By Karina Masolova
Despite our love for athleisure and all things healthy, a recent study by Nautilus shows that Americans and Europeans fail when it comes to general health and fitness knowledge (scoring an average of 42% and 39%, respectively).
But it can’t be denied that fitness is a big business, even if it is more aspirational than not. The 2016 update to Inc.’s 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies names quite a few that specifically target the active and outdoor space. The top three are Nine Line Apparel (No. 31; apparel manufacturer), Orangetheory Fitness (No. 60; athletic training services and fitness equipment manufacturer), and Cambridge Select (No. 97; apparel and footwear retailer).
Here’s some of the latest news to come out in the fitness sector, branded and otherwise:
- Disney is releasing a line of animated shorts to help promote healthy living for kids. The interstitial programming will feature will feature characters from Star Wars Rebels, The Lion Guard, and Miles from Tomorrowland.
- On the cusp of McDonald’s disastrous experiment of introducing step trackers into its Happy Meals, Garmin unveiled its new activity trackers for kids. Designed for 24/7 wearability, the trackers come with a connected app that helps parents monitor their children’s activity levels.
- Fitness app Zombies, Run hopes to launch a new board game with the launch of a new Kickstarter project. Developed by Six to Start and Naomi Alderman, the game tasks teams of 2–4 players with fleeing zombie hordes, while incorporating a real-time, audio-driven adventure as they rescue survivors, uncover secrets and find a cure.
- Nike released its Nike+ app, which gives athletes access to services including fitness activity tracking, personal shopping, and events tracker.
- Animated kid’s TV show Nutri Ventures seeks to expand into the nutrition and healthy foods categories—contact Todd Lustgarten at Perpetual Licensing for more.
- Meredith launched its first expansion into the retail consumable food category with its EatingWell-branded frozen entrées in partnership with Bellisio Foods.