Positive in-store (and digital) same store comps will attract a larger pool of interested franchisees and the “COVID-19 Effect” lingering further only strengthens the consumer behavioral pattern around prioritizing all things health and wellness. This combination makes The Vitamin Shoppe potentially very attractive for prospective franchisees. With a run rate of almost $1.2 billion, the specialty supplement retailer would be back to the 2014-2016 height of company (from a revenue perspective). T...
May 10, 2021•12 min
Bellring Brands (NYSE: BRBR) growth storm has further strengthened from the recent performance of Dymatize Nutrition, but what takes the active nutrition brand portfolio to the next level? BellRing Brands is a portfolio that owns a collection of convenient nutrition brands like Premier Protein, Dymatize Nutrition, Powerbar, Joint Juice, and Supreme Protein (recently shuttered), which was previously wholly-owned by Post Holdings. A fast-paced and busy lifestyle is pushing consumers to switch to q...
May 10, 2021•16 min
Today’s consumers are increasingly wanting more than simple products. The value they are looking for comes from experiencing the use of a product that is tailored to their specific needs and preferences. Delivering such experiences often requires complex and integrated systems that can no longer satisfied by functional CPG brands only offering “off the rack” products without additional value creating ecosystems. That being said, is it time for your functional CPG brand to deploy an ecosystem str...
May 06, 2021•13 min
Increased transparency is great for every supplement industry stakeholder, right? Ask any key leader within the supplement industry and they will mention that there’s a clear connection between increased transparency and consumer trust. As more consumers add supplements into their daily routine, it’s imperative every player within the value-chain embrace a greater level of transparency to ensure that only high-quality supplements enter the market in order to reduce risk to consumers. While trans...
May 05, 2021•12 min
Even before it’s announcement to buy The Bountiful Company, Nestle was quietly becoming one of most important players (if not the most important player) in the supplement industry. If you haven’t heard by now, Nestle agreed to buy a collection of brands from VMS portfolio The Bountiful Company for $5.75 billion. I believe this M&A activity has huge short-term and long-term implications for the entire supplement industry. In the short-term, supplement companies will have to contend with a new...
May 04, 2021•12 min
How can the first fitness influencer in history help us anticipate the future of influencer marketing? What’s happening today is not new, with most being remixed strategies and methods from years, decades, and even sometimes centuries past. Recently, I was reading an Economist article that made me ponder the trend of fitness influencers. If asked when did fitness influencers start, you might say person XYZ from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Web 1.0 Internet forums or blogs. If you’re a bit ol...
Apr 19, 2021•12 min
After a year-long delay stemming from the “COVID-19 Effect”, The Vitamin Shoppe finally opened itself up to a refranchising process. As many of my followers know, I’ve said The Vitamin Shoppe would move to a franchise model since their acquisition announcement in August of 2019. The franchise disclosure documents should have been ready in 2020, but the “COVID-19 Effect” created an uncertain business environment where it was better to dig in and execute on existing plans without rocking the boat....
Apr 14, 2021•10 min
I’ve always believed that Hip Hop and CPG entrepreneurship are linked together. Firstly, Hip Hop is seen as counterculture to other music genres, which is similar to CPG entrepreneurship in today’s “technology” filled founder landscape. Additionally, Hip Hop and CPG entrepreneurship are both centered around being salesmanship and the ability to hustle. Moreover, Hip Hop music is rooted in remixing (or sampling) previous music, and this iterative innovation process is also core to the CPG industr...
Apr 12, 2021•12 min
Quest Nutrition has unlocked growth from leveraging the strengthening functional confectionery trend, but the question of whether it's enough to offset declines in the Quest Bar and Atkins protein bar SKUs is still uncertain. In this latest podcast episode, I'll utilize the 2021Q2 Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ: SMPL) earnings report, earnings call, and supplemental presentations as the backdrop to provide broad health and fitness snacking market insights. Quest Nutrition and Atkins Nutrition...
Apr 09, 2021•8 min
MusclePharm slammed home its first profitable year in company history, as the sports nutrition brand finally sees some fruits of its labor stemming from the extensive multi-year turnaround plan. For this podcast episode, I'll utilize the MusclePharm Corporation (OTCMKTS: MSLP) 2020Q4 earnings report, that was released on 3/30/2021, to breakdown the most important key updates surrounding the maker of Combat protein powder. With profitability now being achieved consistently, where does MusclePharm...
Apr 08, 2021•12 min
Even the GNC bankruptcy couldn’t take down the transformation plans that are in-process at FitLife Brands (OTCMKTS: FTLF). A national provider of nutritional supplements for health-conscious consumers, FitLife Brands markets under two brand segment names; NDS Products (sold through the GNC network) and iSatori Products (sold through a diversified retail mix of 17,000 locations). I'll utilize the recent 2020Q4 FitLife Brands earnings report and any additional publicly disclosed information to dis...
Apr 01, 2021•10 min
Looking at its recent performance, GURU Organic Energy is giving off a Celsius Holdings vibe from 2-3 years ago. For those that aren't aware of the brand, GURU Organic Energy launched in 1999 as the world’s first plant-based all-natural energy drink in Quebec, Canada. In the U.S. market, they launched in 2005 with Whole Foods Market. The current CEO Carl Goyette joined in 2014 and is really credited for the recent growth of the clean energy brand. GURU Organic Energy went public in 2020 through ...
Mar 31, 2021•9 min
How did Laird Superfood (NYSE: LSF) do at navigating the big waves of Wall Street in Year 1 as a publicly-traded company? For those unfamiliar, Laird Superfood was co-founded in 2015 by namesake Laird Hamilton, which is most famously known as the greatest big wave surfer of all-time. Laird Superfood is an emerging consumer products platform focused on manufacturing and marketing highly differentiated plant-based functional CPG. Trifecta of CPG trends are benefitting Laird Superfood; Better-For-Y...
Mar 30, 2021•12 min
Celsius Holdings went "to the moon”, but what happens next? For those that might not understand that "Reddit or Fintwit reference", it's a phrase used when someone thinks the price of a stock is going to see a huge increase. Celsius Holdings has skyrocketed close to 1000% in the last 12 months, but they also hit the elusive $100 million mark in yearly revenue. This is a sales target that is extremely difficult to reach for energy drink brands that also are not owned by a large beverage portfolio...
Mar 23, 2021•12 min
While the Vitamin Shoppe had arguably the most challenging year of its 44-year history, it ended up coming out of 2020 smelling like roses. How is that possible? To help express this notion, I'll run through The Vitamin Shoppe 2020Q4 earnings report that was released 3/10/2021 under its owner Franchise Group Inc. While the financial information in the report continues to be relatively small, I was able to collect insightful information on the quarterly performance from the Franchise Group confer...
Mar 22, 2021•12 min
Read just about any fitness article that mentions the consumption of alcohol and it have you believing it will absolutely destroy any of your physique goals. So, why have more fitness-focused companies aligned themselves with alcoholic beverages? Fact is, negativity towards alcohol within a healthy person's life wasn't always so grim, as advertising in the 1920s said “Guinness is good for you!” Today's "sensationalism drives consumerism mindset" has tried to replace balance, but three shifts in ...
Mar 11, 2021•13 min
Historically speaking, there were these unwritten rules that children were off limits to functional CPG brands, but do those rules hold weight anymore? That being said, most of us have been drinking ready-to-mix supplement powders from birth with brands like Similac essentially being a watered-down vitamin/mineral-fortified meal replacement shake. As we grew older, we continued to take Flintstones vitamins and Carnation instant breakfast powders. Almost all of those early functional products cam...
Mar 09, 2021•13 min
How is the American economy doing? According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book, most businesses remain optimistic regarding the next 6-12 months as economic activity expanded in the first part of 2021, but what about the CPG industry specifically? The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication that collects mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from District sources. This consumer data creates an opportunity to characterize dynamics and identify emerging trends in th...
Mar 07, 2021•17 min
Coca-Cola Energy seemed like it was a strong opening poker hand, but after a year in-market, should The Coca-Cola Company hold them or fold them? To be completely honest, when The Coca-Cola Company announced it was launching a branded energy drink in the U.S. market in late 2019, I believed Coca-Cola Energy would do more for the U.S. energy drink market than any other product/brand since Red Bull originally landed on the shores of California in 1997. My logic behind that prediction is still soun...
Mar 01, 2021•16 min
Is it time for wellness brands to start channeling their inner Silver Fox and Gray Panther spirit animals? As it stands, the 50+ crowd is largely ignored by fitness and wellness brands. That is changing fast, as companies wake up to the huge underserved market that no longer subscribes to the “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” commercials of the late 1980s. While seniors control 70% of the America’s disposable income, they only attract around 10% of marketing budgets and less than 1% of innovati...
Feb 26, 2021•10 min
Glanbia Performance Nutrition is in the free fall portion of the bungee jump, but will the strategic transformation cord catch it before it’s too late? Glanbia plc (LON:GLB) is a global nutrition company that's comprised of two wholly-owned segments; Glanbia Nutritionals and Glanbia Performance Nutrition. For this podcast episode, I'll mainly focus on the latter, which comprises of various nutritional supplement and sports nutrition brands. By diving into the recent earnings report, earnings con...
Feb 25, 2021•18 min
Can you imagine living without frozen pizza, potato chips, ice cream or Tennessee whiskey? Fact is, these CPG food and beverage staples and many more would likely not exist today in their current iteration if it wasn’t for the innovative and inventive minds of Black Americans throughout history. Every year I grow older (and hopefully a bit wiser), I’ve found it increasingly important to study the American history that wasn't taught in traditional school curriculum. History is an academic subject...
Feb 22, 2021•10 min
Once an epicenter of the suburban lifestyle, the purpose and importance of shopping malls have slowly faded way. The “fall of the mall” or more broadly the “retail apocalypse” was happening long before the pandemic started, but things accelerated over the last twelve months as consumers stayed inside. In the coming years, hundreds of America’s roughly 1,100 malls are expected to shutter. The reasons for this include specialty retail bankruptcies making shopping centers boring, anchor department ...
Feb 12, 2021•14 min
Dr. Seuss famously said “why fit in when you were born to stand out”, so it’s only natural consumers would want CPG products as customizable as their individual uniqueness. Mass customization has been the “next big thing” in CPG product strategy for a very long time. Problem is, the CPG industry isn't there yet, but that doesn't mean brands can't creatively find ways to integrate customization elements now. Trends are changing faster than ever before, as consumers share their tastes, preferences...
Feb 11, 2021•12 min
This is the fiftieth anniversary of the very first cereal to be born out of a licensing agreement. The unique-at-the-time agreement between Post Holdings and the Flintstones owner created a cereal brand named after Fred and Wilma Flintstone’s daughter Pebbles. What does this have to do with the legacy sports nutrition brand Dymatize Nutrition? I'll utilize the recent BellRing Brands (BRBR) 2021 fiscal year Q1 financial reports and publicly-disclosed news as the backdrop to discuss what that info...
Feb 08, 2021•14 min
SPACalicious definition make them CPG investors go crazy…it’s hot, hot! Fergie probably never envisioned a world where her song would be used to describe the insane SPAC trend, but I also never expected to hear a rendition of the national anthem like she did at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, so I think we are even. On the real, SPACs were all the craze in 2020, and it hasn't slowed down in 2021. For those that are scratching their heads at what a SPAC is, it’s an acronym that stands for "special pu...
Feb 05, 2021•17 min
Just another celebrity trying to productize his/her name in the CPG industry, right? Old-School CPG pundits are always quick to hate on celebrity founders. Fact is, when these A-List celebrities are authentically engaged in the business-building process, it can be the signal that cuts through the noise, even in the most competitive industries in the world. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was recently named Most Likable Person in the World and has a top-3 most followed Instagram account, but he also ha...
Feb 01, 2021•16 min
The Kardashian’s can sell anything, right? What about nutritional supplements? Acknowledge it or not, the Kardashians are disruptive figures in today’s pop culture scene. Googling the “Kardashian Effect” you’ll get a number of different definitions, but maybe the most widely used comes from urban dictionary that states it’s the ability for a public figure who has absolutely no contribution to society to spin his/her fame into an asset and able to cash in. To be fair, I actually disagree with the...
Jan 29, 2021•13 min
You've got to keep reinventing. You'll have new competitors. You'll have new customers all around you. The U.S. energy drinks market is arguably the most competitive beverage sub-category. It reached ~$15B in 2020 and sustained its high-single-digits growth rate, despite the “COVID-19 Effect” basically slowing consumer mobility to a crawl, essentially cutting off the #1 sales channel for energy drinks with fuel and convenience retailing. Monster Beverage is the #2 brand in the market, behind Red...
Jan 27, 2021•15 min
By pure financial metrics, Glanbia would have the “All Valley Karate” championship in the bag, but don’t underestimate the Crane Kick from The Hut Group (THG). In fact, Glanbia and its Glanbia Performance Nutrition division are basically double the size of THG and its Nutrition segment that houses the MyProtein brand. This podcast episode will explore the historical strengths of Glanbia and THG, but more importantly discuss how Glanbia's weaknesses are The Hut Group's strengths. THG also recentl...
Jan 25, 2021•13 min
