Image: Apple
Welcome to the Fitt Insider Weekly Debrief. Every weekend, we compile the top stories impacting the business of fitness and wellness from the past week.
Here’s what you need to know…
- Apple upgrades fitness+
- On Running goes public
- Investors back men’s/women’s health
- Fitt Insider Podcast hits 100 episodes
Expanding Fitness+
Last year, when Apple made its foray into fitness, we wrote:
“Far from a Peloton killer, Apple’s workout subscription isn’t the end game; it’s a warning shot. Armed with deep pockets and walled gardens, Big Tech wants a piece of the fitness pie. As the balance of power shifts, the battle for content, talent, distribution, and users has only just begun.”
One year on, Apple is pushing further into Peloton’s territory by unveiling new Fitness+ features:
- Group workouts with up to 32 people at once
- Guided meditations in audio and video formats
- Pilates workouts, offering low-impact training for strength and flexibility
Connected equipment has become the focus of home fitness, but Apple continues to prioritize workout formats that require little or no equipment.
Looking ahead: For now, Apple’s fitness efforts are a means to an end — sell more devices. But, coupled with the company’s broader healthcare ambitions, digital fitness companies could find themselves in the crossfire of an ecosystem war where, according to investor Matthew Ball, “the ‘war’ is mostly won through synergies and monetization elsewhere.”
Sprinting Ahead
On Running made their public debut.
Surging out of the gates, the footwear brand opened ~50% above their initial asking price — valuing the company north of $11B.
Launched in 2010, the Swiss-based activewear company has been on a decade-long hot streak, exploding at an 85% 10-year CAGR to reach $463M in net revenue last year.
Running on clouds. On initially won over customers with its outsole technology aimed to make runners feel like they’re treading on clouds. Scaling up, the company is leaning into athlete advocacy, international expansion, digital sales, and sustainability.
Looking ahead: To date, On Running has only captured 8% of a notoriously crowded footwear market. Between giants like Nike and adidas, and specialty players like HOKA ONE ONE and Brooks, the upstart faces hurdles in all directions.
[Digital] Health for All
From fertility tech to personalized solutions for men and women, investors are all-in on digital health.
As we detailed in Issue No. 145, fertility-focused startups have had a big year:
- Maven Clinic secured $110M and unicorn status, while TMRW Life Sciences ($105M), Carrot Fertility ($75M), and Kindbody ($62M) all led massive funding rounds this summer.
This trend continued last week, with men’s and women’s healthcare upstarts cashing in:
- Tia, a women’s healthcare provider, raised $100M.
- Flo, a digital women’s reproductive health platform, closed $50M.
- Numan, a digital men’s health startup, added $40M.
- Regimen, a startup offering digital therapy for erectile dysfunction, secured $2.25M in seed funding.
Holistic health. Initially, digital health startups focused on singular aspects of men’s or women’s well-being. But, as time goes on, these companies are moving towards comprehensive solutions.
- Hims launched focusing on men’s hair loss and ED treatments before launching women-centric Hers and expanding into healthcare.
- Similarly, Ro secured $500M in Series D funding earlier in spring and just announced its $225M acquisition of Modern Fertility.
Takeaway: Eliminating stigma and increasing access to care, companies in this space are seizing on this multi-billion-dollar market. As deficiencies in the US healthcare system persist, startups and investors will continue to find success.
Here’s to 100
This week, we published episode #100 of the Fitt Insider Podcast.
We don’t have 100M downloads or a Spotify deal, but producing a weekly show for nearly two years has proven to be invaluable.
If you listen to the show, thank you! We’re working hard to make it worth your time.
If not, and you’re interested in fitness tech, digital health, the future of well-being, or the innovations and investments taking place in this sector, you should check it out!
