By LOVE MUMU

04/29/2016 Auckland entrepreneurs are making inroads into the lucrative yoga wear and accessories market by partnering with one of the world’s largest surf brands.



MUMU was launched by Auckland-based duo Lara Jane Maloney and Keli Dierings just over a month ago and can now announce it’s entered into a partnership with O’Neill: the American surf brand founded in 1952 by the man widely credited as the inventor of the wetsuit, Jack O’Neill.


O’Neill launched its range of womenswear yoga products 5 years ago and saw a good fit to partner with MUMU.


“It’s a big show of faith,” says Maloney. “O’Neill is a multimillion dollar business and they’ve chosen to partner with us just two months after our launch because they like what we do. It’s incredibly exciting.”


The partnership means some of O’Neill’s products are available on MUMU’s online store and the two brands are working on co-produced garments to release together. They’re also planning a series of events to get more people into yoga in New Zealand.


“We’re passionate about yoga and MUMU is doing exciting things in the industry so it was a natural fit to partner with them,” General Manager of O’Neill NZ Jason Falconridge says.
The yoga garment and accessory industry is a multi-billion dollar business worldwide. Canadian yogawear company Lululemon alone has a market cap of $13b. It remains a high-growth industry and is one Maloney and Dierings plan to capitalise on.

“We're going global. Our first shipment came directly to New Zealand so we could test the market and marketing strategies. We’ve figured out what works and what doesn't so now we’re ready to roll out to the rest of the world, especially to the United Kingdom and US,” says Maloney.


“The O’Neill partnership has been a major boost too. It’s important validation and will help us tap into other markets around the world.”


Maloney and Dierings met through yoga: the former was a student of the latter who also teaches yoga to the New Zealand Warriors. Maloney developed the sales and marketing strategy for Composite Helicopters which helped them secure $170m in pre-sales.