Interest in women's sports is intensifying. Here's how these 3 women-owned brands are responding

"On that front, Youngson achieved her goal with the match becoming the subject of a documentary and landing the group in the Guinness Book of World Records.Still, something bothered Youngson as the match unfolded. Glancing at the athletes' feet, she was struck that all the women were wearing men's or boy's soccer cleats instead of gear that was designed specifically for them. The realization led her to launch IDA Sports, which makes soccer cleats for the unique athletic needs of women."

"The realization led her to launch IDA Sports, which makes soccer cleats for the unique athletic needs of women. "There was this real commercial gap for performance footwear for women," said Youngson, whose IDA cleats are worn by players including Washington Spirit midfielder Courtney Brown. "As the game is growing, we're in this moment when everything's professionalizing, but the footwear wasn't really keeping pace, so I wanted to go and change that.""

"IDA is among a growing number of companies founded in recent years to prioritize women in sports.These aren't just lifestyle or athleisure brands. Moolah Kicks, for instance, makes women's basketball shoes designed specifically for women's feet and counts Courtney Williams of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx as one of its partners. Lindsay Housman founded Hettas, a performance running shoe company. Saysh, Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix's running shoe company, allows buyers to make free exchanges when their size changes during pregnancy."

Laura Youngson noticed women playing soccer in men's or boys' cleats during a 2017 high-altitude match and launched IDA Sports to make cleats for women's unique athletic needs. IDA cleats are worn by professional players such as Washington Spirit midfielder Courtney Brown. Several new companies now prioritize women in performance sports gear, including Moolah Kicks (women's basketball shoes), Hettas (performance running shoes), and Saysh (running shoes with free exchanges during pregnancy). Other brands produce women-specific performance bicycles and tampons designed for active athletes. These ventures coincide with rising interest and professionalization in women's sports.

Read at Fast Company