Barefoot footwear is no longer just a niche associated with children’s shoes or minimalist footwear. In Spain, the category is expanding across audiences, use cases and competitors: new specialist brands are emerging, established footwear manufacturers are developing their own lines, specialist retailers are gaining visibility, and fashion players such as Zara and Lefties are even beginning to generate demand around “barefoot + brand” searches.
The category is still small compared with the overall footwear market, but the signs of expansion are clear. Between August 2024 and September 2026, demand for “barefoot” increased by 74.8%, comparing the average monthly search volume in the first six months of the period with the last six months. Searches for “calzado barefoot”, “calzado minimalista” and “zapatillas barefoot” are also growing, while “calzado respetuoso” has fallen by 22.3%.
Change in average monthly search volume: first 6 months vs. last 6 months · Aug. 2024–Sep. 2026 · Ahrefs Spain
Growth is not being distributed equally
A growing category does not mean that every brand grows with it.
Among Spanish pure players, Lejan Brand has increased its SISTRIX Visibility Index by 331.6% over the last twelve months, while ROOTS is up 81.7%. At the other end of the spectrum, Zapato Feroz is down 60% and KOOPS 91.6% in SEO visibility.
Market growth therefore does not automatically translate into SEO growth. Some brands are capturing the new demand, while others are losing visibility even as the category continues to expand.
At the same time, established footwear brands have already identified the opportunity and are entering the market.
The clearest example is MTNG Free. In our analysis of the barefoot vertical, 20.12% of the domain’s analysed SEO traffic comes from this territory, with 92 of 169 analysed keywords ranking in the Top 10. Joma, despite having greater overall domain authority and visibility, has a barefoot footprint of 3.41%. Camper, meanwhile, stands at just 0.01%.
The point is not that one brand is “better” than another. It is that the historical authority of a domain does not automatically transfer to a new category.
The leader changes depending on who is searching
The keyword analysis confirms that there is no single overall SEO leader in barefoot footwear.
For women’s searches, MTNG Free appears for all eight keywords analysed and achieves an average position of 3.5. For men, it also covers 8 out of 8 keywords, although Barefoot You achieves a better average position: 3.1 versus 4.1 for MTNG. In children’s searches, Zapato Feroz covers 8 out of 8 queries and delivers one of the strongest overall performances in the vertical.
But when we move from SEO to GEO, the reference brands change again.
Across our final sample of 54 comparable executions (18 prompts analysed across three environments), Deditos Barefoot appears in 19 out of 54, Lejan Brand in 18 out of 54, Zapato Feroz in 11 out of 54 and Barefoot You in 10 out of 54. MTNG Free, despite its strong transactional SEO coverage, records 0 appearances across the 54 comparable executions.
In GEO, the user’s need changes the reference brand
Fragmentation becomes even clearer when generative responses are analysed by topic.
Vivobarefoot stands out for injury-free transition and men’s gait-related queries; Deditos Barefoot for bunions and fit; Barefoot You for exercise and training; Zapato Feroz appears as a leading reference in vegan versus conventional footwear comparisons; KOOPS in school footwear; and Pablosky in content related to foot development.
There is therefore no single brand controlling every informational territory.
In GEO, leadership is distributed by intent rather than concentrated in one brand.
A new source of pressure: fashion retail and price
Zara and Lefties are particularly interesting because they are neither barefoot specialists nor traditional footwear manufacturers: they are fashion retailers.
Their entry shows that the category is beginning to move beyond specialist channels. Searches for “zapatillas barefoot baratas” increased by 57% over twelve months, and specific branded queries such as “zapatillas barefoot Zara” and “zapatillas barefoot Lefties” are already appearing.
This does not mean that low-cost products will replace technical barefoot brands. It means the market is beginning to incorporate new price points, distribution models and levels of brand awareness.
Specialist retailers and expert sources are gaining influence
Specialist retailers have a significant presence in GEO, with 47 appearances in the sample, ahead of international pure players and established footwear brands.
But appearing is not enough. Becoming a source that generative systems can reuse also matters. Deditos Barefoot records 27 citations, Zapato Feroz and Barefoot You 16 each, Lejan 13 and 5Dedos 10. Podiatry websites also feature among the most frequently cited sources.
The key point is that useful content, identifiable experts, external mentions and third-party validation broaden the signals that generative systems can reuse.
A growing category, but no overall winner
The main finding of the study is not the identification of one winning brand.
It is precisely the opposite.
Barefoot footwear is growing faster than its market leaders are consolidating.
Leadership changes depending on the audience, search intent and environment. Some brands dominate specific searches; others achieve greater generative visibility; specialist retailers capture comparison and recommendation journeys; and expert sources become increasingly important when AI systems need evidence to support their recommendations.
Leading in Google does not necessarily mean leading in AI. And having a strong brand does not necessarily mean owning the category.
The next stage of the barefoot market will be shaped by the ability to connect product, SEO, distribution, expert content, authority and generative recommendation.
Is your brand capturing that opportunity?
We analyse where brands are losing visibility across SEO, GEO and digital authority.
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