For the Wellness Briefing, Glossy sat down with Blake Waller, co-founder of social wellness meetup group Coffee & Chill, as his company prepares to host 1,000 Gen Z and millennial consumers this weekend in Los Angeles at a World Cup-themed community wellness event. Additionally, a women-only gym concept heads to Dallas, Alo doubles down on personal care, and Oura partners in psychedelic research.
Community events like Coffee & Chill offer prime access to Gen Z wellness consumers
While just two years old, community wellness meetup group Coffee & Chill has quickly created a blueprint for brands to authentically reach hundreds of young, engaged wellness consumers. It’s doing so through in-person events in Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, New York and San Diego.
“Our value prop from the beginning, the reason we started and why we still do it today, is really to bring people together over health and wellness,” Coffee & Chill co-founder Blake Waller told Glossy. “[We strive to] provide an alternative space for socialization outside of drinking.”
Waller worked as a senior solutions architect at ButterflyMX before launching Coffee & Chill with co-founder George Miller, a former Boeing mechanical design engineer.
Coffee & Chill is not a sober event, but rather a different way to encourage chance social meetings, Waller said — and it’s taking off. Today, Waller manages a small team in Los Angeles that runs partnerships and events, plus regional co-founders in each market to oversee events. Ticket sales for the events, which can draw upward of 2,000 people, are hosted on SweatPals, a social fitness app that connects users to local groups and events. And brand sponsorships can ring in up to the six figures, he told Glossy.
The group started organically after the pandemic, when L.A.-based Waller and his co-founder began coordinating group cold plunge sessions, which, after outgrowing a small patio, turned into community events. “Alcohol is a really good social lubricant, right?” Waller said. “But I also think endorphins and fitness, and even ice baths and saunas, are good social lubricants, too.”
Coffee & Chill’s primary demographic is early 20s to early 30s, with an even mix between wellness experts and those simply seeking new, hangover-free ways to socialize. “Sometimes we’re an introduction [to wellness through] someone’s first ice bath, cupping or infrared lights,” Waller said. “But I do believe that one of the most important pieces of health and wellness is community and friends.”
Coffee & Chill has made a name for itself for hosting large-scale, wellness-focused community events on the Las Vegas Strip and in Miami during Art Basel. This team will host a World Cup-themed viewing party, called the Wellness Cup, this weekend in Venice Beach. Tickets are under $30, and the team expects up to 1,000 attendees. Coffee & Chill is bootstrapped and profitable, Waller said.
This weekend’s event features a laundry list of partnerships; it will kick off with group strength fitness classes sponsored by Peloton, mini pilates classes from SolidCore, yoga flows from Core Power and pickup soccer games by Venice Beach Football Club. Then there are cold plunges, saunas, mini facials, food and drinks, IV therapy, and various other wellness activations. Sponsors include Pause Studio, Clarity Health Co., Beyond Facials, Art of Tea, MALK, Bloom, OWYN protein shakes, Javvy Coffee, Saint James, Nordic Naturals and Naked Nutrition, among other companies.
The ticket covers all activations and freebies, although lines do form. “Our goal is to have enough stuff that you can get a little of most things,” Waller said.
To stand out at Coffee & Chill events, longtime sponsor Goodwipes — the privately held, 13-year-old personal care wipe brand sold at Target, Walmart and CVS — has created a trucker hat customization station, a “porta palace” luxury toilet trailer and free samples.
“[Brands can have] more of that intimate conversation at these events that have 100-1,000 people, rather than hundreds of thousands,” Meredith Diehn, svp of marketing at Goodwipes, told Glossy. “These community moments are really important in generating and building trust, specifically for this younger audience.”
Goodwipes also invests in showing up for customers through run clubs, marathons and other wellness- and fitness-themed events. “It’s really in this sweet spot of 1,000-2,000 people, where we can spend three hours with these folks and talk to everybody,” she said. “For us, that’s the measure of success: Can we have a deep interaction with anybody who wants to learn about the brand and not feel like we have to [rush the interaction with them]?”
Executive moves:
- Hanny van Amerongen has been promoted to Unilever’s new chief R&D officer of personal care. Van Amerongen has been with the conglomerate for more than 14 years, most recently as VP of R&D, global food innovation.
- Three executives will be leaving Coty in the coming weeks as part of its executive reshuffle. This includes Caroline Andreotti, chief commercial officer of its prestige division; Dr. Shimei Fan, chief scientific and sustainability officer; and Priya Srinivasan, chief people and purpose officer.
News to know:
- Actress Ali Larter is the new brand ambassador for L’Oréal Group-owned SkinCeuticals, maker of clinical skin-care products. The brand will run campaigns focused on “aging in reverse,” with a potential focus on its bestselling $185 serum, CE Ferulic. Larter turned 50 this year.
- A new women-only gym is set to open in Dallas in September. Atlanta-based fitness incubator Founders Row is debuting a new boutique strength-training concept for women called LiftHER. The company is backed by fitness execs from OrangeTheory, Nike and Sculpthouse, with plans to scale to more locations after a successful fall opening. “Women have outgrown being an afterthought in the weight room. LiftHER is built entirely for them,” said Katherine Mason, co-founder of LiftHER, in a statement.
- The Oura health tracker team is investing in psychedelic research. The company is contributing biometric data to INVI MindHealth, a mental health technology company “building tools for earlier awareness, objective measurement, and human-connected support,” according to the company. The project will study veterans receiving multiple therapies to identify biomarkers that may help predict both rapid improvement and the durability of effect, according to INVI MindHealth.
- Alo is doubling down on its personal-care offerings. The company launched a hypochlorous acid spray and NAD+ eye masks, two burgeoning categories that straddle wellness, fitness and beauty. Its hypochlorous acid spray, which is often used after a workout to prevent breakouts, will sell for $16 and compete with Tower28’s $28 SOS Spray and Magic Molecule’s $20 Skin Spray. Meanwhile, Alo’s new eye patch offering is a foray into the NAD+ and wellness patch categories.
Stat of the week:
Many new GLP-1 users significantly decreased their physical activity after beginning medication, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program. The study, published by the Endocrine Society, examined more than 750 new users and found that daily steps and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous exercise both declined. This could mean white space for the wellness industry. “People need targeted interventions that encourage physical activity alongside medication for obesity,” said study lead Sajana Maharjan, M.D. “The findings in our study reinforce that exercise cannot be optional for people taking these medications.”
In the headlines:
OluKai is tapping Hawaiian lifeguards as brand ambassadors and product testers [Modern Retail]. The Barbie drug your dermatologist has never heard of [McGill]. The French-girl guide to lymphatic drainage [Vogue]. A skin cancer vaccine may be on the horizon [Allure]. Shiseido unveils research on ring-shaped collagen structure to maintain facial shape [Cosmetics Business].
Listen in:
How does a 20-year-old market leader stay on top? For sunscreen brand Supergoop, it requires an evolving channel mix that includes adding mass retailers like Target, joining Amazon’s Premium Beauty channel and using TikTok Shop to market lesser-known SKUs. Supergoop CMO Lauren Weinberg joined Glossy Beauty Podcast host Lexy Lebsack onstage at Glossy’s annual E-Commerce Summit to unpack the brand’s channel strategy shifts made so far this year.
Need a Glossy recap?
Celebrity fragrances are gearing up for a hot girl summer. How Wimbledon players became fine jewelry brands’ ultimate ambassadors. How Bandit Running is expanding internationally while staying hyperlocal. Bath & Body Works taps Hilary Duff to front new fruit-forward body line. Inside On’s innovation engine and apparel ambitions, as its founders return to lead the next phase. Ulta Beauty Strategies: What Ulta is learning about Gen Alpha consumers. Vacation builds on its nostalgic Pepsi collab with a throwback summer giveaway. Coty is betting its booming Boss fragrance franchise can win over women. How Meta leveraged Kylie Jenner, Peggy Gou and Substackers in its first fashion campaign. For America 250, customers want positive actions more than patriotic branding.
