Footwear Insight

16 • Footwear Insight ~ September/October 2023 footwearinsight.com PSUDO: Creating a Buzz Caption Xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxx "The consumer is responding very positively to color. The most vibrant sneakers are our best-selling sneakers, and that clearly is going to be our niche." T he L os Angeles-based sneaker brand PSUDO, founded in 2020 by indus- try veterans Michael and Kortney Rich, is developing positive buzz with retailers and consumers thanks to its eye-catching styles, as well as its ethical, small-batch, and on-demand sneaker manufacturing process. With its slip-on shoes made from recycled water bottles and de- signed using sublimation printing with zero-waste, PSUDO is not only working to tackle sustainability issues within the footwear industry, but is also delivering a product that is unique in the marketplace. e company has a factory in Los Angeles where the products in its core line are made. In addition to its USA Made line, PSUDO also recently launched its newest style, PSUDO blu, in partnership with Blumaka, allowing the sneakers to be made with 85% re- cycled foam insoles and soles. PSUDO blu sneakers will be produced near- shore at the Blumaka solar-powered factory in El Salvador, and while the styles are the first PSUDO products to be made outside of the U.S., they will contain more recycled content than PSUDO's current USA Made sneakers. PSUDO's Made in USA styles are priced at $130+, while the PSUDO blu styles are priced at $94. In addition to selling on psudo.com, PSUDO blu is also being distributed into indepen- dent stores & boutiques, department stores, and specialty retailers. Michael Rich spoke to us about PSUDO in a recent Footwear Insight Extra podcast. (You can listen to the podcast at footwearinsightextra.com.) A footwear industry veteran, Rich told us the initial idea for the brand came from his desire to make a shoe as simply as possible in order to make it in the United States. He came up with the idea which is PSUDO's call- ing card — sublimation printing on a singular fabric, creating the look of a more complicated intricate sneaker but in a one-piece slip-on style. Aer launching in 2020 and keep- ing the brand alive through COVID, the brand caught the eyes of some investors and this year began selling wholesale, landing in several of the top independent footwear retail accounts across the U.S. PSUDO opened its factory in LA last October, where the brand can control its own supply chain and manufacturing. Rich describes PSUDO sneakers as a "premium product" with an "uber comfortable" insole, and says the ability for PSUDO to sublimate color on sneakers is helping it stand out. "e consumer is responding very positively to color," Rich tells us. "We have black sneakers and we have white sneakers, but the most vibrant sneakers are our best-selling sneakers, and that clearly is going to be our niche." Because PSUDO can do very small batch manufacturing, the brand can test new styles to see what colors consumers are reacting to. PSUDO can also do special orders of colors for specific retail accounts. And at its LA factory, which has 17 employees, the brand is able to replenish product on-demand with quick turnaround times. "We kind of say we hacked the sneaker industry because it's very en- viable to be able to replenish product at once, on-demand," Rich explains. ECO INNOVATION

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