Bala is heading to Target.
The fitness brand, best known for its Bala Bangles, $55, a modern take on the traditional ’80s ankle weight, is entering 1,382 doors nationwide with its Bala Bangles in one and two pounds, $55, Bala Bars, $59, and Bala Bands, $35.
“It’s been on our vision board since we launched the brand. Target, long-term, was always the plan,” said Bala cofounder Natalie Holloway. “It’s a natural evolution for Bala to be in Target especially as we focus on expanding to more customers and expanding our product assortment.”
While the brand has an array of other products including the Bala Beam, $109, and The Play Mat, $99, the in-store assortment was strategic.
“Bala Bangles have been the runaway hero of our company,” said Bala cofounder Maximilian Kislevitz, making them a key stock keeping unit at Target. “With the other products in the assortment, they’re the right introductory complements to the Bangles.”
Bala redesigned its packaging in 2021 to be more eye-catching and act as an educational tool, which the team expects to drive in-store sales.
“We wanted to make packaging that would frankly stand out on-shelf and embrace arguably our most defining characteristic and differentiator in color. All the stuff that we make, from a packaging perspective, is a lighter hue of the product that’s within it,” said Kislevitz. “It has this candy, toy-like quality to it and then the packaging is as educational as possible. We have a QR code that drives you to content on our website to teach folks how to use the product.”
While stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic skyrocketed the brand’s business, the team expects this retail launch to drive new customer acquisition and brand awareness nationwide. According to Holloway, the brand’s presence is most notable in major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin.
“Being in all of the other locations in the United States will really help our brand presence, and I do think it’s going to be a huge discovery platform for Bala,” she said.
According to the team, Target was an ideal partner, as it has been successful at highlighting other aspirational, direct-to-consumer brands like Flamingo and Harry’s that Bala aligns with.
“Target is obviously full of aspirational, but attainable brands, and I think that’s really where Bala has always tried to play,” said Kislevitz.
To celebrate the launch, Bala will introduce a new true-blue color called “ocean,” available exclusively at Target.
The Bala team declined to share any specific sales figures regarding launch; however, WWD previously reported that the brand jumped from $2 million in sales in 2018 to $16 million in sales in 2020. At WWD’s Wellness Forum in September 2022, the team also shared it had amassed $50 million in sales over the last four years, at the time.
Source: WWD