J. Schall Consulting

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Have you ever wondered why so many of the largest global supplement companies utilize a multilevel marketing strategy? Is it just that effective or is there something historically significant at play? And maybe the answer lies in studying the life of one man... In the mid-1930s, Carl Rehnborg founded the California Vitamin Company (now Nutrilite that was acquired by Amway in 1972), which is generally recognized as the first to create a multivitamin/multimineral supplement for sale in the United States. But while Carl Rehnborg might hold a special place in the supplement industry history, his impact was much larger in another business sector...and that’s because he invented the form of direct selling that is now called multilevel marketing in 1945! #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #sportsnutrition #supplements #multilevelmarketing #mlm #amway #vitamins #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Cyber Monday has us thinking about the growing role "third-party digital offer" companies are playing within the CPG industry. With 72% of consumers stating that the economy directly impacts their grocery spending habits, its fairly obvious why Ibotta recently reported a 63% YoY increase in "redeemers." Moreover, this has come at a time when shoppers are becoming more comfortable with technology…as 30% prefer to engage exclusively with digital coupons. Ibotta now has ~2500 CPG brand partners leveraging its network for targeted digital offers, which effectively incentivizes new-to-brand purchases and brand loyalty. Note: Beyond being an "Great Shutdown" inflation winner, the mid-2021 Walmart strategic investment has played an important role in the Ibotta growth story. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #sportsnutrition #supplements #digitalmarketing #ecommerce #walmart #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

The creator packaged goods trend is evolving... It was recently announced that Feastables, the chocolate company started by mega-YouTuber MrBeast, became the first U.S.-based company to join Tony's Chocolonely’s Open Chain. But does supporting an initiative that seeks to “combat the unfair distribution of value and power in the chocolate industry show that Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) is a good person or a good businessperson? Snack brands (like Feastables) continue to will face high expectations to differentiate themselves in the category by linking purpose-driven attributes to product qualities (like taste). #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #snacking #sustainability #supplychain #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Actions > Rhetoric With United States-China relations at historic lows, targeted punitive actions have become (and will likely continuing being) politically popular…making "speed of action" likely very swift. Additionally, it's important to remember that "Trump 2.0" will inherently have a quicker "speed of action" in all governmental actions. While there are diversification options in-process that should help over the next decade, finding a strong enough replacement to substantially shift the supplement industry supply chain away from China quickly is unlikely. So, even if your supplement company feels great about supplier relationships right now…please don’t get caught sleeping at the wheel in 2025. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #sportsnutrition #supplements #nutrition #supplychain #china #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Name the most boring, "functional" product... Was it toilet paper? 💩 Butt boring has some advantages in the CPG industry. And that's because when founders are thinking of CPG product ideas...they’re often thinking of categories that are glamorous. Yet, the main advantage with boring categories is that there isn’t a lot of attention...making competition from new ideas lower. Moreover, these categories are usually fairly mature, which often means they have a large addressable markets. This excerpt was taken from our May 2022 conversation [link in comments] with Samuel Marcus (King of All Wipes) N....where we talked about how his personal hygiene brand was disrupting the boring legacy toilet paper category. In a world of white toilet paper, the disruptive strategic approach of Goodwipes all of a sudden has made the category seem not boring at all. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #health #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

10x market opportunity compared to gluten-free? 🤔 Did you know that nearly 40 million U.S. adults experience migraines? And did you also know that a person’s diet could trigger migraines? So, how big could the migraine-friendly nutrition market get? Think about it this way…celiac disease impacts only an estimated four million Americans, but there’s a broader appeal of gluten-free foods outside of that affected population. And there lies the challenge (and opportunity) for trigger-free foods! #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #nutrition #health #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

In today’s "endless aisle" world, there are as many beverages as unique personalities, and your choice can say a lot about you. It has honestly got to the point that your drink can say just as much about you as the outfit you choose to wear. So, as the tensions from this recent U.S. election season subsides, we thought sharing this graphic about the "least bipartisan" beverages would be interesting... Any surprises? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beverages #politics #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Liquid Death looks like beer, but its also Not Beer... 🤔 Design trends are cyclical...they gain acceptance, then get accepted by the mainstream, and then mass adoption makes them normal. This happens with even the most "successful" against-the-grain decisions, but eventually rebels (like Liquid Death) change the script again. So, where is the packaged water category now within that design cycle? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beverages #packaging #design #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants 

Within the supplement industry…maybe the phenomenon of missing something so obvious could be attributed to being distracted by the same old way or even disbelief that there’s a simpler opportunity. The “sports nutrition” niche of the supplement industry is a graveyard of once-buzzy brands that abruptly stopped growing…at least in part because they never had a solid strategic plan to turn anyone into a customer who wasn’t already relatively fit. So, with more people continuing to participate in the most popular forms of exercise (aka walking, running, and cycling), where are those sports nutrition brands saying we are here for you…we are you? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #fitness #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants