What do you call someone that always seems to be in the right place at the right time? Is this just serendipity or is that person putting them in a position to take advantage of an opportunity? Since the old Roman empire days…philosophers have been proclaiming that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” And I don’t want to sound like I’m stealing the final “luck or hard work” question Guy Raz famously asks guests on his “How I Built This” podcast, but it’s an interesting thought framework for your consideration while listening to the conversation I recently had with my good friend John Herman. And while retracing that dozen-year working relationship would have been more than enough to pack this episode full of insightful conversation…we went way back in time to his apparel industry merchant days. And that’s because…while it seems mismatched in hindsight to his CPG industry experience now, it ended up playing an outsized role even to this day within his newest venture (Bero Brewing). But John and I did talk extensively about the constantly evolving (and maturing) sports nutrition niche of the supplement industry…as he saw it firsthand through his time running the category at the specialty retailer GNC and climbing the executive ranks at Nutrabolt (before and after the launch of the C4 Energy carbonated energy drink that now generates over $650 million in annual retail sales). Finally, we talked about his decision to leave that powerhouse company…and what led him to believe pairing the celebrity packaged goods movement with the nascent non-alcoholic beer market was that next “right place at the right time” moment. But these are just some of the interesting topics we chatted about in this episode...

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