Trailheads

Notace, a new footwear brand founded by industry veteran Cedric Scotto, launched in September and debuted its first model, the Yama T1 trail-running shoe. Scotto established Notace with a clear mission to provide consumers with minimalist shoes that strike a balance between performance and comfort.  

Trailheads met with Scotto to discuss the brand’s unique philosophy, its market position, and its ambitious plans for the future.  

Trailheads: You have an extensive background in the footwear industry, having worked with brands like Altra, Xero Shoes, and Vivobarefoot. What was the inspiration behind starting your own brand, Notace? 

Scotto: I’ve been fortunate to work in various roles—from a tech rep to global sales—which exposed me to different aspects of the business. I began to notice that something was missing in the market. I wanted to create a shoe that fills the gap between high-cushion, high-technology performance running shoes and pure minimalist/barefoot shoes.  

Trailheads: What are the fundamental traits and design elements of Notace shoes? 

Scotto: There are a few core values. All of our shoes will have a wide, foot-shaped toe box, so your toes can splay and engage better. When you try the shoes on, they feel comfortable, and you can wear them all day. Also, they will have a neutral platform with no drop from heel to front. They will also be as flexible as possible for their intended use. Flexibility is a really big part of it, allowing you to engage your feet more and strengthen them over time. From a durability standpoint, we include things like extra stitching and use an ETPU foam with closed cells to ensure the product is well-built and lasts longer.  

Trailheads: You’ve mentioned embracing the Japanese approach to design. Can you elaborate on what that means for Notace? 

Scotto: It’s more of a mindset. I got familiar with it while working on global sales with Altra, traveling, and getting close to the Japanese distributor. It’s about how meticulous everything is and the craftsmanship—taking time to create something and letting it develop. We want to evolve and improve each product we launch rather than scrapping it to start over. The second aspect is clean lines and simplicity. The simpler the product looks, the more complex it often is to build, requiring more thought. When people wear our first shoe, we want it to perform and just disappear on your feet. 

Trailheads: In addition to clean lines and simplicity, what other aesthetics are you incorporating into the shoes? 

Scotto: For now, the goal is not to go flashy and follow the very bright colors trending with running. Our initial shoes come in black, white, and ivory colors. While we’ll have more colors, they will be muted and pleasing so that you can wear the shoes with jeans, and they’ll serve a dual purpose.  

Trailheads: With your extensive experience in the footwear industry, what are some of the most important lessons you’ve applied to launching Notace? 

Scotto: A core lesson is to stick with our concept. We believe in something, and we won’t chase the next big trend, as that can lead to losing what made the brand special. I believe the brand’s identity starts from the product and its values. Also, I don’t want to fall into the rhythm of needing to grow every year and repeat sales volumes. I’d rather grow slower and give people a quality product that doesn’t go on sale. If you know you need to discount 30% to 40% every Black Friday, and sometimes at the end of each season, it just makes everything harder. 

Trailheads: Notace is launching with a multi-surface shoe, but what are brand’s future plans in terms of new product categories? 

Scotto: The ultimate goal is to become a multi-sport brand. Next March, we’re launching our first court shoe to get into tennis, pickleball, and padel ball. This will be exciting, as it’s the first time a shoe specifically for those sports will feature a wide, foot-shaped toe box and a neutral platform. Looking out to 2027, our four categories will be trail, road, gym, and court. We plan to launch a more aggressive, technical second trail shoe, a cross-training shoe, and another court shoe with a totally different design. 

Trailheads: You’ve been in the industry for many years, but how did you first get introduced to trail running?  

Scotto: Growing up in France, we were very close to the mountains where we would hike, pick wild berries, and go to lakes. This was the start of my being in the mountains. Also, I played tennis, squash, and badminton, and running was always part of the training. We went to parks and forests, so I was always running on dirt, roots, and rocks. Later, as I played golf professionally, I started running more for conditioning and ended up running on trails a lot.  

Trailheads: What are some of your favorite trails to run now? 

Scotto: I run the most often right out of my house, which just makes it easy. I have dogs, and we can just put the leashes on and go. I’m outside of Boulder in Louisville, so it’s pretty gorgeous. What’s important is doing a little bit every day. If I can do that, it’s a big win for me. 

Notace is exhibiting soon at The Running Event (TRE) and Switchback at TRE, December 2-4, 2025 in San Antonio, TX.  Visit Booth #3119 to learn more about the company and its products.