Is the “Age of Ozempic” reshaping The Vitamin Shoppe? In May 2024, The Vitamin Shoppe introduced a telehealth service called Whole Health Rx by The Vitamin Shoppe that safely and seamlessly connects patients with licensed healthcare providers in real time…streamlining access to GLP-1 agonist medications, both branded and compounded versions (that is until the FDA recently updated its drug supply shortage list, making compounding a FD&C Act volitation). Moreover, these telehealth services are offered alongside The Vitamin Shoppe's industry-leading education resources, as well as nutritionist-recommended supplements to help optimize the weight loss journey for healthy results. So, with Whole Health Rx by The Vitamin Shoppe targeting personalized care verticals, instead of a wide range of treatment and care needs like GNC Health…the better comparable company analysis would be Hims & Hers. And interestingly enough, within a piece of content from November 2021…my words arguably created the foundation for this entire Whole Health Rx by The Vitamin Shoppe strategy! But a behavioral change that arguably started gaining importance about a decade prior…when more individuals began viewing themselves as consumers in the healthcare market compared to solely being patients. Because of that, consumer healthcare has begun evolving from a reactive, one-size-fits-all approach to a distinctively proactive, personalized, and integrative approach. But as you’d imagine that marketplace evolution has created immense opportunities. Though, this why specialty supplement retailers must have a foundational mindset that place customers at the center of a flexible, almost choose your own adventure style of shopping…acknowledging wellness-minded consumers are also more “solution aware” due to the sheer access to information substitutions. And this was partly why my “vision for the future” included specialty supplement retailers and pharmacy (drug channel) retailers converging into wellness retailers. Specialty shouldn’t mean singular solution, thus a retailer like The Vitamin Shoppe must continue evolving its total solutions to become a bigger part of the wellness journey. Alternatively, “trying to be everything to everyone” can be problematic, which is why I mentioned earlier about The Vitamin Shoppe essentially taking the “depth” over “breadth” page out of the Hims & Hers strategic playbook. By increasing optionality of solutions for only its most compelling valuable consumer cohorts, The Vitamin Shoppe can more effectively deliver an experience that removes barriers and provides access to better health that is approachable, personalized, and convenient. And while I believe physicians are quickly becoming more educated around how patients can manage the early phase of the process, what side effects to anticipate, and how to mitigate or manage those side effects…there’s also a significant education and nutrition support role for specialty retailers, as consumers look for help navigating this new, confusing “Age of Ozempic” world. But with the launch of its new private label brand, GLP-1 Support from Whole Health Rx by The Vitamin Shoppe…the specialty retailer recognized it was well-positioned to fill a critical gap in the market for tailored nutritional support. But then for the final portion of my latest first principles thinking content, I wanted to give my outlook for Whole Health Rx by The Vitamin Shoppe.