Stakt Aims To Transform Yoga Mat Market With Foldable Design

The Stakt Mat is twice as thick as a standard yoga mat and folds into a block, making it suitable for various workouts

Yoga mats are one of the most basic – and arguably the most mundane – pieces of exercise equipment out there. Stakt, a female-founded wellness brand, is out to change that. 

With the goal of innovating fitness equipment to make working out more comfortable, convenient and dynamic, Stakt launched the Stakt Mat, which operates both as a fitness mat and a block capable of enhancing and modifying people’s workouts. According to Stakt, it’s the only product out on the market capable of doing both. 

“As the world around us changed, so did our workouts,” Stakt co-founders Taylor Borenstein and Millie Blumka note on their website. “Stakt was born out of a love for sweating and a need for adaptation. Our ‘at-home workout’ was no longer just a weekly yoga class to wind down, and we needed a fitness mat that could keep up.”

The Stakt Mat is twice as thick as a standard yoga mat. It folds section over section, allowing it to transform into a block and act as a second piece of equipment. The mat also includes a non-slip surface to enhance stability and is easy to store and clean. The mat can be used for workouts beyond yoga, including strength training modalities.

This versatility propelled the Stakt Mat to a place on TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 list. It also won “best foldable mat” in the Women’s Health Fitness Awards for 2023. Blumka and Borenstein also appeared on NBC’s hit show “Shark Tank” in 2022 to pitch Stakt.

Along with its signature mat, Stakt also sells a cleaning spray and carrier bag.

Looking ahead, Stakt sees opportunities to expand its commercial sales reach by bringing its products to gyms and studios.

“While we are primarily DTC, we are partnered with many studios and gyms throughout the country who are looking to provide their clients with an elevated, more versatile experience,” Blumka tells Athletech News. “Studios and gyms make up about 20% of our business and we are focused on expanding this this year.”

The brand also makes a point of keeping its users engaged after checkout, boasting an active social media presence with over 1 million likes on Instagram.

“We make it a priority to share and highlight our studio on our social media, send geo-targeted emails to our community living near the studio, and we also invite the instructors to teach on our virtual platform,” Blumka says.

Stakt’s arrival on the scene comes as boutique fitness booms. Research suggests that yoga, Pilates and Barre – three modalities that could all benefit from the Stakt Mat in some shape or form – will continue to be market leaders.