreen and Cadence products for participants.

• This is a prime example of how to do brand collabs. In the run club era we often see brands sponsoring run clubs or trying to build their own run clubs. But where those often miss the mark is they just feel like forced advertising and cheap placement. Sweetgreen and Cadence are both rising brands in the and have complimentary products. And rather than forcing another run club, they decided to do a run series instead that is casual, fun, and creates experiential overlap. Experiential Partnerships > Sponsored Placement.

Jezzr launches digital rowing platform. Turning traditional group rowing workouts into interactive team competitions through gamified features like races, battles, and challenges. And includes screens that display personal metrics in real time.

• Group rowing classes have been around, but I feel like they’ve always lacked interactivity. And this goes for most equipment based group classes. I’m a big fan of the studios & companies, like Jezzr, turning it more into a team sport experience. Fitness is going social and people are seeking activities that feel competitive, fun, and group based. I talked about this idea a while back in a video and I think this trend is just going to continue to grow.

GORGIE raises $24.5M Series A Funding and expands to Target. The wellness focused alternative energy drink has grown 5x year over year in 2024. Boasting the #1 fastest growing energy brand in the US natural channel.

• This news is more evidence of what I’ve been saying for awhile now - the next generation of energy is clean, functional, and designed for modern wellness culture. Sure the giants like Monster, Red Bull, and Celsius aren’t going anywhere. But these new alternative energy drinks are here and making waves. And this is what I’m here for, to call the trends before the pack catches on.

InsideTracker announces AI powered health coach, Terra. Using InsideTracker’s blood based biomarker and vital data to deliver personalized guidance that adapts with you.

• There is a growing push to bring blood based insights out of the lab and into your daily life. Numerous digital clinics and platforms have popped up such as Superpower and Function. And while those offerings are great, they also have a high price point for your average consumer. With the age of AI, many consumers are gonna be searching for alternative mediums to diagnose their biomarkers and give them an action plan. Both price points and offerings cater to a different consumer, but together point to the overall trend that the future of personal health is digital and data driven.

ICYMI On Social

• The rise of luxury gym equipment.
• Best new product launches in health and fitness.
• Life Time expands to community events.
• “This week in fitness” featuring FDA news, Equinox run club, and custom cold plunges.