Welcome to The Handoff. Standout early sports and consumer brands, sent to people who want them. Join the list. Or ask to be featured.
One email a month about early sports and consumer brands.
Brands I think are impressive. Not an investment offer.
US · Micro-weighted apparel · omorpho.com
Omorpho builds micro-weighted training apparel. G-Wear tops and tights use patented MicroLoad polymer and polyurethane spheres distributed through the garment, so the load sits in the fabric instead of a bulky vest silhouette. The G-Vest line uses stainless-steel bearings under the MicroLoad name.
Site framing covers run, walk, and train use cases, and weighted items are listed as HSA/FSA eligible. The product photographs as athletic kit first and a training tool second.
Public coverage has treated the weighted-apparel approach as a product story (including Men's Health review framing).
US · High-protein overnight oats · kreaturesofhabit.com
Kreatures of Habit makes clean, plant-based daily fuel. Meal One is high-protein overnight oats (site claims include 30g plant-based protein, probiotics, and Omega-3, with no added sugar). The Daily Bar is a plant-based protein bar with 3g creatine built in.
Brand framing is blunt: no seed oils, no artificial sweeteners, nothing fake, ingredients you can pronounce. Founder Michael Chernow built the line after years as a chef and athlete looking for a breakfast that was clean, convenient, and worth repeating every day.
London · Interlocking glass · foliclub.com
FOLI is a London pantry brand built around sculptural glass bottles that interlock into one counter object. The system is the story: olive oil, dressings, and balsamic that look designed to stay out, not hide in a cupboard.
The shop lists Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Premium French Salad Dressing, Premium Chilli Infused Olive Oil, and Premium Mature Balsamic Vinegar, plus the Premium Classic Trio and the Premium Classic & Chilli Trio. Founder Nohra Currie has spoken publicly about the packaging architecture.
Trade signals on the brand site include Harrods stocking and 2026 award-finalist badges. A September 2026 post on the site says FOLI won Everyday Homeware (Under £50) at the London Packaging Week Innovation Awards for the Set of Essential Premium Dressings.
US · Agave cocktails · drinkparch.com
Parch makes non-alcoholic sparkling agave cocktails with a Sonoran desert visual system. Brand story pages lean on desert botanicals and the line "what grows together, goes together."
Product names on the public site include Desert Margarita, Sedona Spritz, Prickly Paloma, and Spiced Piñarita.
Quieter than the most famous NA aperitif names, which is the point for this mosaic.
US · Conductive kinesiology tape · lectra.tech
Lectra is a wearable recovery platform built from two parts: CytoTape, a conductive kinesiology tape with embedded electrode patterns, and Myto, a small rechargeable pod that snaps onto the tape and connects to a phone.
It is wire-free muscle stimulation you can wear in daily life: apply the tape, snap the pod, control intensity and programs in the Lectra app. Site framing positions it for general wellness recovery, not as a medical device.
US · Sparkling calm · tryunwindco.com
Unwind is a functional sparkling drink for everyday calm, from Nowadays founders Justin Tidwell and Anthony Puterman. Each 12-ounce can pairs flavor with magnesium L-threonate (Magtein) and L-theanine, with zero caffeine, low sugar, and low calories. Five varieties: Berry, Cherry, Citrus, Tropical, and Spicy Lime. Suggested retail pricing begins at $2.79 a can and $10.99 a four-pack.
The debut is a retail shelf story: approximately 1,000 Walmart stores nationwide, plus Walmart.com, with TikTok Shop to follow in mid-October for direct-to-consumer shipping. The Walmart launch is described as the first phase, with additional national retail rollouts scheduled for early 2027. The brand is based in Irvine, Calif. The public site lists 25 calories and frames the line as sparkling calm.
Instagram and TikTok: @tryunwind.
LA · Sports challenges · puntr.us
PUNTR is a Los Angeles sports pick'em. The public site titles it "Sports Pick'em - Free Daily Challenges & Cash Prizes." The live product is daily skill-based challenges linked to real sporting events: users make predictions across sports, build a performance record, and compete in repeatable formats. It is framed as participation rather than sports viewing, and as a companion to the wider sports experience rather than a replacement for live broadcasts.
One current format is a free daily multi-pick challenge across sport. Each pick carries a different difficulty, and rankings use both accuracy and difficulty. Paid challenges run in eligible markets, where users enter fixed challenges for prizes.
Longer-term direction, described as not yet available across the current product, includes more tailored challenges, relevant live moments, statistics, notifications, and suggestions on people to follow. Brad Hunt leads engineering, AI, live data, product architecture, and design. Founded by Australians. The public site links Instagram and TikTok @playpuntr and X @puntrplay.
San Diego · Zero-sugar soda · drinkspade.com
Spade is a San Diego better-for-you soda. The public site calls it all natural, with no sugar, zero calories, and electrolytes. A December 2025 release says each can uses six ingredients, with no artificial sweeteners or preservatives, and is sweetened with a stevia extract.
The retail story is a shelf story: 245 Walmart stores across California beginning January 5, 2026, in the Modern Soda set, in Guava, Yuzu-Lime, and Kiwi-Strawberry. The same release names Fresh Thyme, Bristol Farms, Foodland, select Albertsons banners (United and Market Street), and Amazon. Blake Berman is CEO and co-founder. The public site also sells Blueberry Açaí, Dr. Spade, and Cola.
Instagram, TikTok, and X: @drinkspade.
US · Classic soda · stillerssoda.com
Stiller's Soda is a nostalgic better-for-you soda from Ben Stiller and Alex Doman. The September 2025 launch named three flavors: Root Beer, Lemon Lime, and Shirley Temple. Each 12-ounce can has 30 calories and 7 grams of sugar, from cane sugar, stevia, and monk fruit, plus vitamins D, B12, and C. The public site calls it all natural and low in calories, and also shops Shirley Cola.
The public site points to Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Target, and Amazon. A January 2026 Food Business News piece places the line in Target nationwide, Whole Foods Market in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, and Walmart in the Northeast.
Instagram and X: @stillerssoda. YouTube: @stillerssoda.
Home training · joingrowl.com
GROWL is a life-size, human-like AI personal trainer meant for the home. The public site describes a projected coach at human scale, an interactive touch surface, 3D motion tracking, and AI vision, hearing, and generative coaching with 360° feedback on each rep. Disciplines listed on the site include boxing, strength, Pilates, yoga, recovery, and gaming. The company says this is an early prototype of a fully generative coach, with a waitlist and a showroom visit.
The site frames the trainer as something for a whole household, kids included, and designed to live in the home rather than a garage. Cyril Gane, interim UFC heavyweight champion, appears as an early user. Press named on the site includes TechCrunch, The Verge, Fast Company, and Athletech News. The footer reads GROWL (BoxCo Interactive, Inc.).
Instagram and TikTok: @joingrowl.
Plant-based donuts · eatdrumroll.com
Drumroll Snacks makes plant-based donuts: fluffy, cakey, and glazed. The homepage lists the line as gluten-free and grain-free, with 10 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar, and 190 calories. Product copy also lists 8 grams of net carbs. The catalog names chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
The chocolate glazed page describes simple, plant-based ingredients and says the donuts are perishable and meant to stay refrigerated. The homepage line is “Donuts for the people.”
Instagram: @drumrollsnacks. TikTok: @drumrolldonuts.
Brooklyn · Ships nationwide · lastcrumb.com
Last Crumb makes handcrafted cookies in Brooklyn and ships nationwide. The public site says the cookies are handcrafted over three days, and a Williamsburg shop at 144 N 8th Street bakes them fresh daily. The page title calls them the best cookies in Brooklyn.
The Core Collection is a dozen, listed at $120, assorted by the head baker. Flavors named on the homepage include The O.G., The Madonna, When Life Gives You Lemons, The Floor Is Lava, Macadamnia, and S'mores Sans Campfire.
Instagram and TikTok: @lastcrumb. X: @LastCrumbCookie.
Hudsonville, MI · High-protein ice cream · proteinpints.com
Protein Pints is a high-protein ice cream started by two childhood friends from Hudsonville, Michigan, who began with a tabletop ice cream maker in 2022. Every pint has 30 grams of protein, and the new Protein Pops put the same idea into a chocolate-dipped bar. Olympic gymnast Brody Malone is part of the brand's athlete Collective.
Started in Hudsonville, MI, 2022
30g protein in every pint
Protein Pops, chocolate-dipped bar
Athlete Collective, Brody Malone
Houston, TX · Electrolyte lollipops · enjoylelick.com
Le Lick makes electrolyte lollipops in Houston, built for hydration before, during and after a workout. Each 10-gram pop carries sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, sweetened with organic cane sugar and clover honey and finished with Himalayan pink salt. Flavors come in Creamy, Tart and Juicy boxes, from Pink Lemonade to Spicy Mango.
180 mg sodium, 170 mg potassium per pop
25 calories, 5 g sugar
Kosher certified, made in the USA
One pop for kids, two for athletes
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