No. 9 · 3 Feb 2024 · 10 min
FLOWBIO hydration sensor. Next step of the performance revolution?
Hydration revolution for endurance sports.
The sports industry has experienced rapid growth in the last years with further expansion in 2024: new technologies, trends, insights, acquisitions, and new markets. Companies, brands, and media strive to grow, react, and compete. Everything we like about the sport itself. That’s great but today I want back to the device that is called FLOWBIO hydration sensor.
What’s inside?
Intro
Company and market overview
Problem behind it
FLOWBIO competitors
Landing page
Ideas
Wrapping up
A note from the author
Intro 📝
In November 2022 I posted news about startups. Some of them I’ve added to bookmarks because I want to follow their journey. In this list was a hydration sensor.
“FLOWBIO is currently in beta testing. With a handful of athletes to finalize the product and get it ready for us. They are data-driven hydration for athletes. We know that sweat contains a wealth of information that when analyzed, can provide accurate, real-time data about a person’s health. Flowbio is aiming to do so.“
I saved it and decided to return it once it was in production. Today we are going to see what happened and what the current status is.
Company and market overview 📉
FLOWBIO is a company based in the UK, London with its hydration sensor for athletes. I spotted them in November 2022 when they were in beta-testing of the product. Today you can purchase the product and test it by yourself.
Based on Crunchbase information the last funding round was in May 2022 with raised £879,050.
When we go deeper we can find some additional information on Linkedin as well.
Backed by Metaplanet, Entrepreneur First, SOSV, and Possible Ventures.
Angel investors include Petteri Lahtela (Co-founder of OURA)
John Walker and Bill Shufelt (Co-founders of Athletic Brewing Company)
Rob Bishop and Zehan Wang (Magic Pony Founders)
Pankaj Kedia (Co-founder of Qualcomm's wearable unit)
The list is solid.
In total based on the message from the video, it took 4 years to launch the product. Great to see that people invest time/resources in technologies like this because even today for money even amateur athletes can create bio-lab to measure not only HR but hydration, and muscle oxygen consumption. The market for wearables devices is growing, and a combination of devices can provide insights into your body's reaction to different training volumes, rest, and hydration itself.
The market for dehydration monitoring systems was estimated to be worth US$ 535.6 million in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%
It’s not only about the performance but health overall.
By application, athletic performance optimization segment expected to grow with the CAGR of 10.2% over the forecast period to reach USD 289.6 million by 2025 (Globenswire)
The problem behind it 🛑
The growth of the market is deeper than just creating a new fancy device. The problem of dehydration for people and athletes is critical today.
On athlete performance level it can cause symptoms like:
Fatigue
Cramps, spasms
Impaired memory and concentration
Headache
Nausea
People are dehydrated and numbers only confirm that.
FLOWBIO competitors 💧
When I first time found FLOWBIO I did some research a noticed that on the market we have already products that aim to do the same as FLOWBIO. Collect data through your sweat for better performance. Here is the list of main vendors from my point of view.
I tried to consider the product by some points like:
Ease of use
Available app
Possibility to sync with other devices
Landing page from a marketing point of view (here I tried to evaluate how quickly I can understand what this device is about and how it works from the messaging)
The message of the brand is:
Analyze sweat and provide endurance athletes with personalized hydration data — scientifically validated and delivered in real time.
Price: €122
Positioning: like the first biosensor to analyze sweat
You need to purchase and change patches: 4 pcs - €24 (the main questions how often you should do this)
Now integrated with Garmin, Apple
Next to come Strava, TrainingPeaks, Wahoo, and Zwift.
As a person who spent quite a lot of time with customers, for me to have feedback is critical when I decide on the purchase. Overall I like the structure of the site and message, but I have questions when we are talking about the app and device itself. I understand that creating this kind of device requires a lot of resources and time, but today you should work with all aspects of the product. Even if you have issues with the product, work with your customers afterward because of their feedback on your sales channel and brand face.
The message of the brand is:
The first reusable hydration wearable monitor.
Price: $249.99 (Pre-order now) and first shipping in February 2024.
Positioning: Sweat testing for athletes is made easy, flexible, and affordable.
Integrated with Android app, iOS app, and Garmin app.
Next to come: information N/A
For now, it’s not clear if the app will be free or with a subscription. We know already models where you purchase devices and afterward should pay a monthly subscription. From the landing perspective for me, it was quite clear what is this device about. It has a classic block of the landing page and a clear message. When you’re working with devices that might be complicated to the end user the main goal is not to overcomplicate things. In this case, I understand what I can get and how I can use it.
The message of the brand is:
The world's most accurate hydration sensor.
Price: £329
Positioning: the world’s most accurate hydration sensor. No cramps, no guesswork.
Integrated with iOS app, Garmin, Polar, Zwift, Trainingpeaks,Wahoo, Coros.
At the moment I see these players as the main products if we are talking about wearable devices for athletes. It is the main goal, at least for now. I won’t write more at this point about FLOWBION because we are trying to cover more just now.
Landing page 📄
On the main, you can see the message of the brand and the call to action button that allows you to make an order.
Push the boundaries of your performance.
Even with the start, you realize that we have something that can help you to increase your performance or at least work differently.
World’s most accurate hydration sensor.
You can notice that the second part of the messaging is in a different blue color. When you visit a website your eyes first catch this title and only then the first part of the message. From the very beginning, you already know that it’s a hydration sensor and it will help to push the boundaries.
On the first banner, you can also see with which devices it’s compatible. It’s the main question for each athlete if we are talking about the wearables. I think it’s core for products to have integration with Garmin, Polar, Coros, and Apple Watch.
The next block is about the device and overview. So, from first impression, it looks like a heart-rate monitor strap. My first concern was that you should sacrifice one of the devices during your training or use it on the arm. That wasn’t correct because you can clip the device on your HR strap. We’ll talk about it later.
Data drive hydration for serious athletes.
This was the first stop when I was confused. Messaging is a key and power. Messaging is a killer. Probably you should answer to yourself if you are a “serious” athlete, but what if I’m not? Does it mean that I don’t need a device? Seems like the target group is professional athletes or high-performer age-groupers. Somehow I consider myself a serious athlete as well because I don’t run for fun and don’t compete for fun. Every time I try to do my personal best, but I still don’t feel that I’m part of this serious group.
Data drive hydration for any athletes.
Maybe not an ideal case, but in this scenario, we are still targeting the group we need but now we don’t care about your level. We want you to push boundaries as we promised in the first message.
Afterward, we have a part where you can understand how the device can help.
Prevent dehydration
Help your recovery
Monitor sweat losses
Some elite athletes in endurance sports as a trust point for the device.
Afterward, you have a part about the application itself and how it can help in your journey.
The main points are:
AI recommendation algorithm to predict hydration in the upcoming session.
Performance insights with hydration problem areas
Fitness app integration list
…and my lovely part with FAQ that is very informative and where you can find all the information you need. What we can find there?
The FLOWPATCH captures sweat and analyses its.
100+ hours of battery life + charging possibility
90% accuracy in lab-based conditions over 83% for sodium and 73% for fluid loss in the field.
IP65 rating and aiming to develop a solution for swimming!!!
The app is free without any charge.
No Android app for now (Feb 2024)
Real-time data on devices like Garmin planned for Summer 2024
Running, Cycling, Walking activities for now
Designed to be worn on an existing heart rate monitor
Summarise:
I remember when I found the website in the beta-testing. It was only one page but I liked it. The current product page consists clear message and doesn’t have a distraction. At least for me. It combines aesthetic style with identity and good colors. I see that it’s about sport. Based on the other website it’s short but consists of a lot of information. You are not overwhelmed. I like the style and design. Simple but informative. We always have where to improve, right? But it’s another topic for testing and marketing activities.
Ideas 💡
As an amateur athlete, you’re happy when you can use technologies like this to learn more about your body. It’s kind of a game. But how far away you can go with this technology?
Hydration monitoring during the day and sleep
Correlation between hydration/performance
AI analysis to give more insights about the history data of exercises, volume, training, and hydration
More deep analysis of your sweat
Illness or body inflammation indication/prediction
Overtraining prediction
More sports will be added. As a former kayaker, this technology would be a must-have in the training process especially in summer when you have hot conditions outdoors. I hope that soon we will be able to see expansion.
Wrapping up 🎁
We see players. Sometimes you don’t need to be first to win the market. When we talk about the product, it’s not about the product itself. It’s a core - yes, but a lot depends on how you pack it. Visuals are important, message is important, feedback is critical and support is crucial. With the power of AI communication is still a key. I can imagine how much effort engineers put into this device to find a solution that works. I am pretty sure that they will have even more challenges that need overcome. I am happy that I can live in this reality where devices and homes lab accessible even to amateur athletes. The market is growing and numbers are only showing it. I don’t know why I saved FLOWBIO more than 1 year ago. Maybe it was a gut feeling that I definitely should follow them.
2 weeks ago they announced a launch. You can see the video here.
At this time one of the founders decided to share about the fund round publicly.
Linkedin announcement. You can find a lot of interesting details in the presentation and what FLOWBIO is about. I’m pretty sure that they are on the right track and it’s just only the beginning.
A note from the author 📝
The industry in endurance sports looks good. Using familiar devices like Garmin watch to track your HR, number of steps, cadence, and speed now we can talk about more deeper analysis from different points of view.
Muscle oxygen consumption sensor Train.Red to measure and understand your oxygen consumption You can add OCHY for your running biomechanical analysis to avoid injuries and improve your technique and results. Now you can go further and use FLOWBIO to understand your hydration.
What’s next?
Thanks for reading. I hope it was useful for you.
Cheers,
TA
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