J. Schall Consulting

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Taking risks is a fundamental aspect of the entrepreneurial journey. Financial risk will likely be a large factor for consideration, but no matter the type of risk...it's important that you assess your ability to tolerate them (as its a key personality trait that are not typically very amenable to change). And that's because being a successful entrepreneur takes courage along with that great idea... This excerpt was taken from our December 2023 conversation [link in the comments] with Dan Crosby...where we talked about the bevy of risks surrounding his decision to acquire the bankrupt assets of BioSteel. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #sportsnutrition #supplements #beverages #health #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #grocery #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

When you're an early-stage CPG brand founder...each individual customer means the world to you. But then as you scale (and your customer base grows), CPG brands (oftentimes unintentionally) wrongfully distance themselves from those original core customers...making them feel like just a number. And that’s becoming a bigger issue in today’s CPG marketplace where customers expect brands to add value to their lives beyond simply providing a great “made to stock” product. So, CPG brands must focus on building a company culture that rewards the creation and adoption of unscalable customer-centric strategies. The goal would be to prioritize customer intimacy even as the CPG brand goes through the typical growth/adoption construct... #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #cx #customerexperience #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #grocery #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

CPG Industry 🤝 Movie Industry Did you know that within the last year...almost every one of the “Top 25” grossing box office movies were based on existing IP or part of a franchise? You're probably wondering how that random factoid relates to the CPG industry, right? Over the past 5-7 years, we've continually referenced this idea of the "CPG industry innovation paradox." But what happens when CPG brands decide instead to play it extremely safe like movie studios? Does all that CPG product renovation (line extensions, reformulations, or relaunches) activity: 1️⃣ risk the future survival of established CPG industry players? 2️⃣ make them more profitably efficient? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #grocery #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Vital Proteins was hardly the first to sell collagen protein, but the supplement brand was certainly at the vanguard of the movement when introducing its flagship powdered collagen peptides product. And since then...Vital Proteins has captured the leading share in the collagen market across every U.S. large tracked sales channel by launching hundreds of "collagen-as-a-platform" products... This excerpt was taken from our May 2022 conversation [link in the comments] with Tracey Warner Halama...where we talked about Vital Proteins' big dream of creating a new category. But while the brand certainly disrupted the entire protein powder space...that success also created a rush of competitors that we dubbed the “Vital Proteins Effect.” #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #sportsnutrition #supplements #protein #health #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #grocery #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Protein Bars: "Clean" vs. "Non-Clean" Protein has become a kind of "holy water" that instantly anoints any food (or beverage) with a health halo... While the focus on high protein diets started in those shadowy niches of sports nutrition and weight management, there’s now increasingly diverse consumer cohorts that possess a heightened awareness around the value of this essential nutrient. With protein bars now being marketed as “wellness” products targeting mainstream consumers that are quite different than the previous stereotypical, “curls for the girls” consumers of the past, it's important to understand current trending primary purchase drivers. Source: SPINS (L52W period ending 9/8/24) #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #protein #snacking #sportsnutrition #supplements #wellness #nutrition #innovation #marketing #branding #productdevelopment #retailing #merchandising #retail #grocery #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

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