Spring has officially sprung, and fitness products continue to be in high demand as people not only ready themselves for swimsuit season, but also pledge to be fit and healthy. Distributors can look forward to seeing items like T-shirts, fleece, yoga pants/leggings, cinch sacks/duffel bags, towels, products that track fitness goals, ear buds, arm bands for phones, water bottles, aromatherapy and hand sanitizers from promotional products suppliers. Current trends are retail-inspired and include multi-functional items, comfort, fashion, and safety.
According to Jenna Quaranta at alphabroder, on the apparel end, the colors black, camo and any neon shade are quite popular in the fitness market at the moment. She also reports that tri-blend T-shirts, tri-blend fleece apparel, fashion-forward hoodies and cinch bags are on-trend at the moment. "Teens and women, in particular, are ditching their jeans and are instead opting for more comfortable and stylish yoga pants/leggings," she comments. "Thumbholes in layering pieces are definitely gaining popularity."
Quaranta notes that fitness advocates are moving away from boxy T-shirts and moving toward apparel with a dual purpose. "This apparel should carry the performance features that allow them to stay cool and dry during a workout, as well as have the stylistic features that are on-trend to wear outside of the gym and during the weekend," she observes. "These trends all stem from the retail environment, which has now trickled down into the promotional apparel industry! Demand has been strong for the above items simply because a fitness advocate will pay a little extra – as long as the apparel makes them feel and look good."
Grethe Adams at Southern Plus maintains that high tech items like Fitbit, Bluetooth ear buds, arm bands for phones and innovative water bottles are top trends. "Health and fitness are on the rise," she emphasizes. "Easier access to better foods and increased awareness on the impact ‘unhealthy eating’ has on our quality of life is growing. Access to lower cost and more convenient gyms are also making it increasingly difficult to ignore.
"Participating in promotional programs like SuccessFit (www.freepromotips.com) showed a small but growing group of industry professionals that see the value in getting/staying fit," Adams continues. "The link between good nutrition, being physically fit, and being successful is undeniable. That is not to say you can’t be successful in any of these without the other, but the work ethic and dedication it takes for someone to eat right and exercise regularly is typically reflected in their business lives as well."
SnugZ USA has taken the wellness concept one step further with its introduction of the Zen Collection – a natural aromatherapy line of essential oils, soaps, candles, bath bombs, and bath salts to help balance, harmonize and promote the health of the body, mind and spirit. Kathy DiFrancesco notes that in this market, these items show that corporations are invested in their employees’ personal well-being while also promoting the positivity attached to natural healing.
Towels are ever-popular in this market segment. Anthony Romano of Pro Towels notes that the company sold 20,000 more fitness towels in 2014 than in 2013. In addition to traditional fitness towels, one-time use cooling towels (the cooling portion is one time, the towel is reusable) are a growing trend, Romano maintains. "A traditional fitness towel is great for the gym, on a run, or as a giveaway at any athletic event," he opines. "The FRIGITOWEL is great for athletes, outdoor enthusiasts and construction workers."
A relatively new entrant into the fitness/gym promotional products market segment is the hand sanitizer. According to Michael Kogutt of HPC Global, the company is seeing substantial increases in sales of its U.S.-made, medical/laboratory/hospital grade alcohol based sanitizers to health clubs, fitness clubs, sports training facilities, elementary schools, high schools and colleges for gymnasiums and locker room areas, professional sports team’s locker rooms – as well as company fitness rooms and facilities. "As MRSA, antibiotic-resistant staph infections and other dangerous bacteria and viruses are being found in more and more of these facilities, serious concerns for the safety and well-being of the users is growing and demand for these products is increasing to assist in providing protection," Kogutt explains. "The trend is for a safe environment to be provided for people using these facilities. Demand has been growing dramatically in these markets."
New at alphabroder is its Team 365™ brand, which includes the Team 365 Team Cinch that Quaranta says is durable and larger than most cinch bags out on the market, and comes in 18 different team-approved colors, including a camo shade that is huge with CrossFit gyms right now.
Duffel bags are hot at Southern Plus, particularly the DuroZipper Duffel, according to Adams. This bag comes in red and features a huge interior with a detachable, adjustable padded shoulder strap, a front zippered pocket, and exaggerated zipper detail and pulls. Other best sellers from Southern Plus include fitness towels and the Gym Buddy caryall.
Quaranta adds that another hot seller is the Alo Sport for Team 365™ unisex Performance Short-Sleeve T-shirt She points out that men are particularly interested in this piece as this has the fashion-cut they have been looking for. The shirt is available in 25 crossover colors and has a complementary ladies’ style. "Tri-blend/heather fabrications are offered in this piece, which is currently a look in demand right now," she notes.
A A4, the company’s best-selling item in this category continues to be the Cooling Performance T that is stocked in men’s, women’s and youth sizes. "New fitness items that are showing great promise are the Cloud Dye and Space Dye Tech Tees, both of which provide fashion and function," notes Cindy Clyde. These shirts offer moisture wicking, odor resistance and stain release properties.
A 75 percent cotton/25 percent poly blend sublimated fitness towel is new from Pro Towels. According to Romano, this towel allows a customer to completely customize their logo and showcase it with an edge-to-edge print. "It also is available with a print in 3D artwork that can be customized even further to enhance the image," Romano adds.
HPC Global’s alcohol-based sanitizer products provide the highest potency available in the industry due to their higher alcohol content, Kogutt says, and are also non-drying for most users as they are balanced with aloe vera to add moisture to the skin. "Our sanitizers are one of the only industry sanitizer collections rated antimicrobial versus just ‘antibacterial’ that most industry suppliers provide," he emphasizes. "We provide independent laboratory testing results to our distributors showing our products’ proven effectiveness against MRSA, VRE (nosocomial infections), HIV-1, E. coli, Listeria, Avian Flu, Strep, Staphs, etc."
In addition to HPC Global’s current offerings of gel/alcohol-based sanitizers in Scent Free in clear gel, Cucumber-Melon in light green gel, Citrus in light yellow gel and Fresh Scent in blue green gel, the company is about to introduce a brand new, light, pleasant crisp Apple scent in a red gel, Kogutt adds. "Best sellers, due primarily to their lower cost, have been our alcohol based 4352 Clip Cap Pocket Sprayers, which are available in fresh, citrus or scent free and a choice of 10 cap colors. Our other best sellers have been our alcohol based gel sanitizers in our 4721 1-oz. press top bottle and 4731 2-oz. press top bottles. We are also seeing significant sales increases, especially in these types of facilities, for our larger size 4745 8-oz. and 4750 16-oz. gel sanitizer pump bottles. Many sanitizer suppliers do not offer these larger size sanitizers in pump dispensers. These are especially useful in locker rooms, restrooms and shower areas."
SnugZ USA’s DiFrancesco says the company’s line of essential oils and electric diffusers have really taken off. Popular essential oils in the wellness market are lavender and peppermint, and well-liked essential oils blends include Invigorate, Focus and Exhale.
When recommending fitness/workout promotional products to your customers, promotional products suppliers urge distributors to emphasize this market segment as a lifestyle, not simply for exercising.
"Fitness towels aren’t just for the gym anymore," Romano of Pro Towels says. "Being able to find new unique avenues to incorporate fitness towels is becoming more and more beneficial." He includes examples like school events – not limited to just athletics – but team building exercises and sponsorships, and color runs/tough mudders. Towels serve as a great keepsake from the event itself, he maintains.
Quaranta of alphabroder weighs in, adding, "I suggest targeting schools, individuals and companies that promote a performance lifestyle. Social media will also complement your efforts, as you can target main users, such as fitness advocates, personal trainers and personal training clients. Type-A personalities who work out are also buying/wearing this merchandise on the regular. Your ultimate customer would be the person who works out, goes for a coffee run in the same apparel, and then hangs out with their friends during the weekend with the same outfit!"
Caution needs to be exercised when selling hand sanitizers, Kogutt warns. "The cheapest price often comes with a Made in China origin," he explains. "All of these products contain water and the water pollution problem in China’s manufacturing cities is at critical stage. To avoid the risk and potential liability of exposing your client’s end-users to potentially toxic chemicals, such as mercury, benzene, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, etc., be sure and ask your supplier where the products are produced. Choose only products that are made in the U.S. to avoid these risks. We do use some bottles that are made in China, but we bring the bottles in empty and use only U.S.-made solutions in them.”
Kogutt recommends that distributors become knowledgeable on these issues. "Spend a little time researching the CDC’s website or Google 'MRSA in fitness centers,'" he suggests. “Knowledge is power – selling power! These facilities can even use the products to ask for referrals by incorporating this request in the four-color process decoration on the label along with their logo. Show them that they can be selling additional memberships to their facility while helping to protect their customers.”
Adams also believes that knowledge is power. When you put a brand/logo on a product that is used during an activity the recipient has a passion for, it provides an impression/association that is powerful and memorable, she concludes. "Supporting a recipient’s passion in any way with a promotional product assures that product will be used, and used often!"