In 2020, the Bala bangles revolutionized the wearable wellness space, as consumers were searching for a convenient approach to get fit through the pandemic. With design on the forefront, the brand has continued to excite consumers by launching luxurious, elevated workout equipment.

During WWD’s Wellness Forum last week, Bala founders and husband-and-wife duo Maximilian Kislevitz and Natalie Holloway sat down with senior beauty editor Kathryn Hopkins to debate the long run of the brand, and the important thing aspects behind its explosive growth. 

Since its launch in 2018, the corporate has continued to expand and diversify its product offerings, with design and functional fitness being top priorities. The unique Bala bangle was a classy update to traditional ankle and wrist weights. For wearable wellness brands, style has proven to be a key factor consumers are searching for, demonstrated by other design-focused brands like Oura, Lululemon and Maude. 

“From a design perspective, our criteria is twofold. We’d like to make meaningful, functional improvements to existing products, but then we also have to make it beautiful and easy,” Kislevitz said. “We’ve launched a dozen products for the reason that bangles. We have now a dozen more on the best way and people range from Bala’s tackle existing products to net latest products,” he continued, noting Bala has been capable of elevate your complete workout experience by reinventing what wellness looks like.  

Lockdowns as a consequence of COVID-19 were a very important think about the brand’s expedited success. Bala went from $2 million in sales in 2018 to $16 million in sales in 2020. “The pandemic was a little bit of a revelation for us, each when it comes to the incredible growth with the tailwind from folks attempting to stay fit from home, but additionally in this concept that Bala might be the design entrant on this really utilitarian space,” Kislevitz said.

Following the pandemic, the ever-growing interest in wellness has enabled Bala to stay within the highlight, fueled by a technique that focuses on the experiential. The brand’s products are featured in an array of Bala-centric workout classes at Equinox and by itself website, and Bala can now be found at major retailers like Goal. Plus, the bangles are consistently sported by celebs like Kim Kardashian, Hailey Bieber and Ashley Graham. 

With this success over the past 4 years, the brand has amassed greater than $50 million in sales, Holloway said. Immediately, global expansion is top of mind. The brand is about to launch in Japan, China, South Korea, Canada and the GCC by the tip of this 12 months. As Bala has gained traction, they’ve seen knockoff products pop up across markets, so international expansion is essential to defend the brand and its unique design.

The brand can be exploring in-person experiences. A six-month-long Recent York City pop-up was a fantastic approach to test if retail stores and workout studios can be lucrative channels, with Holloway and Kislevitz learning branded studios with small retail sections are the proper direction to move in. Similarly, Bala will proceed to supply workout classes on its digital platform Balacize. 

Bala, which is backed by Mark Cuban and Maria Sharipova, recently kicked off a raise to partner with latest investors to support its growth. “We’re trying to fulfill our soulmate that actually believes within the Bala brand and may see the worldwide vision that we see and that we’re constructing the subsequent great fitness brand,” Holloway said.