Podiatrists, chiropodists and other members of the medical community enjoy a lucrative business selling custom-made, hard arch supports to those with flat feet, knee problems, lower back pain and other ailments – at several hundred dollars a pair.

But a patented technology from a new Canadian company, called Barefoot Science, may soon cut into their market share.

Barefoot makes a revolutionary line of shoe inserts that uses the body’s own biofeedback mechanism to stimulate involuntary contraction of the muscles in the foot each time the wearer steps on the insert.

This contraction has positive benefits on the level of comfort alone, as it exercises muscles that don’t get much work in today’s well-supported footware.

But it also has an array of medical benefits, most notably in that it forces the foot to form an arch, thus relieving many problems related to flat footedness.

Roy Gardiner, president and founder of Barefoot Science, claims that if worn regularly, the insert will eventually rebuild fallen arches by encouraging the weakened arch muscles that once supported the arch to regain their strength.

Barefoot Science will be unleashed in the u.s. next month in two vertical markets – medical/pharmaceutical and athletic/performance – as part of a three-stage marketing plan that will see a launch to the mass consumer market late in 1998.

Gardiner says while two u.s. firms will be taking the product into the vertical markets, his company will control manufacturing in order to maintain quality standards, as well as supply all marketing material to ensure a consistent message.

Second Wind is the company taking Barefoot Science to the athletic/performance market and Pedifix has the rights to the medical/pharmaceutical sector.

Both have limited coverage of the Canadian market.

A pair of Barefoot Science shoe inserts will retail from us$19.99 to us$25.

In addition, Barefoot Science is negotiating with original equipment manufacturers to supply the technology for off-the-shelf footwear.

Gardiner has spent almost 14 years of his life getting the product to this stage, and for nearly a year has been working closely with Brandworks International to ready the marketing strategy.

Bill MacDonald, partner at the Toronto agency, says the fact that the insole category is already cluttered presented a major hurdle to overcome.

The challenge, he says, was twofold: to get retail distribution and to communicate the difference in technology.

‘That’s why we’ve deliberately chosen to launch first against the medical and performance side before we take it to the mass market, because we will have started to create some relevant awareness – so you can say, `look what athletes are putting in their shoes.’

‘It’s a little like adding ‘Intel inside’ to a computer.’

Catalogues, brochures, sales and merchandising aids are being created, along with a sales training video for the two u.s distributors.

Magazine advertising in both vertical and consumer publications will be used to educate the public and build the Barefoot Science brand.

MacDonald says the consumer launch will be staged in Canada in mid- to late-1998 using infomercials or direct response television that is 60 or 90 seconds in length.

As creator of the technology, Gardiner is adamant that Barefoot Science is not an arch support, insole or orthotic insert but rather a whole new product category.

He says conventional wisdom in both the footwear and medical communities is to put additional cushioning, support or bracing in shoes to relieve pain and provide comfort.

‘The only problem with that is the more bracing or support, the weaker the body becomes because it is more dependent on the bracing,’ he says.

The system features different density plugs that are inserted over a period of time to encourage the muscles to work as though the wearer were walking bare foot – even though he is wearing a shoe.

Gardiner says that in addition to addressing flat feet, knee problems and back pain, the inserts work to relieve other foot conditions such as bunions, corns and arthritis.

Garnder admits he sometimes thinks people feel he’s selling snake oil, but he says the positive health effects are produced by the exercise the feet undergo.

Modern shoes encase the foot like a cast, not allowing the muscles in the feet to flex and stretch, he explains. Think of how difficult it is to bend you elbow after your arm has been in a cast, he says, adding, the principle is the same.

Gardiner says international footcare company Scholl PLC has been testing the product for five years and will be taking it to market outside of North America, starting with Japan.