Hyperice’s Post

Transcript

Well, let's talk air therapy. The sports recovery company Hyperice unveiling its latest product. We're talking about the Normatec Elite. It is a full leg compression boot system. It's designed to improve blood circulation and help you get you back on your feet more quickly. And joining us now for an exclusive interview, I am thrilled to say we have Gilad Jacobs. He is Norma Tech founder and also the Hyper Ice Chief innovation officer. It's great to see you in person, Katie, how's it going? Great. So let's talk about this new product I am very familiar with. Normatec have used it many times I ran in college. But in any case, this new product, the Normatec Elite announced today. Who was this for? Is this for professionals or is this for, you know, individuals to buy and put in their homes? Well, the easy answer is really just everyone, right? So we started at the top with the best athletes in the world and that really informed a lot of our decision making in terms of how to create a product that worked. And because we're all built the same, it works on you, whether you're someone in the NBA weekend warrior or somebody who. Just wants to feel better after a long shift on their feet all day. If you're a television anchor, you know, wearing high heels, like, I get it. So how much is this actually listed for $999? Yeah. The new normal TECA leads are 999. And we did some incredible things with this technology. We actually eliminated the box and the hose that generates the compression to go in boots, and we're able to integrate it right into the leg boots themselves. So completely wireless. And it's just really elevates the experience and make something that was really good. Even that much better so see theoretically much more mobile I can actually travel with this probably more easily than I could with that that hose mechanism traveling really wasn't an issue beforehand, but just eliminating that aspect of it even just the clicking in and needing to kind of press the start button over here really makes a big difference and it's just been really cool to get all this great feedback from the athletes that have used it in the run up to the launch in terms of how much more they're integrating it into their existing daily routine. Let's talk about the customer base a little bit more because. You talk about athletes, you talk about individuals, What segment are you actually focusing on? Where are you putting the most muscle into right now? So we divide the market into a couple different areas. First and foremost, we have to make sure that our core, original core, I should say the best athletes in the world. So we're talking NBA, NFL, NHL, every league and athletes in there are using the Normatec and Hyperice products. But then you step down to the collegiate level and then everybody else who are really kind of, if you look at the. Market as a pyramid really kind of from the the bottom 25% up we're focusing on. So bringing technology, making it more accessible from both a financial perspective, bringing our costs down over the years. What started originally as a $4500 Norma tech device is now coming in and under $1000 with even more technology packed into it is something that we're really proud of and something that we work really hard on every day. Well, you touched on something that I've been wondering about is, you know, how much of A focus is selling to universities, for example, getting those types of deals? And contracts when it comes to schools, colleges, universities, but also potentially gyms, for example. Yeah, we have a lot of different areas that we focus on. So we have great relationships with the colleges and universities and Olympic teams and whatnot. But being able to work then with the next layer down, people who are going to the gyms and accessing it. For us, it was never about just making the best product that only a few could use. We wanted it to be something that everybody democratize, if you will, the technology for recovery and make it something that everyone can really enjoy and get benefit from. Well, I do want to talk also about the price tag because nearly $1000, I mean, there's a lot of people who would say there's no way I'm going to buy that. That is just too expensive. If you think about the economic environment we're in right now, high inflation, of course, maybe the labor market weakening a little bit, how has that impacted your customer base? Are you seeing any noticeable softening when it comes to your sales? Not right now, not at all. I think a lot of people, as we always hear during these times, really like to focus on their body and their health, their Wellness during this period of time. When you actually break it down to the cost per session of a Normatec, we're talking about 3 or $4.00 and you compare that to what it's like to have to go get a massage. And not only that, the time suck. Even though massage feels great, once you're done, you're done and you can have this, this thing will last for years. We do unbelievable accelerated life testing with the product and the product has been in the field now for 15 plus years in one generation or another. So we've been able to get really great feedback over the years and put that into the next generation of equipment. Well, to that point. Are you competing with is it other products when it comes specifically to these compression sleeves? Are you competing against masseuses? Not competing against masseuses. We call it a welcome adjunct to all the things that are going on. We really like to focus in from a competition perspective on education. So a lot of people don't know that recovery is a thing. You say recovery to someone years ago and they would say, oh, what's wrong with you? Did you have an ACL repair, ankle sprain? Recovery is a means of performance has been this new category that has really developed. You look at all these athletes. Everyone trying to push the pace legally, so we're trying to do things, whether it's coaching and whether it's gear and whether it's nutrition. What's that next frontier outside of training that you can do when never made sense to me is that we're so proactive about those elements that go into the training and the conditioning, but we're so passive about the recovery. So being able to focus on the recovery is something that I've athletes really are are latching on to. And I mean, it's a great point too. When you talk about pushing the limits in a legal manner, you think about the development of super shoes. For example, when it comes to running, that obviously has led to some big breakthroughs there, but I want to talk a little bit more about hyper raises broader business because there's also the hyperbole, which is basically a massage gun and you think about the competitive landscape there. Theragun, for example, is popular as well. How do you compete there? Sure. So hyper ice and and Hypervolt specifically with massage gun category really created the first consumer massage tool. The percussion technology is unbelievable, especially when you work in in. Adjunct With some of these other technologies that we come out with from a competition standpoint, we spent a lot of time focusing in on how to make the best product from the ground up. The quietness, the working with the best athletes in the world to get their feedback, to put it into the product. Really the best athletes in the world, their DNA is inside every product that we have. I think it's a testament to how much they use it and how well it works. I remember some of the first generation massage guns, They were so loud, sounded like a real gun. Weren't originally designed for home consumer use and that was one thing that hyper race was able to do is focus in on the consumer tech perspective. What's really exciting is even though that's how things started where we're going in the next 18 to 24 months from a product pipeline, it's something that I've never been a part of it is unbelievable. We were so excited about what's coming down the Pike and really excited to start to share as things get ready for launch. We'll definitely keep in touch so enjoyed this conversation our thanks of course to Gilad Jacobs of Norma tech and. Piper Rice now still ahead, we're going to take a look at the companies making the most social buzz today in our Social climber segment. Up next, this is Bloomberg.