Is there just a little to much bounce in your run? Not a fan of burpees during a workout? Then an innovative new product may be for you.
Booband founder, Fiona Watson started running seriously in 2012 in an attempt to get fit and went from no exercise to running a marathon within a year. Throughout her training, and despite wearing a good sports bra, sometimes two at a time, she found her boobs uncomfortable and even painful.
Looking for a way to ease the discomfort Fiona sourced a compression bandage as she wanted to stop the bounce and give herself an extra dimension to the support of the sports bra. She found it really worked but didn’t look great and so had the idea of manufacturing a band which looked sporty but did the job of reducing bounce and could fit and benefit a variety of women of different shapes and sizes.
Fiona said: “After studying various scientific research studies into ligament damage, the development and design then took about six months to ensure superior performance and fit. Finding the right manufacturers was key to us as we were developing a product that would potentially change women’s active lives forever.”
The Booband can be worn both instead of a sports bra or in addition – this is based on personal comfort and if you wear it with a sports bra Fiona recommends wearing it above the bra for comfort. A good sports bra provides breast support and the Booband reduces movement and prevents bounce, worn together they can provide maximum support and comfort.
Fiona added: “Exercise, especially high-impact exercise such as running or jumping, places tension on the supporting structures of the breast, which can result in pain. As there there are no muscles in the breast the only supporting structures are the skin and the Coopers ligaments – thin, paper-like tissues that weave throughout the breast and attach to the chest wall. It is thought that sagging, which is irreversible, occurs when these ligaments are overstretched. The benefits of wearing a Booband include, amongst many things, ultimate comfort during exercise, confidence while working out, saying goodbye to embarrassing wobbles and the medically proven reduction of breast sagging.”
Booband comes in small, medium and large and a variety of colours. It is fully adjustable with a velcro panel in order to get the exact size to suit all shapes and sizes.
The company has been in business for two years and had a number of hurdles to overcome before they could bring their product to market.
Stevie said: “Our biggest issue, by far, was the ability to keep up with demand. We have had a few amazing reviews and videos that went viral on the social channels which wiped out our stock over one weekend. That really told us that Booband was here to stay so inventory levels were one of our key and most business critical markers
“Apart from that, one of the biggest barriers to market early on has been getting people to really understand how and why the Booband works. As its so dynamic, and new to market, people needed to trust the product. That actually all changed pretty quickly once we had adopted great ambassadors and amazing reviews. Coupled with this we had the normal manufacturing and quality issues but nothing that could stop us moving forward.”
And things have been going really well for Booband over the past year and the pair are rightly proud of the feedback they have had from women who have bought their product.
Fiona said: “We are so excited with how things have developed over the last 12 months, the response from our customers has been so wonderful and humbling, especially when we receive emails and reviews about how this has changed people’s active lives across the globe and, in some instances, actually got people moving again.
“Booband allows women of all ages to be active with more confidence, removing the stigma attached to bounce when engaging in high impact exercise. So, in a nutshell, we could not be more happy with the product and our ever growing audience.”
And Booband do not intend to rest on their laurels and have big plans for the future.
Stevie said: “We are currently working on numerous projects within Booband that will not only see the current product line extended to prints and new colours, but also a selection of tech and apparel products to compliment the range.
“We are launching our tech version of the band in September, which will be a basic wearable tracker, allowing women to monitor activity through steps, calories and heart rate. Not to compete with the likes of fitbit and Garmin but allowing the everyday active girl to keep an eye on what they are doing at a grass roots level.
“Coupled with this, we are also launching, in 2017, a range of essential active products and clothing products that will compliment the active lives of women, regardless of age and culture. Ranging from active hair accessories to active clothing.”
Fiona added: “In addition we have also launched Boobuddy, our sister brand in the USA and Canada, which will also follow the same line in newly-developed products.”
