Wearable Wellness Patch Brand Half Past 8 Launches

The patch movement is in full swing. 

Half Past 8, founded by Meto and Kyle Pierce, is the latest wellness patch-first brand to shake up the supplement market. Half Past 8 is now available direct-to-consumer with three patches, which are made in the U.S.: Deep Sleep, $52, infused with melatonin, L-theanine, skullcap herb powder and more to help wearers fall and stay asleep; Energy & Focus, $52, formulated with yerba mate, panax ginseng complex, black maca, green tea extract and more for a crash-free energy boost, and Stress & Mood, $52, featuring St. John’s wort, a B-vitamin complex, magnesium citrate and zinc to support healthy cortisol levels. The brand will also be available at Printemps in New York City. Industry sources predict the brand will reach $5 million in sales its first year. 

While patches have been gaining traction over the past few years, Meto, who built Los Angeles-based private training gym Hvy Industry, and Kyle Pierce, who founded health tech company Options MD, were inspired to tap into the format after the birth of their son. 

“Everything started when our son was born last year,” Meto said. “Life all of a sudden changed: less sleep, low energy, a lot of stress. Things had shifted, and we turned to wellness routines and stackable items [like] pills and powders, but it was just difficult to remember. It was difficult to stick with something.” 

Kyle added: “The idea was ‘How do we simplify wellness now that our lives have changed and make it so it fits?’ Half Past 8 as an idea represents trying to bring premium wellness to support everyday problems through modern, aesthetic, science-backed solutions.” 

With its patches, the brand employs transdermal technology that releases ingredients straight to the bloodstream over an eight-hour time release. Patches have become an increasingly interesting format for many, given that they avoid the digestive tract altogether, unlike pills, powders and gummies, which likely lose their potency through digestion. Additionally, with pill fatigue on the rise, patches provide an easy alternative.

“These patches use a set of ingredients that are specifically formulated to absorb through your skin,” Kyle said. “We also have certain formulations and ingredients in the patch themselves, which super boost absorption levels through your skin….It’s able to absorb through the dermis and go directly into the bloodstream, so that means that we don’t have to protect it with things like sugars or gelatin capsules.” 

Kyle highlighted the brand’s Deep Sleep offering, which employs 5mg of melatonin, as a great use case for a patch, as consumers often over consume the ingredient.

“When you’re digesting a gummy or taking a pill or a powder, it has to go through your digestive tract, so that means you’re mostly absorbing nothing,” he said. “That means people are mostly like doubling up or tripling up trying to meet the dosed amounts to actually have the outcome they want….Everyone who’s tried the [Deep Sleep] patch have actually seen statistically significant changes in their scores on their Oura rings and Whoops.” 

This sort of testing approach was also crucial for the brand. Meto tapped clients at his gym who have been testing the products over time. 

“I have a set of a dozen, if not more, of the best hair and makeup artists in the industry who are [working with] everybody. They’re traveling all over the world. They’re always on the go,” he said. They are the people who are calling me, ‘Hey, can you get me more sleeping patches or energy patches?’”

Kyle added: “Word of mouth has been powerful for us.…The strength of his network has proved to be a wealth of knowledge, because you do have this amazing cross section of the community who have been able to pressure test these products in real time, in real life, outside of just us.”

In addition to word of mouth, Kyle said the brand would tap into digital outlets, focusing on longer form content to educate on the efficacy and function of patches, which he predicts will continue to grow in popularity.

“Trend forecasting out of [South] Korea says that patches are the next big thing over the next five years for beauty and wellness specifically. We hope to be the leaders of that in the U.S. market,“ he said.

Kyle added that the brand’s efficacious doses will be a key differentiator on the market, as many patch brands opt for smaller, clear stickers for the aesthetic, though these may not be as effective.

In terms of what’s next, the duo hinted at a weight management offering coming at the beginning of 2026, as well as possibilities for additional formats.

“Our entire product development thesis is around wellness that moves with you and fits into your life. As we think through these more long-term slow release products, we’re also thinking through, how can we have a more instantaneous feeling with a different set of products that might be as simple as carrying a pack of mints in your pocket,” Kyle said. “That’s how we’re thinking through products that are not pills and are not powder, so it’s still something easy [and] fast.”