the Joshua Schall Audio Experience

Though it certainly wouldn’t go down as the biggest acquisition, totally overlooking last week’s PROMIX Nutrition deal will prove detrimental for any founder building within the supplement industry. In 2011, Albert Matheny founded PROMIX after being unable to find products that matched his standards for ingredient quality, science-backed performance, and product safety. PROMIX lives by the simple...

More than two years ago, I began sharing early indicators around how GLP-1 pharmaceutical weight loss solutions were starting to impact various aspects of functional CPG product categories. And while only an estimated six percent of U.S. adults are currently prescribed GLP-1 medication, it has already become a major disruptor to the entire space. We’re already seeing brands make sharp repositionin...

The side hustle boom is happening across every age group, income level, and industry in America. And that should motivate the functional CPG space to spend extra time analyzing this cultural force. I’m the “product of a side hustle.” And I won’t bore you with all the personal details because it’s not contextually relevant, but I wouldn’t be who I am (or where I am) today if it wasn’t for a string...

We live in an era where health and wellness dominate public conversation, but one person’s voice remains arguably the most powerful catalyst for change. Even at 70-years-old (and more than a decade removed from daytime TV), Oprah Winfrey still very much has the potential to move society. While she’s been a major contributor to diet culture, it’s her recent public discourse that could mark a pivota...

With M&A transactions getting louder, it can only mean one thing…protein bar brands are starting to party like it’s 2019 again! In my April 2024 content, I stated for that "party to restart" the protein bar market needed increased deal announcements. And maybe not so surprisingly…it only took less than four months before a deal announcement included a protein bar brand that was included on my...

Believe it or not…it’s already been five years since Post Holdings spun-off its “active nutrition brand portfolio” to create BellRing Brands. But while being nostalgic can be fun…I’m more interested in pondering what the next five years could look like. BellRing Brands (NYSE: BRBR) is a portfolio that owns a collection of convenient nutrition brands like Premier Protein and Dymatize Nutrition, whi...

Is the best college football coach of all time Nick Saban? Is “Goodfellas” the best mob movie? Does Handel’s Ice Cream taste the best? Or how about…am I the world’s best dad? There is no such thing as “best,” even if the art created by my newborn son Axton (that hangs on my home office wall) states that “hands down” I am the world’s best dad! There is no “best” or “worst,” only different…and every...

Do you remember last year when Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard revealed their kids sometimes order non-alcoholic beer at restaurants. Well…it sparked an important discussion around how the emerging alcohol-like beverage category fits into the consumption habits of minors. When Recess Mood or a “beer” from Athletic Brewing were conceptualized, these entrepreneurs created products with adults in mind....

It took only a year, but it seems MusclePharm has again become a victim of product line extension creep. For those unaware, the supplement brands that are within the FitLife Brands portfolio are now categorized in three segments: Legacy FitLife Brands, which is broken into two sub-segments…NDS Products (which are a collection of brands mostly sold in the GNC franchise system), iSatori Products (wh...

I’ve been fortunate enough to realize that my brain is hardwired to see consumer behaviors shifts early, model out those “drivers of demand,” understand what variables are moving categorical consumer markets, and match those up into actionable patterns and sequences with insane accuracy. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, my content creation acts as a sort of kaleidoscope-like artistic expression...

Has there been a more prolific NIL “bag getter” within functional CPG categories than college basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder? When college athletes began having the opportunity to receive financial compensation for their Name, Image and Likeness three years ago, the Cavinder twins secured a deal with Six Star Pro Nutrition on the first day. Then, they started working with the sports n...

Hold up, wait a minute! Isn’t there a Newtonian law or something that says quarterly revenue can only go higher with Celsius energy drinks? Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH) had quarterly revenue of $265.7 million, which was down 31% YoY. Believe it or not…the last time Celsius Holdings had negative YoY revenue growth was in the first quarter of 2016 when the energy drink brand was generating around...

Did a recent human capital move finally signal that Glanbia Performance Nutrition intends to transform into a “functional beverage powerhouse” long-term that I’ve been talking about for the last few years? Glanbia Performance Nutrition is one of two divisions of Glanbia plc (LON:GLB), a multibillion-dollar global nutrition company. The brands in the Glanbia Performance Nutrition portfolio include;...

THG Nutrition is currently on a five quarter “losing streak,” but will an upcoming corporate restructuring move change its outlook? THG (aka the company formerly known as The Hut Group) recently updated the public markets by releasing its 2024 Q3 trading statement. I’ll be utilizing that financial information, along with notes I took listening to the earnings conference call, and any relevant publ...

Franchise Group Inc. just voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which maybe means something to The Vitamin Shoppe…but probably less than you initially assume. Last week, there were rumblings in the legacy financial media that Franchise Group Inc., the owner of specialty retail brands including The Vitamin Shoppe, was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy within the next wee...

Who got rich during the Gold Rush? But can the popular business narrative that “more millionaires were created by those who sold mining supplies than the diggers themselves” also apply to the growing functional snack category? Well…it seems the multinational food conglomerate behind iconic snack brands like Oreo and Sour Patch Kids is testing that theory. In exchange for shutting down its startup...

In the early portion of my strategic management consulting work, I’d over-empathize the importance (most of the time to myself) around this “framework” or that “systemic approach” when helping CPG companies achieve their goals. Maybe I can chalk that up as just younger me still being way too close to his business school academia mindset or maybe back then I just wasn’t able to “see the forest for...

In an industry that’s full of followers, GHOST Lifestyle decided to pull inspiration from much different places and lead a new path to success. And that introductory statement probably didn’t sound familiar to almost anyone…well except for the co-founder (and CEO) of GHOST Dan Lourenco. And that's because it's a direct quote from my July 2016 article…where I proclaimed that GHOST Lifestyle (after...

Weave together interesting data, eye-catching visuals, and a traditional story flow, and you have the ingredients for a narrative that finds historical truth and acts as a guide for the actions necessary to improve the future. Or that’s at least what a recent Council of Economic Advisors post distributed by the Biden White House hoped to accomplish ahead on the election cycle. Using CPI and BLS ho...

Didn’t the famous philosopher Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) once say, “More Protein Chips…More Supply Problems?” Well…even if he didn’t say that, it has been a notorious problem for the Simply Good Foods leadership team that seems to be on repeat again. In this latest episode, I'll utilize the Q4 2024 Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ: SMPL) earnings report, earnings call, and sup...

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” q...

What was once simply well-supported rumors has now turned into confirmation with an investment prospectus, official trading dates, and lots of legacy financial media hype. So, it’s probably best that I update my Applied Nutrition IPO content from earlier this year, right? About a week ago, Applied Nutrition officially turned those late-2024 IPO rumors into reality by filing the appropriate investm...

The primary challenge of licensing lies in maintaining brand consistency across different artistic mediums. For example, what best personifies an iconic Hip Hop artist, group, or even record label…in the form of a packaged beverage? It’s not the easiest design objective to flawlessly commercialize. Especially when you consider that mismatching the IP and the licensed product can pose a significant...

How society defines “being healthy” is evolving and becoming more holistic. And with more individuals viewing themselves as consumers in the healthcare market compared to solely being patients, it has created immense opportunities…with U.S. consumers spending billions annually seeking to improve their “health span.” Because at the end of the day, what people really want is “not just more years to...

What does the Terminator, artificial intelligence, and Bang Energy founder (and former CEO) Jack Owoc have in common? Well…if you hadn’t seen the recent energy drinks market news yet, it’s probably A LOT more than you imagined! For those that didn’t see the announcement yet, Bang Energy founder (and former CEO) Jack Owoc is launching a new energy drink called AI Energy. And if you were wondering…t...