Athleisure brand PeachyLean shows how live-stream shopping can thrive

One sector that continues to grow despite the current economic challenges is e-commerce, which is set to achieve over $5.7 trillion globally this year alone.

A trend that is revolutionising the sector is live-stream shopping, which is forecast to exceed $500 billion this year (Source: Forbes, 2022, Koetsier).

Since Covid, the athleisure clothing market has seen an increase in sales growth. The sector is expected to grow from $319.10 billion in 2023 to $430.28 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 6.16 per cent during the forecast period (2023-2028) (Source: Mordor Intelligence, 2023).

This positive performance has led many investors to view this market as having high potential growth, including angel investor Dan Ryan.

Having worked in the retail sector as a board director for many clothing brands, Ryan invested in athleisure brand PeachyLean in 2019.

“Having met Sharon Keegan from PeachyLean, I invested in the brand as I not only saw a great product, but I also believe in the overall concept of the brand, which is to provide inclusive activewear to support in building women’s confidence,” said Ryan, who believes in supporting female founders.

Keegan, founder and chief executive of PeachyLean, explained that she identified a gap in female athleisure for women aged 30 upwards, with the lack of selection and sizes a main driver in starting the company.

Since Keegan appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2021, securing funding of £100,000 (€115,137), the company has been able to grow into new markets outside Britain and Ireland.

“The PeachyLean brand has built a community within, through nurturing its customers and offering more than products, such as its self-love club. The core mission is to be an inclusive brand that embraces those of all shapes and sizes,” said Keegan.

PeachyLean caters for sizes that are not easily found in the clothing market, offering sizes from 6-30. The brand is one of few that cater for a curvier female consumer.

‘We are having huge success in PeachyLean since using Channelize’

The company primarily sells online, without having any bricks and mortar stores. It uses social media platforms to sell directly to consumers. The brand has seen significant growth of 22% this year. Keegan attributes some of this growth to an innovative online software tool called Channelize.

“The live stream shopping market is set to hit over $500 billion this year. We have had huge success in PeachyLean since using Channelize. It has allowed us to increase our collaborative performance advertising solutions, which has saved costs.”

The Channelize tool can be integrated into any e-commerce website, which enables retailers to have their own shopping channel similar to the QVC model of live-stream shopping, but the advantage of this software is its convenience. The consumer only needs to tap twice on the screen to purchase the product. This allows transactions to be completed a lot more quickly.

“The Channelize tool can be connected to other apps such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Zoom, Facebook and many more which makes it even more accessible to customers on more platforms,” says Keegan, who is on a mission to revolutionise the online customer experience.

The company is in a round of funding which has already secured 50 per cent of what is being sought. PeachyLean has big plans for expansion and is seeking funding to expand globally into new markets.