Fitt Insider

August 27, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Sword Health plans to acquire Headspace in an all-cash deal, expanding its AI-led platform into mental health as digital health consolidates
• Unrivaled raises $100M+ Series C, pushing its valuation to $650M as players remain the largest shareholder group with equity nearing $200M
• Life Time launches Life Time Social, an invite-only community platform debuting in New York, betting its physical footprint can build relationships beyond workouts

Today's episode is brought to you by AIIR — a modern communications and experiential agency for health, wellness, fitness, and performance brands. From earned media to events and creator-led campaigns, AIIR helps companies sharpen their story, earn attention, and build trust that compounds. Visit https://aiir.agency to learn more.

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

Here's the podcast description for August 26, 2026:

August 26, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Fitbit founders launch Luffu and its Link wearable, an LTE-connected device helping families track aging parents' health, mood, and location at home
• Berry Street merges with India's Healthify to combine 2,000+ clinics with AI-powered nutrition, betting on GLP-1 care as adoption approaches 30M Americans by 2030
• Amazon partners with HYROX to launch branded storefronts across six countries and title-sponsor its December race as the event grows into a global platform

Today's episode is brought to you by AIIR — a modern communications and experiential agency for health, wellness, fitness, and performance brands. From earned media to events and creator-led campaigns, AIIR helps companies sharpen their story, earn attention, and build trust that compounds. Visit https://aiir.agency to learn more.

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

August 25, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Oura faces a proposed class action over sleep-tracking accuracy claims just months after filing for an IPO at an $11B valuation
• Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky launch Outer Biosciences, using living human skin and AI to discover new skincare ingredients with four leads nearing commercialization
• Research and Markets projects global men's health and wellness will reach $2.88T by 2030, expanding well beyond supplements and gym memberships

Today's episode is brought to you by AIIR — a modern communications and experiential agency for health, wellness, fitness, and performance brands. From earned media to events and creator-led campaigns, AIIR helps companies sharpen their story, earn attention, and build trust that compounds. Visit https://aiir.agency to learn more.

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

Today, I'm joined by Clara Sieg, co-founder & CEO of Loonen.

Born from Clara's personal mission to avoid toxins in drinking water, Loonen's ultra-filtered, glass-bottled spring water emphasizes purity and transparency, rigorously tested for microplastics and PFAS.

In this episode, we discuss how water quality can influence health outcomes.

We also cover:

• The aging US water infrastructure
• National distribution and single-serve launch
• Building a heritage American beverage brand

Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Loonen's Website: https://loonen.com/

Sprouts Store Locator: https://loonen.com/pages/where-to-buy-loonen-water

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loonenwater

-

The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.

Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/

Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/

Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:37) Why Loonen Started

(03:46) Rethinking Water Sourcing

(05:08) Why Plastic Matters

(06:40) The Case for Better Water

(08:15) America's Water Infrastructure

(10:46) Is Better-for-You Too Expensive?

(12:30) Making Better Water Accessible

(14:18) Changing the Water Category

(16:31) What Consumers Can Do

(19:00) Building Brand Heat

(20:05) Designing the Loonen Bottle

(22:15) Loonen's Go-to-Market Strategy

(24:15) Funding and Building the Brand

(26:24) Loonen's Growth Goals

(29:20) What's Next for Loonen

(30:01) Where to Find Loonen

(31:18) Conclusion

August 21, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Crunch Fitness relaunches Crunch Select with boutique studios and premium amenities, using its franchise network to reach higher-value members
• EoS Fitness partners with HYROX to bring official race training into 25 gyms, giving its 225-location network a built-in path to competition
• Crosscourt raises $2M, bringing total funding to $4M, to expand its premium basketball club with backing from Scottie Barnes and Equinox leaders

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

August 20, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Target adds 4,600 new food items in a grocery overhaul leaning into discovery and emerging brands, targeting over $2B in growth over the next few years
• SUMMITS and Hyphen combine nutrition software with automated makelines to personalize institutional food service using wearable and sleep data
• Josh Kushner and Bob Iger buy the Lakers for a record $12.5B as sports and wellness merge into a shared identity economy for Gen Z

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

August 19, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Neko Health opens its first US clinic in SoHo on September 24 after building a 25,000-person waitlist, following a $700M raise and Amazon Health hire

• Happy Health raises $75M to expand its FDA-cleared smart ring beyond sleep diagnostics into physician-guided care for obesity and hypertension

• WNBA star Aliyah Boston takes equity in menstrual care startup Sequel, marking her first active equity partnership after becoming a customer herself

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

August 18, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Ferrero Group acquires Purely Elizabeth, the wellness food brand that more than doubled sales in two years, following its $3.1B WK Kellogg deal
• Women's sports viewership hits 28.6B minutes in H1 2026, up 18%, as ad spend rises 120% and sponsor valuations surge across the WNBA, NWSL, and LPGA
• Harris Poll finds 74% of Gen Z spend weekends at home, with 65% feeling more connected in wellness settings than traditional nightlife

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

Today, I'm joined by Chris Kiple, CEO of Solius Labs.

A decade in development, Solius's FDA-cleared UVB light therapy device personalizes dosage by skin type, aiming to replicate the benefits of sunlight while minimizing carcinogenic risk.

In this episode, we discuss sunlight as a foundational pillar of health and longevity.

We also cover:

• Why sun avoidance is deadlier than smoking
• Designing a skin scanner for personalized UVB dosing
• Moving UVB therapy from clinical dermatology to consumer health

Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Website: www.solius.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soliuslabs

-

The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.

Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/

Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/

Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:29) Swedish longevity study

(01:20) Chris background and Solius overview

(02:05) UVB light therapy foundation

(04:00) 10-year development and timing

(05:07) Sun exposure evolution and skin type

(08:10) Solius technology and personalized dosing

(09:35) Skin scanning and dosing mechanism

(11:00) FDA clearance and safety focus

(12:40) OTC vs. prescription positioning

(14:15) Safety risk contextualization

(15:42) Healthcare partnerships strategy

(17:50) Dermatology focus

(19:00) Orthopedic and cardiovascular applications

(20:32) Longevity clinic partnerships

(22:35) Swedish and UK biobank studies

(26:00) Hormone production benefits

(27:20) Cardiovascular and nitric oxide improvements

(28:30) Microbiome diversity impact

(31:15) Platform evolution and future devices

(33:20) Team-building and advisory board

(34:45) Listening to early users

(36:40) Where to find

(38:07) Conclusion

August 14, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• JG Wentworth survey finds 92% of US adults have delayed or abandoned medical care due to cost, creating an opening for lower-cost consumer health models

• Regenerative farming products hit $2B in annual US retail sales as 40 global food companies sign onto an initiative tying sourcing to soil health

• Eli Lilly files six lawsuits against sellers of unapproved retatrutide as CBP intercepts nearly 90,000 illicit GLP-1 vials in July alone

Today's episode is brought to you by AIIR — a modern communications and experiential agency for health, wellness, fitness, and performance brands. From earned media to events and creator-led campaigns, AIIR helps companies sharpen their story, earn attention, and build trust that compounds. Visit https://aiir.agency to learn more.

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]