It's crazy to think that I started working in the supplement industry 17 years ago! While most believe that MusclePharm was where everything started for me, I actually got my first supplement industry job when I was in college getting my undergraduate degree. As a contributor on the Bodybuilding.com Forums in 2006, I caught the attention of BEAST and was asked to join their sports nutrition brand as internet company rep...which today would be akin to a combination of digital jobs like community management, social media strategist, and customer service rep. That led to BEAST founders Tony and Maria Alteri giving me more and more opportunities that eventually saw me traveling the country to raise brand awareness. The 3ish years I was employed by BEAST was great, but after graduating with my MBA in 2009...I left the supplement industry for a few years until returning to take the MusclePharm role. That wild experience gave me the confidence to launch J. Schall Consulting 11 years and grow it into the premiere strategy consultancy that covers the emerging and intersecting categories of functional food, beverage, and nutritional supplements. But that story was to say that I likely wouldn’t be who I am today without the help of BEAST. But I recently found out that the IP portfolio that includes all rights to the highly recognizable and trusted BEAST brand was for sale. While its natural that I played out scenarios in my mind about buying BEAST myself, I concluded that it wouldn't be the right move for me at the time because of conflicts of interest with my consulting client base. That being said, the BEAST IP asset portfolio is full of a hodgepodge of short-term value that can be turned on day 1 and long-term opportunity, but also will obviously take the right interested buyer to extract it all out to the largest potential. So, for funsies...I ran through some possible fun interesting “right” acquirors that includes MrBeast, Marshawn Lynch (aka Beast Mode), Monster Beverage, and other fitness influencers like that use Beast, Beast Mode, or other similar protected words in their personal branding. But I’ll also cover the most likely acquirors…which I believe would be the three-headed monster of a BEAST competitor in the supplement market, a supplement retailer that would turn it into a pseudo private label ala 1st Phorm, or a supplement industry contract manufacturer. These bolt-on acquisitions or vertical integration M&A moves provide the most strategic value compared to say a value-seeking PE firm that doesn’t have complimentary assets. I’m sure there’s a number of other M&A ideas that could fit here…but more than anything, I hope whoever acquires the BEAST IP assets can be a great shepherd to the almost three-decade-old brand that gave me my start in the supplement industry.

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