6. April 2022

FIBO Innovation & Trend Award: winners have been announced

© Behrendt & Rausch

Honour to whom honour is due: The winners of the FIBO Innovation & Trend Awards 2022 have been announced! On 6 April, the day before FIBO, they were announced and recognised during the European Health and Fitness Forum. Thus, the fitness and health industry has once again proven: It is as innovative and full of ideas as it was before the pandemic and is now returning with renewed vigour.

With their ingenuity, the winners of this year's FIBO Innovation & Trend Awards convinced the international jury and stood their ground against strong competition. The high demand and the number of entries were also a very positive signal from the industry that the pandemic period was used for innovative project developments. Much to the delight of the five-member jury, who were spoilt for choice in a session lasting several hours.

Now they have been selected: Seven winners were chosen in a total of six categories.

Category Ecology and Sustainability

Ergofit GmbH/ Ergofit Row: With the new Fluidmotion braking technology developed by sport engineers in collaboration with competitive sportspeople at Germany universities, the rowing movement of the “Ergofit Row” becomes a unique and natural feeling – like rowing on real water. Thanks to the incredible silence of less than 50 dB users enjoy an intoxicating flow experience. “Ergofit Row” is manufactured 100% in Germany.

Category Health & Prevention

Myzone/ MZ-Switch: Myzone MZ-Switch is the world’s first heart-rate measuring device with optional use on the chest, arm and wrist. It can be switched from ECG to PPG so that it can be worn on the chest or the wrist.

Category Lifestyle, Life-Balance and Wellness

Benchmark Sp. z o.o./ BenchK 113 wall bar: These multi-functional wall bars with gymnastics accessories and an additional kit can be used by both children and adults. BenchK 113 wall bar is as handy as it is stylish combining a lifestyle aspect with workouts for the whole family.

Category Nutrition

Sureblend Limited/ Sureblend Power Blender Shaker: This shaker easily blends protein powders, nutritional supplements, oat flakes, berries and nuts in seconds and can additionally be used as a power-bank for other devices.

Category Start-Up

Plyofold/ Plyofold: Plyofold is a plyobox – also known as a jump box – which can be used especially in HIIT training – High Intensity Interval Training. The box launched by start-up Plyofold can be folded up and is therefore easier to store and transport. This means more room for workouts and equipment for gyms.

An absolute exception in 2022: two winners in the Performance Category

This year will see a special premiere: in the Performance Category the jury has nominated not one but two winners. An absolute exception never seen before at previous years’ Innovation Awards. However, both products boast a high degree of innovation, honoured by the jury. The reason: on the one hand, they could not be more different in their application, on the other, they offer an excellent benefit for the fitness industry. For the jury an anything but easy decision that was discussed at length. Here many criteria were taken into consideration and in the end it was clear to all that both projects had deserved the FIBO Innovation Award without reservation.

Those are the reasons:

Gungnir of Norway/ The Allrounder: The allrounder – the 20kg Olympic Barbell takes regular barbell training to the next level – to be precise – it rings in a revolution in barbell training. The integrated collar mechanism makes for safe free weight training, keeps the training area free of unnecessary equipment and facilitates swapping of plates.

Skain GmbH/ Curve Workout by Trackbar: The "Curve Workout" makes it possible for users to track their own training, especially free workouts, and improves the efficiency and safety of performance-oriented training. The combination of important trends such as gamification, connected hardware and open eco-systems are promising prerequisites for introducing these products in gyms.