J. Schall Consulting

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Several years before the "licensed flavor era" began within the sports/active nutrition niche of the supplement industry, MAN Sports arguably created the foundation for this flavor innovation trend. In 2014, MAN Sports launched ISO-AMINO in “candy flavors” that mimicked the nostalgic sweet snacks that we all loved as children... And since this was such a radical leap from the typical "blue raspberry" and "watermelon candy" powdered supplement flavors, MAN Sports used creative name variants to help consumers connect the dots more easily (i.e. Dorks = Nerds). While that flavor naming tactic might be frowned upon in today's "more mature" sports/active nutrition industry landscape...it's an equally important variable that eventually led to consumers demanding officially licensed flavors. Throughout the early/mid-2010s, flavor innovation converged with the proliferation of the category and became arguably the starting point for the mainstreaming effect within the sports nutrition industry. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #flavor #sportsnutrition #supplements #food #beverages #nutrition #wellness #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Did you know that corporate venture capital (CVC) total deal value has increased more than tenfold over the past decade? CVC is essentially a practice where a large corporate entity takes an equity stake in a small but innovative (or specialist) company with the objective of gaining a specific competitive advantage. When most people familiar with CVC think about the concept, they tend to beeline towards large tech companies, but this type of investing is done by every sector in the economy...and that includes retailers and CPG companies! Walmart = Walmart Ventures Unilever = Unilever Ventures L'Oréal = L'Oreal BOLD Ventures Ulta Beauty = Prisma Ventures ...and the list goes on and on! But CVC (and/or brand incubators) have spiked in popularity as these companies are having to evolve more rapidly to meet the needs of customers. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #finance #investing #mergersandacquisitions #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

About one-fifth of all convenience store owners have spoken, and they shared some interesting takes surrounding the energy drinks category. But here are the top 3 biggest “categorical” takeaways from the recent Goldman Sachs Beverage Bytes survey... 1/ 80% of c-store owners state that energy drink brands must increase YoY promotional activity levels to reverse the recent decelerating volume growth 2/ most c-stores owners don’t believe CELSIUS Holdings, Inc. (and other emerging brands) will follow the price increases by Red Bull and Monster Energy 3/ all the attention this week was on Jack Owoc's next venture (i.e. AI Energy), but Bang Energy added the most placements recently on a weighted average store basis...which is another data point that supports the notion that Monster Beverage has started to turn the brand around #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beverages #energydrinks #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

The last few years have been rough for emerging CPG brands. Disruptions from the "Great Shutdown" were followed by much higher interest rates...and then tight money prompted many institutional and venture investors to fund considerably less opportunities. But it feels like a considerable shift has happened...one that should benefit both investors and CPG brands. With less money chasing them, founders have been able to focus on building sustainable, profitable businesses without the pressure of a quick exit. As interest rates are predicted to lower over the next 6-12 months, deal opportunities will accelerate...but this time with more foundational quality. This food/beverage CPG investment snapshot was found within the most recent FABID report. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #finance #investing #sportsnutrition #supplements #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Seeking to meet evolving consumer demands for holistic wellness, there has been a progressive shift toward sports nutrition brands placing more emphasis on products that contribute to health and performance throughout the day…not just before, during, and after the workout use occasion. So, sports nutrition brands traditionally known more for their protein and pre-workout powders have now expanded their offerings into day parts like breakfast. And this makes A LOT of sense when you take a step back and think about it, as breakfast is the key to getting a good start and lays the foundation for a successful day ahead. It has also been helpful that more consumers are realizing that breakfast doesn’t have to be a meal...instead prioritizing a healthy yet enjoyable snacking experience. Do you think the "Power Breakfast" trend strengthens over the near-term or will this prove to be an innovation dead-end for sports nutrition brands? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #sportsnutrition #supplements #protein #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Monster Energy leadership has stated previously that Bang Energy is a lifestyle brand...but wasn't that “lifestyle” cultivated by its founder Jack Owoc? That opens up a larger (strategic alignment) question around what (or who) is Bang Energy now, right? If you’ve looked at the energy drink brand's social media lately, many elements of that original “loud party vibes” lifestyle are still present…but there’s one noticeable difference. So, do you think Kai Cenat (and the streaming/creator supergroup AMP) can provide the level of innovation, creativity, and dynamic engagement needed to lift Bang Energy out of the Jack Owoc shadow? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beverages #energydrinks #sportsnutrition #supplements #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

The average consumer makes over 200 food and beverage decisions every day, so as you'd imagine...predicting that next one is highly lucrative! For those unaware, the nation's largest grocery (i.e. Kroger) has a retail data science and analytics business unit called 84.51˚. Here are a few of the most fascinating takeaways we had from analyzing their recent Consumer Digest report: 1/ pets > children 2/ sweet snacks command no loyalty 3/ Baby Boomers enjoy to exclusively use digital coupons #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #food #beverages #data #snacks #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

Most CPG marketers can be shortsighted when assessing product placement opportunities. It's not only about visibility, but embedding your CPG brand into story narratives that consumers are already engaged with...thus allowing it to benefit from the emotional connections viewers develop with characters. The Hershey Company was arguably one of the first CPG brand to understand the power of product placement... But maybe the new standard for CPG industry product placement is FX’s hit show “The Bear” that can seamlessly integrated food and beverage CPG brands into a captivating story about the restaurant industry. With streaming audiences oftentimes being unreachable by traditional advertising, product placement remains a uniquely powerful tool in the marketing arsenal, capable of delivering not just immediate results but prolonged benefits...as streaming TV series frequently amass far greater audiences over time compared to their initial broadcasts. #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #productplacement #movies #entertainment #food #beverages #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants

More and more surveys have been confirming that that consumers taking "sports nutrition" products more often use them to improve their general health compared to improve their performance. This decade-long categorical evolution to active nutrition (or active lifestyle) shouldn't be that surprising to anyone, but that doesn't mean the "gym is life" sports nutrition buyers are gone either...they're really now a segment within active nutrition. This excerpt was taken from a conversation with Nick Morgan from April 2023...where we talked about how the global sports nutrition market will continue to see innovation and expansion, but also that supplement brands positioned within the "sports nutrition" niche shouldn't by default chase the mainstream consumers. Who wants to see round ✌ with Nick & Joshua soon? #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #supplements #sportsnutrition #food #beverages #wellness #nutrition #innovation #productdevelopment #branding #marketing #merchandising #retailing #retail #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship #consultants