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 Turner did after he was injured on American Gladiators that interests me as an adult.  Barry Turner went on to become the co-founder of the massively successful health and wellness snacking brand Lenny & Larry’s. Barry and I talk about category creation challenges three decades ago and what today’s CPG entrepreneurs can learn from that early phase. Barry also shares his “Steve Jobs comeback story” and how his time off from Lenny & Larry’s created a serendipitous moment with another massive health and wellness snacking brand. These are just a few of the fascinating stories and topics discussed in this episode...  

Barry Turner's LinkedIn

This content was supported by Superior Snacks. If you’re interested in learning more information about how Superior Snacks can help you take your brand's functional food product development ideas to the next level, head over to superior-snacks.com or reach out to me directly and I’ll connect you with the Master Baker himself.

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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 start Huron. We also discuss the shifting relationship between men and the personal care category. Start to finish…this was one of the most insightful and fascinating conversations that I’ve been a part of on camera…one that literally spanned almost every intersection of the strategic roadmap that will give you a sense of how an emerging CPG brand is attacking today’s complex marketplace.

Matt Mullenax's LinkedIn

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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 be a mistake.  Fact is, 2022 is setting up very nicely for The Vitamin Shoppe. They will have store growth for the first time in half a decade, they have a growing customer file for the first time in half a decade, and they are positioned inside of a growing specialty category that has been recession resistant in the past. This particular episode updates you on the recent business performance for The Vitamin Shoppe. I'll utilize the 2022 Q1 Franchise Group (NASDAQ: FRG) earnings report and conference call to provide quarterly segment-level financial details for The Vitamin Shoppe. I will also dig deeper into several areas of The Vitamin Shoppe, such as franchising activity and new ecommerce marketplace dropship strategy. Finally, I recap some of my earlier thoughts on the potential Franchise Group bid to acquire Kohl's and what that could mean for the specialty supplement retailer.

Jack Gayton (The Vitamin Shoppe) = https://youtu.be/K8Uy-8qlTqE

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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 led to about a year of “business as normal” for Bang Energy before they decided to sign an exclusive distribution agreement with Pepsi. Will something similar happen to Celsius? The current set-up looks great, but it won’t be without marketplace challenges and competition breathing down on Celsius Holdings from all directions.

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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 supplement retailer Complete Nutrition helped inspire business strategies at goodwipes. Sam and I dive into the wellness halo effect and explain how it’s impacting a brand that’s on a mission to change the way people think about hygiene. We also talk through how a handful of goodwipes market challenges and strategic lessons that you’ll notice bridges the gap to the food, beverage, and nutritional supplements CPG categories. Those are just a few of the many topics Sam and I discussed, so make sure you have some goodwipes body wipes within close proximity because you’re going to need them to clean up all the sweat from the heat we brought in this episode.

Sam Nebel LinkedIn

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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 portfolio, but also use it as the backdrop to discuss market insights within the active nutrition formats of the liquids, powders, and bars. BellRing Brands is a portfolio that owns a collection of convenient nutrition brands like Premier Protein, Dymatize Nutrition, Powerbar, and Joint Juice, which was previously wholly-owned by Post Holdings. A fast-paced and busy lifestyle is pushing consumers to switch to quick and healthy meal options. This has resulted in the increased household penetration of RTD protein shakes that promote active lifestyles. Bellring Brands had a strong 2022 Q2 with net sales reaching $315.2 million, which was up 11.7% YoY. Premier Protein (81% of BellRing Brands total revenue) grew 6.5% YoY because it was able to exercise pricing power on the market. Dymatize Nutrition was up strongly at 54.9% YoY stemming from both strong volume increases and excellent pricing benefits. I'll update you on some additional strategic decisions on the Dymatize brand that should help further grow their ecommerce sales. Finally, I provide an update on the Post Holdings spin-off distribution and explain what that could mean for BellRing Brands.

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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 the Glanbia Performance Nutrition portfolio include; Optimum Nutrition, BSN, think!, Isopure, Amazing Grass, and Slim Fast. I'll use the recent earnings report, earnings call, and associated news to update you on how Glanbia Nutritionals and Glanbia Performance Nutrition is performing against the complex operating environment. Additionally, I'll dive deeper into Glanbia Performance Nutrition categorial performance (performance nutrition, healthy lifestyle, weight management, and international). Next, I'll share why I think Glanbia is set-up for massive M&A activity. Finally, I give my hot take on why activist investors are starting to target the global nutrition company and if I think Glanbia should spin-off Glanbia Performance Nutrition.

Should Glanbia Consider Selling BSN? - https://youtu.be/uTWxEWotvdQ

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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 the market leader even after the rush of competitors have come to chase the “Vital Proteins effect.” Those are just a few of the many topics Tracey and I jammed out, so you won't want to miss a second of this insightful and valuable strategic discussion.

Tracey Warner Halama LinkedIn

This content was supported by NuLiv Science. If you’re interested in obtaining more information around why brands are formulating with NuLiv Science ingredients to take their products to the next level, head over to https://nulivscience.com/ or reach out to me directly and I’ll connect you with the relevant team member.

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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 likely for one product to be chosen over alternatives, but it also reflects on the values of the brand. This is what makes packaging design just as important as the product itself. It has a major influence over the buying decisions of consumers. In this content, I'll run through some considerations for great CPG packaging, provide a few examples of why you might want to look at a packaging refresh or larger rebrand, and also explain the potential downside risk of reinventing your CPG packaging. Additionally, I explain ten CPG packaging trends that you should be paying attention to right now.

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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 impressive company and extend their market leadership over the next decade. Nike has acknowledged that today’s purchase journey is fragmented, and there are multiple touch points that go into a customer's consideration process. Within this interconnected experience, Nike has a strong sense of the purpose that each of its channels serve. They’re in front of the curve and making bet on where the consumer is going...the same bets that you’ll likely need to make in your CPG brand to not only thrive but simply survive over the next 5-7 years. Are you paying attention to the Nike masterclass?

Nike & Amazon Channel Conflict = https://youtu.be/itwhH2hLeqg

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