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.

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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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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 and made it a million dollar bootstrapped CPG brand.

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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 making a run at acquiring Kohl’s...what could that potentially mean for The Vitamin Shoppe? I'll breakdown several ideas that include private label merchandising opportunities, store-within-a-store concepts, and integration of loyalty and marketing programs. 

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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 previous podcast episodes and run down what we know and what I can deduce about the MusclePharm RTD protein beverage from the short press release. Additionally, I remind everyone about how this isn't the first time MusclePharm has had a protein beverage in market. Finally, I share thoughts about how MusclePharm can take a lesson from Nutrabolt on a price pack architecture strategy. 

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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 provide broad health and fitness snacking market insights. In Q2 of fiscal 2022, both brands had strong retail takeaway growth, with Quest Nutrition specifically having more than 40% growth. Quest Nutrition also has seen particularly massive success in its Quest Nutrition Protein Chips. It has been the single biggest contributor to the growth in Quest Nutrition household penetration growth and the product has brought in a significant number of new buyers that were incremental to the brand. That might be why Simply Good Foods Company decided to cross pollinate this product form into Atkins protein chips. The Atkins Nutritionals brand needs to also get snackier and fast. That being said, The Simply Good Food Company continues to be uniquely positioned with two large-scale channel-diversified U.S. brand leaders in the attractive nutritional snacking category that’s still underpenetrated. They will continue to seek good balance of innovation and variety across brands and forms. This will show up as the company deleverages from a bars and shakes focused product portfolio. The owner of Atkins Nutritionals and Quest Nutrition continues to do a great job at fulfilling the self-actualization goals of its customers without compromising great taste.

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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 “people are beginning to realize the importance of staying properly hydrated…” because they launched within months of one another. While it’s hard to quantify just how much the “Liquid I.V. Effect” helped SOS Hydration, there’s no denying that higher tides in the category raised all boats. SOS Hydration is now available in 12,000 retail locations, including CVS and Walmart. In this latest episode, I'll breakdown the SOS Hydration S-1 document and explain where I think the company could improve its operating leverage and get further market momentum. Hint: the functional CPG industry has previously neglected this need for many years.  

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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! 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.

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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 groups to pivot their marketing strategies and reach out to the latest generation of young consumers. Vibe Check? You good? Don’t worry you haven’t taken an L yet because this episode will get you up to speed fast on this group of diverse, hyperconnected, short-attention span influencers who could become your most important customers. It’s critical that functional CPG brands recognize Gen Z differences and meet them where they are, rather than where we want them to be. It’s time for functional CPG brands to finally start talking in a language Gen Z will understand and appreciate.

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