To say 2020 has been a challenging year would be an understatement. At the start of the year, we had just taken a huge step forward to become the UK's first 360 degree sustainable running brand, complete with our recycled Endure collection. Then came March and we all know what happened next. Amid the whirlwind of seemingly constant changes to our daily lives, the team here at Tribe Sports saw the opportunity to connect with our community (plus more reason to say yes to that extra glass of wine on a Friday evening). 

Earlier this year, we asked for your help in shaping our next collection. We wanted to hear all about the kit you couldn't live without, the colours on your wish list and why those pockets were so important. After all, our goal has always been to produce high quality, sustainable running kit powered by our Tribe, for our Tribe. 

After sending out our short 10 question survey in July, we were blown away to receive over 1,000 responses. From the ordinary to the outlandish, every idea, thought and opinion was there for us to see in black and white.

And so now the moment has finally arrived that we can share that feedback with you (insider tip: there's a few clues coming right up about what to expect from our next performance running collection).

Calming colours

Maybe it's the current circumstances that drew a majority of you to the calming, neutral colours of blue, teal and grey,which undisputedly took the top spots for the colours you'd like to see in our next collection. Bright, energising contrasts of orange, red and purple were strong favourites.

You certainly weren't short of ideas when it came to colours - including one we didn't even know existed! You suggested over 30 additional colours for our next collection, including mint green, mustard yellow, sky blue and plum.

Back to basics

Classic running essentials were your most requested products for our next collection - with long and short sleeved tops and racer vests proving the clear favourites, along with cosy and comfortable cowl neck tops. There was also a significant number of requests for more running accessories, including gloves, hats and socks. 

It became clear that comfort is king for our Tribe, with a body-skimming fit the preferred choice for tops and shorts and relaxed fit for hoodies and jackets. 

It's all about the pockets

It's not the first time we've heard it, so we can't say we were particularly surprised when an overwhelming majority of you said pockets were your most essential product feature - of every size, shape and even location.

Sweat-wicking technology was a very close second, followed by lightweight fabric, sustainable materials and reflective detailing- all of which existing core aspects of our kit (phew!)

So what next?

Feedback is all well and good, but what does it actually mean in terms of tangible actions? What are the next steps?

Now that our analysts have finished compiling the results, our product development team are using this data as an integral part of their product design process. Every single comment meant the absolute world to us and will be taken into account not only for this collection, but as a key part of our pre-production preparation for every collection going forward.

With your feedback in mind, we're now working closely with our production partners to create unique products, styles and colour combinations as our next exciting collection begins to take shape. Just this week we received our latest batch of samples, taking us one step closer to our finished product.

And we aren't just stopping with our upcoming collection.

Based on the insights we gained from your feedback, we're looking at what we can do to enhance our existing product range in the future (did someone say more pockets?) 

We're incredibly excited to be taking these strides forward  - and we can't wait to share further details with you over the coming weeks.

Thank you again for all your help in shaping our next collection. Stay tuned!