Will the protein bar competitive landscape continue to be envious of market leader Quest Nutrition as the economy falls into a recession? In this latest episode, I'll utilize the 2022 Q3 Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ: SMPL) earnings report, earnings call, and supplemental presentations that were filed on 6/30/2022 as the backdrop to provide broad health and fitness snacking market insights. In Q3 of fiscal 2022, both brands had strong retail takeaway growth, with Quest Nutrition specifically...
Jul 01, 2022•11 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! My guest on today’s episode is an absolute gem of a person. We always have a blast when we talk shop, so I was excited when I finally persuaded him to join me on camera. Most recently, Nomit Shah was the CFO that quarterbacked Onnit’s exit to Unilever, but you’ll also hear him speak from the perspective of being a highl...
Jun 30, 2022•43 min
It’s been about two years since a pair of PepsiCo major events caused the great energy drink DSD shake-up, so why is the beverage giant again at the heart of another shock to the growing beverage category? According to a Bang Energy press release on June 22, 2022, effective immediately, both parties will enthusiastically and strategically cooperate in a nationwide joint effort to transition from PepsiCo distribution to Bang Energy’s new DSD partners. This officially puts an early end to one of t...
Jun 29, 2022•15 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! My guest on this episode is the "prebiotic dietician" and Founder/CEO of Uplift Food, Kara Landau. She was the absolute perfect guest to help me dive into the uber important functional CPG trend of gut health. Kara and I talked about how her company is making gut health approachable, how our health starts at the gut, an...
Jun 26, 2022•46 min
Gaming and esports can be described in many ways. It’s a vibrant and fast-growing sector of the economy. It’s a legitimate means of monetization in today’s attention economy. It’s an entertainment medium for billions of enthusiasts around the globe. With an increasing number of people playing, broadcasting, and watching esports, the already booming, multi-billion-dollar gaming ecosystem is without a doubt cementing itself as a straight up cultural phenomenon. So, why might gaming and esports als...
Jun 15, 2022•50 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! My guest on this episode is Sal Frisella, President of 1st Phorm, which is one of the largest sports nutrition brands in the industry. This is not a conversation you are going to want to skip through…it was extremely fascinating from start to finish. Sal and I talk extensively through some of the special sauce aspects o...
Jun 13, 2022•44 min
How many different licensed SKUs have been commercialized within the active nutrition CPG categories since late-2016? If you said more than 200 and counting, then you’d be correct. Did that number surprise you? Well…it surprised the heck out of me and that’s coming from a deep practitioner inside the industry. That being said, how many are too many licensed SKUs in the active nutrition CPG categories? I don’t think we are anywhere near a dense saturation level when you look across the entire sal...
Jun 06, 2022•12 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! My guest on this episode is a really great friend of mine Ronak Shah, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of the fast-growing nutricosmetics brands OBVI. Ronak and I talk a lot about the OBVI online community. How it was built. What they’ve done to keep it thriving past 50K members and why it’s the most important brand asset ...
May 31, 2022•37 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! It’s not often you get to talk to one of your childhood TV idols. Yet, I’ve been having a lot of those pinch me is this my real-life type moments lately. For any boy growing up in the early 90s, you were absolutely watching American Gladiators. My guest on this episode is Cyclone from that hit show, but its what Barry T...
May 23, 2022•44 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! In this episode, I talk with a fellow Ohio native CPG professional, Matt Mullenax, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of the high-performance men’s personal care brand Huron. Matt also shares how his experience throughout the years with the personal care and men’s grooming CPG category impacted and formed the inspiration to ...
May 17, 2022•46 min
The Vitamin Shoppe is on pace to have it's highest topline revenue in the company's history. Yet, I would guess that most still haven’t fully grasped the results of massive multi-year turnaround plan at The Vitamin Shoppe. I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but it’s time to wake up people. Since The Vitamin Shoppe is shielded in the public markets by the Franchise Group ownership, the supplement retailer’s turnaround hasn’t been front and center, but overlooking it would...
May 13, 2022•11 min
So, normally I wouldn’t applaud a fourth-place ranking, but I think we should make an exception in the energy drinks category. In terms of market share during the last four weeks ending April 17, 2022, Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH) impressive performance has pushed the brand past Rockstar Energy for the number four position in the energy category. This really draws some comparisons to what happened a few years ago when Bang Energy surged past Rockstar Energy with astronomic growth rates. That ...
May 12, 2022•11 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! In this episode, I talk with my amazing friend…aka the greatest nickname giver on Planet Earth…aka The King of all Wipes…aka the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of the fast growing personal hygiene brand goodwipes Sam Nebel. He shares how his prior experience on the franchising operations side of the specialty s...
May 11, 2022•44 min
Dymatize continues to carry the bigger heavier Premier Protein on its back, but are things set to change in the back-half of BellRing Brands’ fiscal year? As I normally do with my performance update content of publicly-traded functional CPG brands, I will use the recently filled earnings report, earnings conference call, and any relevant publicly disclosed news, in this case it’s Bellring Brands (NYSE: BRBR) 2022 Q2 earnings release, to obviously update you on the performance of brands in that p...
May 09, 2022•10 min
Glanbia had one of the best quarters of growth in recent history, so why isn’t everyone celebrating it? Glanbia Performance Nutrition had 2022 Q1 revenue growth of 15.7% YoY on a constant currency basis from strong pricing and volume increases. They also benefitted 1% from the mid-2021 acquisition of LevlUp, a gamer (esports) nutrition brand. Glanbia Performance Nutrition is one of two wholly-owned segments of Glanbia plc (LON:GLB), a multi-billion dollar global nutrition company. The brands in ...
May 08, 2022•12 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! In this episode, I talk with an amazing friend that just happens to also be the CEO of Vital Proteins Tracey Warner Halama. She shares early stories about what went into the shifted consumer focus towards women that led to Vital Proteins becoming a $1B+ brand. Also, how the company has continued to double sales and stay...
May 05, 2022•43 min
Go to any grocery store, convenience store, or specialty supplement retailer and you’ll see shelves stacked with similar products from different brands. While presented a tad differently on the digital shelf, the same can essentially be said when searching for CPG products on an ecommerce marketplace like Amazon. Your CPG brand has on average a few seconds to make a good impression before the customer moves on to the next option. Effective and appealing packaging design not only makes it more li...
May 02, 2022•13 min
It probably doesn’t need repeated, but Nike is the heavyweight champion of consumer brands. There are only a few brands that ever achieve ubiquity in popular culture like Nike. No matter where we turn, it feels like there’s a swoosh just around the corner. That being said, there's several current “lesser known” Nike business strategies that are key to overcoming the increasingly crowded and changing marketplace. These are the business strategies that I believe will make Nike an even more impress...
Apr 25, 2022•12 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! This episode, we talk with my good friend and co-founder of Fit Butters Ryan Bucki (aka Fitness Informant) about how they went from idea to launch in only a two weeks later. Plus, he shares some of his really creative business model strategies that sets the FIt Butters functional food product apart from the competition ...
Apr 19, 2022•37 min
With a robust loyalty program, attractive off-mall real estate strategy, and successful retail partnerships like Sephora under its belt, Kohl's once seemed immune to many of the troubles of department stores. For months now, however, the retailer has been on the defensive from activist investors, and could be on the brink of being sold. Franchise Group, Inc., the owner of The Vitamin Shoppe (and other retail chains) has offered $9 billion, or $69 a share, to acquire Kohl’s. With Franchise Group ...
Apr 14, 2022•13 min
Is MusclePharm finally embracing the fact that they are a protein company now? MusclePharm (OTCMKTS: MSLP) just disclosed that the company is expanding into the ready-to-drink (RTD) protein category with the launch of its new whey protein drink line in the summer of 2022. This is a bit of a “what took you so long” kind of moment for me. I’ve been advocating for MusclePharm to ditch the pursuit of the energy drinks market and focus on protein beverages. I will expand on those comments from previo...
Apr 12, 2022•10 min
With Quest Nutrition making the shift from being a protein bar company to a successful lifestyle brand, can The Simply Good Foods Company do the same thing with Atkins Nutritionals? Should The Simply Good Foods Company be worried about the possible upcoming recession after the yield curve inverted? In this latest episode, I'll utilize the 2022 Q2 Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ: SMPL) earnings report, earnings call, and supplemental presentations that were filed on 4/6/2022 as the backdrop to ...
Apr 07, 2022•11 min
Will slapping Paw Patrol characters on a powdered hydration supplement be enough to drive success for SOS Hydration in the public markets? SOS Hydration is more than just a company that utilizes entertainment IP from Paw Patrol. Founded in May 2013 by brothers and elite track athletes James and Tom Mayo and James' wife (licensed medical doctor), SOS Hydration has a strong founder-market fit that’s screams authenticity. It seems both SOS Hydration and Liquid I.V. both stumbled on the fact that “p...
Mar 30, 2022•11 min
Pivotal is an interview-style segment that tackles topics in consumer packaged goods (CPG) and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) from the business leaders that live it EVERY DAY! This episode, we talk with my good friend and Divisional Merchandise Manager at The Vitamin Shoppe Jack Gayton about sports nutrition categorical performance at the specialty retailer and what he’s seeing in terms of changing buyer behavior and product trends. FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN - https://www...
Mar 29, 2022•33 min
Gen Z is just a more extreme version of Millennials, right? No cap I used to think the same thing a few years ago, but they are completely different, and your functional CPG brand better be ready for it. To be honest, if you’re a functional CPG brand and you aren’t thinking about Gen Z already…you’re behind! In my opinion, functional CPG brands are the inspiration epicenter for the entire CPG industry. The best of these brands are the trendsetters. Because of that, they’re often one of the first...
Mar 22, 2022•10 min
Depending on how deep you follow the supplement industry, you might be asking yourself who is Smart for Life? Well, Smart for Life is a vertically integrated brand portfolio that has major exposure to the weight loss and weight management category. The company went public on February 16, 2022, on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker SMFL. Smart for Life currently owns several interesting assets; Doctors Scientific Organica (aka Smart for Life), GSP Nutrition (aka licensee of The Sports Illustrated ...
Mar 17, 2022•11 min
The NCAA ruled in July 2021 that college athletes can be compensated for their name, image, and likeness (known as NIL). While there was an initial summertime burst of attention-grabbing student-athlete NIL headlines in the functional CPG industry (e.g. PlantFuel & Six Star Pro Nutrition), most are still sitting on the sidelines. Leading up to the landmark change, I felt NIL could offer fertile ground for functional CPG brands. It provided access to influential members of a consumer cohort t...
Mar 15, 2022•10 min
Can you guess my favorite podcast of all-time (besides my own of course)? Here’s a hint…it’s a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built. Each episode of the “How I Built This” podcast features a compelling story about someone who builds a successful company from the ground up, with each guest having a unique backstory. The host is Guy Raz, a longtime NPR correspondent and journalist, who is a true master at helping each founder weave their ...
Mar 10, 2022•11 min
Man those “Cola Wars” with Coca-Cola in the late-1970s into the early-1980s must have really made Pepsi angry because did you know they went out and made a deal with the former Soviet Union to acquire a whole bunch of naval ships including attack submarines? The story starts with the Soviet Union getting a taste of Pepsi during the 1959 American National Exhibition in Moscow. More than a decade later, now President Nixon sent a Department of Commerce commission to the Soviet Union to encourage t...
Mar 08, 2022•9 min
Can we officially say now that Glanbia Performance Nutrition is back on track after a few hiccup years? Glanbia Performance Nutrition had 2021 full-year revenue of $1.44 billion, which increased 17.1% YoY on a constant currency basis from both strong pricing and volume increases. They also benefitted 1.2% from the mid-year acquisition of LevlUp, a gamer (esports) nutrition brand. Glanbia Performance Nutrition is one of two wholly-owned segments of Glanbia plc (LON:GLB), a multi-billion dollar gl...
Mar 03, 2022•10 min
