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FOAMLIFE – ‘A LIFE LIVED IN FLIP FLOPS IS A LIFE BETTER LIVED’

FOAMLIFE – ‘A LIFE LIVED IN FLIP FLOPS IS A LIFE BETTER LIVED’

The Founders:

Dan Macaulay: Growing up coaching and competing in a pretty broad variety of water sports in Ireland, Dan trained in marketing before spending time in Hawaii and California. Following a post-grad, Dan finally settled in the UK, where he worked as European Marketing Director of O’Neill for four years. Following this, he’s spent the last fifteen years running BrandWave, the sports marketing agency on the south coast consulting for the world’s leading brands including Adidas and The North Face.

Timo Mullen: Timo spent his early years working in his parents’ water sports shop in Ireland before going on to compete on the Windsurfing World Tour, winning a few titles along the way, and taking on the world’s bigger waves, riding Jaws in Hawaii. With a Law and Business degree, Timo spent the best part of 25 years working for Animal before setting up and selling a successful clothing brand of his own. His skillset has also seen him introduce several brands to the UK market including Skullcandy, House of Marley and Deus Ex Machina. More recently, Timo has set up a natural skincare brand called WiDEYE.

Karl Read: Karl embraced his childhood on the UK’s south coast before combining this love of the beach with his other passions for art and design. He forged a career that saw him work for seventeen years at Animal as Design & Creative Director before expanding into street and urban art. With years of painting murals, Karl has seen his latest sell-out piece go viral with ‘Dreamer’ a depiction of a young superhero on a swing. The iconic image was seen on skyscrapers in New York, large store fronts in London, NBC News and was recently selected to be acquired into the Library of Congress to mark a historic moment and movement in the US. He has donated all profits to charity.
A message from the Founders:

FoamLife was created by a collective of likeminded friends, creatives, thinkers, makers, and doers. Our story is an unconventional one from the outset. FoamLife was born in March 2020 under deepest darkest Covid lockdown – a time of unprecedented change when everyone’s lives and normal routines were put on pause. They say that all change brings opportunity and that pause proved to be just the catalyst of change required for us to collectively envision a fresh and disruptive new footwear brand based on a simple shared idea;

‘We believe that a life lived in flip flops is a life better lived’.

As athletes, artists, and musicians who’ve grown up living a ‘beach lifestyle’, we believe that a flip flop is more than just something that you put on your feet. Whether you’re finishing a long day at work or you’re just chilling with friends, slipping into a pair of flip flops just flicks that mental ‘feel good’ factor in us all.

As sports and fashion industry lifers, we are as passionate about creating great products as we are about creating great brands. With sustainability at our core; our aim is to create simple, stylish, and sublimely comfortable products that don’t cost the earth. At the end of the day, FoamLife is the simple manifestation of our collective imaginations, belief systems and often times counter intuitive approaches to life. Live less ordinary.

What the industry are saying:

“It’s rare to see a best-seller before it’s even launched. FoamLife is that product. Brought to life by a dream-team of the best in brand, design and sports. This is the right product with the right brand at the right time”. Simon Hill-Norton – Chair & Co-Founder | Sweaty Betty

“Flip flops. Nothing new there! And I guess that’s the point, right… The market has become dull and unexciting. I was lucky enough to recently get a sneak-peek into the development of FoamLife and their products. I’m 100% sure the team have both the brand and product to inject some much-needed energy and freshness into the category”. Rich Philip – Brand & Marketing Director | Stance

“A great product combined with a great team. I believe FoamLife has the commitment, passion and vision to become a leading brand. Globally.”
Harry Hodge – Founder | Quiksilver Europe

“The FoamLife guys are a rare breed – talented and ambitious with a long track record of producing products that sell. Expect this brand to reach Global iconic status fast.” Jan Michaelis – European Marketing Manager | O’Neill

The Product:

The business, which is based in Poole, Dorset, was spawned in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown after its founders recognised there had been no considerable shake-up of the flip flop market in a long time.

The UK flip flop market grew by 53% between June and August 2020 according to online fashion search business Lyst, as consumers have shifted toward more casual and comfortable footwear as a result of home working. FoamLife saw a gap in the market for a fresh, exciting brand that has a very commercial look with a focus on sustainability.

With a lot of work in creating a unique fit and refining the ergonomics of the product, customer can feel that difference when wearing them. Both the Men’s & Women’s collections have the classic core colours you would expect, with on-trend highlight colours that will update seasonally. The brand will also be introducing the ‘Wild Card’ collections based on collaborations, an integral part of the brands difference. Primarily they will link up with artists, athletes, and musicians.

Building a brand in lockdown:

For the FoamLife founders, lockdown was the catalyst of change; the perfect time to take the step, put pen to paper and start sketching some ideas for something fresh and new. Their crazy timing meant everything was designed and implemented over Zoom and WhatsApp, proving that the changing working conditions can still produce outstanding results.

Launching a brand during a global pandemic is no mean feat, and achieving the pre-sales figures they have done is a validation of their efforts. Currently, the brand is finalising investments that will ensure the ambitious growth strategy is both financially robust and achievable in the future.

Sustainability:

Sustainability is at the core of the FoamLife brand. The flip flop range includes products with both recycled EVA and recyclable TPE foam in the footbed and outsole and all packaging uses zero-plastic, recycled and biodegradable materials. This ECOnomical approach ensures that sustainability doesn’t compromise style.

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