Romana Novais & Wanda Grandi talk about their brand ROWA and the purpose of inspiring women
The ROWA brand develops pieces with technology, combined with comfort, sophistication, design and everyday practicality. Clothes created to accompany every woman’s dynamic journey
LM: How did Rowa come about?
Ro and I have been friends for a long time, we weren’t even married yet and we’ve always had a lot of synergy and a very similar lifestyle dedicated to health and well-being. We always exchanged workout tips, nutrition advice, etc., and more than that, we always talked about the lack of national brands that truly follow the female journey. So when I had the idea, still pregnant with Estrella, during a moment of meditation, I knew I couldn’t have any partner other than Ro. Our goal with Rowa has always been to create a brand that inspires women to look within and become part of a large community.
LM: When creating a fitness brand, what did you consider essential to bring something new to the market? What was missing?
Pieces with technology, combined with comfort, sophistication, design and practicality. Clothes that keep up with the extremely dynamic female journey. A woman’s wardrobe needs to be versatile; during the day we juggle different roles. You leave in the morning to drop the kids off at school and go to the gym in a jumpsuit, then put on a jacket and head to a meeting, switch to heels and finish the day at dinner with friends. That is the concept of athleisure, the aesthetic that balances leisure and sport perfectly.
LM: What were the difficulties and triumphs in the brand’s journey so far?
Entrepreneurship isn’t a straight line! It’s a path full of ups, downs, obstacles and curves… But at the same time, it’s incredible to see the dream come to life—a huge achievement. People management is certainly the most challenging part: getting everyone on the team to move in the same direction. Today our team is aligned in perfect harmony, but to get here we went through many challenges. And as for the triumphs… seeing Rowa standing on its own two feet, even though it’s backed by founders with high visibility; watching how far we’ve come in such a short time and building a strong community of women who support each other.
LM: What makes exercise clothing perfect?
Many factors, but what we believe is essential is a good fit, especially when it comes to more fitness-oriented garments. Our biggest concern in the development process of a piece is to ensure that all bodies feel good and are celebrated when wearing Rowa—more than dressing the body, we dress self-esteem, self-care, health and well-being.
LM: In the last 3 years countless fitness clothing brands have been launched, what makes Rowa unique among them?
We can talk about technology, design, fit… but we believe that more than that, from the very creation of Rowa we were sure we didn’t want to sell just clothes, but a lifestyle. Building this large community of women who take care of themselves and support each other in an exclusively digital and, theoretically, colder environment, is even more challenging.
LM: Did you expect the brand’s acceptance among the public to be so surprising?
Absolutely, especially since we and our team dedicated ourselves so much to building Rowa… what we didn’t expect was that this acceptance would come so quickly—and that’s all thanks to our customers; we have very loyal clients!
LM: What is the process for launching a new collection?
Contrary to what many imagine, the process from creation to launch of a collection is quite extensive. First, we define with the style team the size of the collection (number of pieces and color variants). Next, our head of product sketches the pieces based on the insights we bring. Once the pieces are approved, we begin the fitting-pilot stage—one of the most important steps to ensure maximum comfort. After trying them on and approving them, we start production. In parallel with these stages, our marketing team begins planning the campaign communication: manifesto, visual identity and shooting. Then we handle the collection’s registration on the website and perform quality control on all pieces.
LM: What is your exercise routine like?
Ro loves to do Muay Thai combined with weight training, and I enjoy weight training combined with yoga. Even with our super dynamic schedules, we try to make it a priority.
LM: What is a day in the duo’s routine like regarding work, partnership and family?
Our routine is very busy, but within each of our schedules we always value quality time. That means if we’re handling work tasks, we’re 100% focused on that, and when we’re with our family, it’s the same. To prevent our routine from overwhelming us, learning to delegate tasks has also been very important.
LM: Which places do you recommend for healthy food in São Paulo?
– Botanike Café;
– Banana Verde;
– Olea;
– Frutaria São Paulo.
LM: What are the next plans for Rowa?
We have many plans—Rowa is just getting started! Despite the super positive response in such a short time, we don’t want to “skip any step,” but there are several initiatives: expanding our categories (adding products from other segments to Rowa), accelerating our wholesale channel, opening our own physical stores, and who knows, maybe even international expansion?
