the Joshua Schall Audio Experience

Who owns the word Monster or more broadly any word in business? The company most willing to battle to protect its trademark, and in the case of the word Monster…that would be Monster Energy. Some have called the energy drink brand a trademark bully…filing 100s of trademark objections in the last few years. While I believe guarding a CPG brand’s iconic assets is paramount, can those choices sometim...

Do you remember a few years ago when I laid out my long-term vision for the wellness retailing world…one where pharmacies and specialty supplement retailers would start merging conceptually? Though small underlying market forces have been slowly confirming that future, a GNC announcement last week might have altered everything. In August 2021, a year-ish after the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy s...

The gut health soda brand Olipop is on track to reach $200 million in sales this year. Does that scare the Big 3 soda portfolios? Yes, soda consumption has been falling in America for roughly two decades. But you must remember that Coke, Pepsi, and KDP are masters at backfilling demand through acquisitions to sustain their large share of overall liquids consumption. The only scary thing would be i...

If you've ever thought, "I really wish someone would invent a condiment version of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine," well then, it's your lucky day! With HEINZ REMIX, the Kraft Heinz Company is tapping into the growing consumer behavior towards personalization and social media trend around mixing things or doctoring up the flavor of condiments. This invention also perfectly align...

If I was just another mainstream consumer searching for the right probiotics, it would without a doubt be a super confusing shopping experience…and I see that as a major problem. Probiotics are the go-to for gut health…and outside of highlighting yogurt as a clear food example, probiotic supplements would be where most consumers reach if they were looking to maintain or improve the "good&quot...

It's crazy to think that I started working in the supplement industry 17 years ago! While most believe that MusclePharm was where everything started for me, I actually got my first supplement industry job when I was in college getting my undergraduate degree. As a contributor on the Bodybuilding.com Forums in 2006, I caught the attention of BEAST and was asked to join their sports nutrition br...

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! As another quarter ends within the functional CPG space, it’s only right that I ask my good friend and Market Insights Director at SPINS, Scott Dicker, to join me again for another one of our famous holistic categorical d...

The Coca-Cola Company is no rookie when it comes to brand licensing…that is unless we are talking about the kid from the Rookie of the Year movie. Heck…The Coca-Cola Company is basically an elaborate licensing company when you realize about two-thirds of its total revenue are generated by "concentrate sales" aka licensing of its secret ingredients in syrup form. But that’s neither here n...

I was made aware of the Biosteel early in its history by my hockey sports agent friend, but the Canadian sports nutrition brand didn’t pop up in any of my content until October 2019 when the fully integrated cannabis company Canopy Growth Corporation paid $51 million to acquire 72% majority control. If you've seen Biosteel in the headlines recently, it's due to an ongoing SEC investigation...

Most beverage industry veterans’ thought was prediction was crazy months ago…but it looks like my super-secret Magic 8 Ball strikes again! Be honest...did you really believe my March 14, 2023 prediction that Monster Energy would eventually acquire the bankrupt assets of Bang Energy? But while I’ve already started to take my prediction victory lap, there’s still a legal hurdle and many business unk...

Nestle will transform into a "health and nutrition powerhouse.” That’s at least what I predicted in an August 2021 YouTube video. Since then, Nestle has acquired the plant-based supplement brand Orgain, Brazilian supplement brand Puravida, New Zealand supplement portfolio The Better Health Company…plus buying a coffee brand from Starbucks and increasing nutrition-related manufacturing investm...

Fresh eyes on challenges, promising health and wellness brands, can’t lose…right? In this latest episode, I'll utilize the 2023 Q3 Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ: SMPL) earnings report, earnings call, and supplemental presentations that were filed on 6/29/2023 as the backdrop to provide broad nutritional snacking market insights. In Q3 of fiscal 2023, both Atkins Nutritionals and Quest Nutr...

As your CPG brand grows bigger, something naturally happens that has a divergent relationship with customer intimacy. In the CPG industry, scaling your brand usually involves onboarding more intermediaries. The fact is that creating long-term close bonds between customers and CPG brands isn't easy given the nature of the industry. The examples are plentiful within the CPG industry, but the big...

One of the greatest investing minds in history is also an avid Coca-Cola drinker. Besides owning billions in Coca-Cola stock, Warren Buffett also has a theory on why the soda brand is the global leader...and it has to do with "taste memory." The Oracle of Omaha believes the taste of Coke doesn’t accumulate in your mouth like other types of soda. Warren Buffett goes on to say that he’s ne...

Mountain Dew is the unofficial drink of gamers…or at least that’s the stereotype, right? So, why did the energy drink version of Mountain Dew called Game Fuel end up failing? Mountain Dew is essentially the base of the food pyramid for people who spend marathon gaming sessions in front of a computer or console. The practical reason is obviously because Mountain Dew has more caffeine than Coke or P...

If you ain’t delaying…are you really Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction banging? Believe it or not…it’s been something like 250 days since Bang Energy filed voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. That might seem like a long time, but Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, especially complex ones involving creditor claims in the billion-dollar range, are not quick…and that doe...

Did anyone else have former First Lady Michelle Obama starting a kid’s nutrition CPG brand on their Bingo Card? Well...you can check those December 2021 receipts on my YouTube video named HollywoodHouse Foods (https://youtu.be/-zXXmAS7bFI). But all jokes aside, I'm glad to see the Michelle Obama continuing her White House efforts to bring this next generation of kids into a healthier future. B...

If you’re an astute follower of my content, you’ve heard me mention the concept of precision fermentation (and/or name notable startups that are commercializing such material for functional CPG brands) in numerous pieces of content over the last handful of years. That being said, I’ve somehow overlooked the fact that I haven’t given precision fermentation the respect it deserves with its own dedic...

There’s A LOT of misunderstandings when it comes to recessions. While it may seem counterintuitive, recessions aren't all bad news. The clouds that settle over the economy during a recession do in fact have a few silver linings…so I want to talk about the long-term impact of those within the context of the grocery business. And just so we’re on the same page, when I say grocery business…I’m ta...

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 is a special one for a three reasons...(1) we recorded it in person at the "Carlsbad mecca of functional ingredients" aka Compound Solutions, Inc. headquarters (2) Matt Titlow gave us the FULL origi...

CPG marketers are constantly trying to come up with ways to stop consumers’ infinite scroll, so why not utilize a remixed version of an 1860s military strategy, right? While most think about “shock and awe” as simply a massive application of firepower by the military, the real battleground is within the opponent’s mind. “Shock and Awe” accomplishes psychological victory by influencing the will and...

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! Now, I don’t want to oversell this special edition episode, but it’s kind of a big deal. It would have been a big episode even during good times but consider the collective facts…I spoke with the founder and recently oust...

The Vitamin Shoppe was just sold...again (technically)! What started as highly probable rumors became reality. In a deal that’s expected to close in the second half of 2023, The Vitamin Shoppe’s owner, Franchise Group, would be taken private through a $2.6 billion management buyout. The group buying the portfolio is led by current Franchise Group CEO Brian Kahn but includes a consortium of other i...

Are growth vibes at Celsius Holdings drying up…or is this desert oasis as lush as Greenland…or was it Iceland that’s green? (D2: The Mighty Ducks reference anyone?) This is the first quarter that Celsius energy drinks was fully integrated into the PepsiCo DSD distribution system after the August deal announcement. Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH) had quarterly revenue of $260 million, which was up...

The gang’s all here again…which should be huge news for Premier Protein heading into the back-half of its fiscal year. But 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) 2023 Q2 earnings rel...