Sound Baths Are Rising In Frequency
Back in October, we highlighted a Flare on Breathwork and the Unbundling of Mindfulness. Sound baths, a meditation practice of “bathing” in sound frequencies traditionally generated by crystal bowls, gongs, or cymbals, are another slice of this unbundling.
Like many wellness trends commodified from ancient traditions, healing through sound is nothing new. Tibetan and Aboriginal cultures have been using singing bowls and didgeridoos for meditation and therapy for millennia.
The practice has been steadily heading mainstream pre-COVID and hasn’t stopped since.
Over the last 90 days, “sound bowl meditation” climbed 603% on Amazon, and “sound bath bowls” reached a peak in January with 10k searches on Google, according to Keywords Everywhere.
Opportunities include combining the billion-dollar industries of mindfulness, yoga, sleep, and audio. You could capitalize with courses, studios, and apps for both attendees and facilitators (“singing bowls for beginners” gets 1.6k searches/mo, per Keywords Everywhere).
There’s also opportunity for high-tech solutions (see our Signal on digiceuticals for meditation). Think specialty headphones (Muse, a “brain-sensing headband” that tracks sleep and meditation has $30.4m in funding), or electronic instruments able to produce different frequencies.
Free Diving: The Latest Craze Under The Sea
How long can you hold your breath? Free diving, a form of diving that requires breath-holding instead of any breathing apparatus like scuba gear, is bubbling in popularity.
The underwater activity has ~335m views on TikTok and 60.5k monthly searches on Google, according to Keywords Everywhere.
Communities around free diving are especially strong, since most get certified in cohorts and dive with buddies. Facebook Groups show opportunities for coach training, hyper-local events, and niche marketplaces:
- Freediving coaches of Asia: 8.1k members
- New Zealand Spearfishing and Diving: 10.5k members
- Freediving and Spearfishing Market 14.4k members
Freediving requires intense training in safety and breathwork, so opportunities aren’t limited to diving locations. Like scuba certifications, you could provide pre-vacation classes at pools or virtual training through apps and courses before people head to destinations like Bali, Florida, or Hawaii.
There’s also opportunity with Freediving Science and Freediving Statistics (9.6k members and 3.7k members on Facebook Groups, respectively).
You could capitalize by teaching scientific-based courses, providing newsletters with up-to-date rankings and records, or creating betting systems around top divers and competitions.
Ice, Ice Baby
Here’s another water-themed Flare we uncovered: small ice machines.
If you’ve ever had a drive-thru meal from Sonic, you know that “nugget ice” is known as “the good ice.” (Don’t believe us? Check out these 25.6k upvotes and 940 comments on Reddit.)
Interest is surging in bringing the good ice to the home. Various small ice machines on Amazon are seeing similar upticks over the last 90 days, according to Jungle Scout:
- “Ice maker crushed ice”: +700%
- “Mini ice maker machine”: +284%
- “Portable crushed ice maker”: +193%
Product reviews show that purchasers are revamping at-home kitchen and patio bars. You could capitalize by creating nugget ice appropriate cocktail or shaved ice flavoring kits.
Due to its soft yet crunchy texture, nugget ice is also touted as a diet aid to curb snack cravings, opening up the billion dollar nutrition and health industry. You could even create superfood powders targeted as ice pairings.
We expect to see growing demand for other types of standalone cocktail ice machines in the house, including clear ice and gem-shaped ice (Crowdfunded Forge Clear Ice System is highly anticipated by whiskey enthusiasts).
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