J. Schall Consulting

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A few weeks ago, current Ultimate Fighting Championship Middleweight Champion, Dricus du Plessis, launched a sports drink in partnership with the South African supermarket Checkers. While the Knox Sparkling Hydration Drink does have an ingredient decks that's reminiscent of an intra-workout supplement in the U.S. market, that's where the "distinctiveness" ends... We couldn't get the packaging similarities out of our mind... Anyone else? When product-based differentiation proves unable to provide a long-term defensible moat within the CPG industry, distinctiveness (in all aspects) can transform a product from a commodity into a perfectly great experiential foundation for brand storytelling. In today’s crowded marketplace, being different is not enough; you need to be distinctive. Brand distinctiveness helps consumers recognize your brand quickly and easily, even when they’re not actively looking for it. Moreover, distinctive branding makes it difficult for competitors to copy…and it can trigger emotional responses, which are key drivers of purchasing decisions. In essence, brand distinctiveness leverages our brain’s visual processing, memory recall, resistance to change, and emotional responses to create a memorable and protective brand identity. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

The most recent L2W NielsenIQ data showed that the U.S. energy drinks market is down 1.5% YoY. After years of consistent categorical growth, there's a number of different theories on what's causing this very recent marketplace "pause." But ~47K convenience store owners (survey by Goldman Sachs) believe it could be stemming from lower income consumers continuing to face financial challenges... What do you think? Would a bump in categorical promotional activity (especially 2-for-1 deals) help jumpstart sales growth again? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #energydrinks #beverages #cstores #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #finance #economy #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

The entry fee to compete in today's CPG industry is a "great product," but that "great product" alone will not determine level of success. This is why the smartest CPG brands are focused less on product-based differentiation, as they know that competing on that alone will only provide a transient advantage... With today’s fast-follower low barriers-to-entry CPG business landscape, your best product features are too easy to copy and an insufficient defensible moat. What's the solution? A bold strategic narrative enables CPG brands to create a unique story that will guide their entire internal and external business activity. When done correctly, this is what carves through the marketplace noise and leaves a valuable long-term impact on purchasing behavior... #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Tales of sacred, restorative waters have existed since Alexander the Great was said to have come across a healing “river of paradise” in the fourth century BC. And while the manner in which society describes those "Fountain of Youth" proclamations have changed, you can still trace "miracle cure" marketing messages from today's beauty and wellness CPG brands. There will always be that desire to "look younger" or "look better" but social media has been a tailwind for this human behavior because now people are constantly putting a camera in front of their faces. But there's also levels to how motivated people are to change their appearance. On the one end of the spectrum, you'd have various types of plastic surgery procedures and minimally invasive aesthetic services. But on the other end, it might be prescription medicine (e.g. GLP-1), beauty products, and various vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) offerings. Within the almost $2 trillion global wellness market, Millennial and Gen Z consumers are spending more on health and wellness than previous generations. Moreover, seeking "better appearance" is the top product/service type of all generations... #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beauty #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

A handful of years ago when individuals started viewing themselves as consumers in the healthcare market and no longer just patients, it provided specialty retailers (e.g. GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe) an opportunity to take advantage of that shifting consumer behavior. But it requires those specialty supplement retailers to endorse a foundational mindset that places the customer at the center of a flexible, almost "choose your own adventure style" of shopping. Additionally, it acknowledges this optionality extends into wellness-minded consumers being more “solution aware” due to the sheer access to information. Because "specialty" shouldn’t be mean singular solution... #strategy #trends #markets #retail #retailing #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #healthcare #wellness #sportsnutrition #supplements #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

What's your process of predicting "the next big thing"? A prospective client recently asked us about how we approach trend forecasting...and our answer likely surprised them a bit! While examining historical/current retail sales data is important, we most often use it for validation purposes... Instead, we typically start by watching shifts in consumer behaviors that transcend the category because they drive demand. After this perspective is established, we can look for possible connections with consumer-driven areas that are emerging within the category. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Did you know that "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" is the only known film produced primarily by the sale of oats, for the sale of candy bars? And that's because the 1971 classic film was financed by the Quaker Oats Company to promote an upcoming candy bar that they were developing for a subsidiary... The plan was to make their own chocolate Wonka Bar and launch it to coincide with the film. That’s why the name of the film was changed to "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" from the Robert Dahl children's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", as Willy Wonka was what the Quaker Oats Company wanted to advertise! #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #advertising #chocolate #candy #movies #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Broadly speaking, these last 2.5 years have been tough on CPG brands relying on investment to turbocharge their growth. But for those that developed fiscal discipline, adapted to the new operational reality, and proved their business model again…the ongoing stillness and fog for deal making is starting to clear. But we believe CPG entrepreneurs should continue staying cautiously optimistic because... ▪️ the "consumer" seems resilient (but still soft) ▪️ interest rates lower but stay higher for next 6-12 months ▪️ the upcoming U.S. presidential race has tightened ▪️ ongoing geopolitical risks could potentially cause more supply chain bottlenecks #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #finance #investing #mergersandacquisitions #sportsnutrition #supplements #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

The protein category tends to have one of the poorest unit economics comparably speaking within the supplement industry. While the traditional delivery formats like “capsules, powders, pills, and gummies” have provided low barriers-to-entry into the supplement industry, those rise slightly because the input (usually whey protein) is not easily differentiated and connected to agricultural commodity pricing…plus the typical pack size weighs two pounds and dominate sales channel is online. But even all those extra “barriers-to-entry” to protein powders don’t scratch the surface of what’s been happening on the supply-side of RTD protein beverages over the last handful of years. So, not only would these sports nutrition “protein powder” market leaders need to overcome learning new retail and distribution models, but they would also most importantly have to contend with a severe manufacturing capacity constraint that required them to invest millions in their first product run to even secure any line time. That’s why…despite protein powders being the dominate format, we haven’t seen the most disruption yet. But it’s coming…oh its coming! We often say that “demand growth breeds commercialization activity” but that’s also what happens on the supply side. During the 4-year stretch between 2019 to 2023, we were involved with several due diligence projects that assessed large manufacturing CAPEX investments to handle aseptic low acid processing that could produce RTD protein beverages. Moreover, various publicly traded companies and third-party suppliers have disclosed additional investments…all of which are starting to solve the manufacturing capacity challenges and lower the barriers-to-entry (at least the manufacturing ones) that has plagued the protein RTD beverages market recently. So, don’t say we didn’t warn you when 2025 ends up being filled with impressive launches by sports nutrition brands “protein powder market leaders” that have strong audiences of loyal customers. And the best ones will take advantage of “flat-footed market incumbents” that have been gun shy on launching any new or exciting product innovations since pretty much the late-2010s. Also, we believe mass and grocery retailers will start to give RTD protein beverages more placements outside of the typical healthy living and pharmacy merchandising space. And then finally…all these activities will be blanketed with likely higher protein input costs. So, things should be fun to say the least! #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #protein #sportsnutrition #supplements #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #marketing #branding #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants