LOOKING BACK ON 2020 WITH FOMO

21 Dec LOOKING BACK ON 2020 WITH FOMO

The year 2020 began as the launch year for FOMO, with our final testing dates and approval set for spring, and a series of launch events thereafter at various equestrian shows and competitions up and down the country.  However, as we are all acutely aware March came along and all our lives changed as we once knew it.   Being locked down and parted from our loved ones, both two and four-footed has taken its toll on us all in many different ways, however, we have had to find alternative means to continue with our everyday lives.  Here at FOMO has been no different and we have had to adapt and change to deal with the issues we have faced.

Our main issues were getting our final approval due to the test house scaling back on staff, coupled with the equestrian season being put on hold with competitions and shows being cancelled.  However, we were determined to get our final approval and be BETA (2018) L3 certified for when the season resumed.  We worked tirelessly around the clock making changes and tweaks when required and working closely with the test house.  When our final approval came through, we were ecstatic that all our hard work had paid off.  Although, our problems didn’t stop there as we have had to adapt to the way in which we manufacture our FOMO FAZE body protector, which we now do in-house in our factory in Glasgow, Scotland.  We are also relying more and more on using UK suppliers due to the uncertainty of bringing in goods from overseas.  This, in fact, has been something that we are extremely proud of; helping UK businesses to survive in these tough times, as well as create jobs to produce our products.

As lockdown ended and restrictions eased things got back to so some sort of normal however our launch strategy could not go according to plan.  We have had to make do with pushing out our product on social media and have worked closely with help from fellow equestrian brands such as Apt Cavalier, DVR Equestrian, and LIKIT.  We have run a series of Instagram Live events with them as well as competitions all being hugely popular.  Our media coverage has also increased thanks to our agency Sam Forrest PR with over 10 pieces of online and offline coverage over the months of August through to December, circulating to over 88.7k, covering a readership of 331k.

We also have our Scottish retailer A2B Equestrian where a full-size range of our FOMO FAZE is available to try and buy.  We recently enjoyed attending a socially distanced Christmas outdoor fayre at the shop doing fittings during a visit from Santa!  Due to the restrictions that still exist, we offer a free virtual fitting service where we send out a pack with a tape measure, info leaflet, and colour swatches and then set an online slot to carry out the fitting.

Apart from the FAZE launch and BETA certification, our next most exciting aspect of 2020 has been the launch of our horse wear range FORM.  This consists of our Fly Veil, Half Pad, and Show Rug all in our body protector back to black colourway.  All of these products have been used using offcuts from our body protector, supporting our minimal waste company policy.

We are sure you will all agree, 2020 has been a challenging, busy, yet successful one for FOMO and we are looking into 2021 with excitement for what the future holds.   This includes many things, such as extending our horse wear collection, adding some rider clothing but also the launch of our children’s body protector FLIP.  So, we end 2020 on a positive note and hope that you all do too.  We wish you all a happy, healthy, and festive season and look forward to seeing you all out competing next season in your FOMO FAZE.

Team FOMO