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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. Hint, the FDA was busy this week…

Recent Headlines

Equinox hotels is elevating your sleep at their New York location. In a partnership with Dr. Matt Walker, they are debuting a sleep lab with tech for their guests to use and a jet lag reset tool.

• Towards the end of 2024 we saw a big rise in luxury wellness clubs. Well, I think luxury wellness hotels is the next luxury trend to keep an eye on in 2025, including Equinox Hotels. People want to be healthier these days and travel is the ultimate routine killer, let’s change that.

Therabody launched new digital product called “Coach”. An AI powered intelligent recovery coach that will take data from your fitness watch and apps that you use, and turn that into a personalized recovery plan.

• Recovery is one of the top wellness categories, but I think sometimes people don’t fully know the proper use case for the recovery devices provided by a brand like Therabody (I sure don’t). So having an app monitor your workouts and tell you what to do is a nice addition to their product suite.

FDA authorizes Zyn nicotine pouches. Allowing the product to be sold as a tool to quit smoking cigarettes. After “extensive scientific review” found that the pouches posed lower risk of cancer and other serious health conditions compared with cigarettes.

• I’m not a doctor, so I’m not gonna speak on the health benefits or risks here, but I can’t help but notice the rapidly growing trend of nicotine pouches. Specifically, products that are being marketed as “productivity tools” due to the boost in focus and alertness, including Sett and Athletic Nicotine.

FDA bans Red Dye No. 3 in foods. An artificial coloring used in food, beverages, candy, and other products. After evidence shows that the synthetic dye can cause cancer in lab animals.

• Go browse this article from Daily Mail to see the difference between U.S. food and U.K. food, for the EXACT same product. In the U.K. the ingredient list is half the size and the actual look of the food is often different. The FDA making this move and bringing light to this problem in the U.S. is great.

Endorphins Running is launching a dedicated mobile app for their community on Saturday, January 18th.

• While not officially live yet, I wanted to highlight this so you can check it out first thing tomorrow when it launches. Endorphins has a great story and has truly built one of the best community brands out there. I’ll break down the app and their background story in more detail soon.

ICYMI On Social

• How Kettle & Fire got started from a fake product and $500.
• Brands are turning Quitter’s Day into a marketing opportunity, including Tonal and Apple.
• Holiday gifts from NFL QB’s to their lineman are turning into brand deals.
• Last Friday’s “This Week In Fitness” video featuring Quitter’s Day campaigns, Tonal 2, and CES wellness tech.