Monster Energy’s Ben Galvin on Category Management’s Digital Evolution and Omnichannel Success

Summary

BRAVE COMMERCE: Monster Energy’s Ben Galvin on Category Management’s Digital Evolution and Omnichannel Success

Released on February 25, 2025

In this insightful episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, hosts Rachel Tippograph, Founder & CEO of MikMak, and Sarah Hofstatter, President of Profitero, dive deep into the evolving landscape of category management within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector. Their guest, Ben Galvin from Monster Energy, shares his extensive experience and forward-thinking perspectives on how digital transformation and omnichannel strategies are reshaping category management and driving success for leading brands.

Introduction to Category Management's Evolution

Ben Galvin opens the discussion by highlighting the significant shifts category management has undergone over the past decade. He articulates how the focus has transitioned from securing prime physical shelf space to optimizing digital presence. “This 10-year evolution has been like moving from reading headlines to writing the whole story as we've gone through” (01:04), Ben explains, emphasizing the depth and complexity that data-driven strategies now bring to the table.

The Role of Data-Driven Decision Making

A core theme of the conversation revolves around the importance of data in modern category management. Ben underscores that ten years ago, success was measured primarily by physical shelf placement and endcap displays. Today, with online grocery sales projected to grow at an 11% compound annual rate from 2022 to 2027, the battleground has shifted to digital shelf space. “Less than 1% of searchers actually go to the second page on Google looking for our category,” (06:14) Ben notes, illustrating the criticality of securing top search rankings.

He discusses the evolving role of syndicated data companies like Nielsen and IRI Circana, stating, “They need to continue to evolve to give us that story into why they checked out” (08:33), highlighting the necessity for these firms to provide deeper insights into consumer behavior beyond mere purchase data.

Omnichannel Strategies and Cross-Channel Coordination

Ben and the hosts explore the concept of omnichannel shopping, where consumers seamlessly transition between online and in-store environments. Ben points out, “Commercial leaders really need to understand how consumers move seamlessly between online and in store” (11:06). He illustrates how brands like Keurig Dr Pepper excel by integrating their online and physical strategies, ensuring consistent consumer experiences across all channels.

Agility and Responsiveness to Market Trends

Agility in responding to market trends is another pivotal topic. Ben cites examples from within and outside the beverage industry, such as Marc Anthony Brands and E.J. Gallo, to demonstrate how agility and responsiveness enable brands to swiftly adapt to emerging consumer preferences like the rise of seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages. “The days of gut decision making is really over. If you're not guided by data, you're already behind your competitors” (15:22) he asserts, reinforcing the necessity for data-informed agility.

Organizational Design and Collaboration

The conversation then shifts to organizational design and the importance of cross-departmental collaboration. Ben emphasizes that “cross collaboration makes everybody better because everyone's career is a spider web” (24:17). He advocates for structures that promote collaboration across media, shopper marketing, and e-commerce teams, avoiding silos that hinder cohesive strategy execution. Ben shares Monster Energy’s approach of holding collaborative meetings to ensure all departments are aligned and working towards common goals.

Skills Shift and Mindset Transformation

Transitioning from traditional to digital category management requires a shift in both mindset and skill sets. Ben advises fostering curiosity and continuous learning among teams to navigate the complexities of digital commerce. “It's about helping our sales team understand the online component like being eye level on the physical shelf” (17:16), he explains, drawing parallels between physical and digital shelf optimization.

Empowerment Through Education and Adaptation

Empowering teams through education and supporting them in adapting to new methodologies is crucial. Ben highlights the importance of making teams comfortable with data-driven approaches and encouraging them to leverage personal insights from their own shopping behaviors. “There is no wrong answer for this. Let’s ask questions and we can work on it” (21:25), he states, promoting a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.

Conclusion and Final Insights

As the episode wraps up, Ben shares a personal anecdote about his brave move from the Midwest to Northern California at 23, underscoring the importance of embracing the unknown and building resilience. “Embracing the unknown really taught me resilience. It shaped how I approach every challenge today with curiosity and confidence” (27:38), he reflects, tying back to the episode’s overarching themes of adaptability and continuous learning.

Rachel and Sarah express their appreciation for Ben’s valuable insights, encouraging listeners to explore previous episodes for a deeper understanding of category management and to connect with industry leaders who exemplify best practices in the field.

Notable Quotes

• Ben Galvin: “This 10-year evolution has been like moving from reading headlines to writing the whole story as we've gone through.” (01:04)

• Ben Galvin: “Less than 1% of searchers actually go to the second page on Google looking for our category.” (06:14)

• Ben Galvin: “They need to continue to evolve to give us that story into why they checked out.” (08:33)

• Ben Galvin: “Commercial leaders really need to understand how consumers move seamlessly between online and in store.” (11:06)

• Ben Galvin: “The days of gut decision making is really over. If you're not guided by data, you're already behind your competitors.” (15:22)

• Ben Galvin: “Cross collaboration makes everybody better because everyone's career is a spider web.” (24:17)

• Ben Galvin: “It's about helping our sales team understand the online component like being eye level on the physical shelf.” (17:16)

• Ben Galvin: “There is no wrong answer for this. Let’s ask questions and we can work on it.” (21:25)

• Ben Galvin: “Embracing the unknown really taught me resilience. It shaped how I approach every challenge today with curiosity and confidence.” (27:38)

Final Thoughts

This episode of BRAVE COMMERCE provides a comprehensive exploration of the digital evolution in category management and the critical role of omnichannel strategies in today’s eCommerce landscape. Ben Galvin’s expertise offers listeners actionable insights into leveraging data, fostering cross-departmental collaboration, and adapting to dynamic consumer behaviors to drive sustained growth and category leadership.

For those interested in further exploring category management, Rachel and Sarah recommend past episodes featuring industry leaders like Sarah Abitz from Clorox and Nuno, Chief Digital Officer of Marc Anthony Brands.

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Note: Advertisements and non-content segments from the transcript have been excluded to maintain focus on the episode's core discussions.

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Ben from Monster Energy]

There's no powerful result from a consumer our shopper can make than what they do with their wallet. This 10 year evolution has been like moving from reading headlines to writing the whole story as we've gone through. For those Stranger Things fans out there like the digital shelf is the upside down version of the physical shelf. It's dynamic, it's different but the same and it's constantly shifting. I use a lot of analogies internally here at Monster and a lot of them is giving our sales team that kind of in store example of an online and an energy drink component like being eye level on that physical shelf that everybody aspires to be. It's like being at the top of the search results page.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Welcome to today's episode of Brave Commerce.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I'm Rachel Tippograph, the founder and CEO of Micmac.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Sarah I'm Sarah Hofstadter, President of Profitero.

[Rachel Tippograph]

And this is a show that talks about what's relevant in E commerce for the world's biggest brands. Sarah, what do you consider the fundamentals of CPG?

[Sarah Hofstadter]

All the things around the four Ps for sure. Of course if I could recite them back to you, I'd be in better shape. But the idea though is that in most instances your relationship with the buyer often has that intermediary, that intermediary being the retailer. And unlike many other brands that have that direct to consumer relationship, you've always got or almost always have got that intermediary of the retailer that can either make or break your relationship. What do you think?

[Rachel Tippograph]

When you say the buyer, you mean the merchandiser at the retailer?

[Sarah Hofstadter]

No, no, no. I mean the person who buys your product on the shelf. So. So when I go to buy Pepperidge Farm cookies, the likelihood of me buying is going to be based on shelf availability is shelf discovery and that is the make or break. It's not nearly as much about whether or not you show up in a Google search result and actually find you. When I'm looking for my chessmen, you know.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Absolutely. Except in environments like Amazon.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Correct. Although it's the same concept in an environment like Amazon, I still have to go to Amazon in order to be able to find it. Amazon is that intermediary. The shelf is entirely digital. But no matter what, there is always that extra hop before you can get there. Versus if I want to sign up for Uber, yeah, I just go and I sign up for Uber. My relationship with Uber is a direct transaction. But when you're a manufacturer you rely on the distribution channel and that means that you've got to be in tip top shape, shelf wise.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Yeah, I want to answer the question differently, but I also know I can't. In my spirit of the question, I want to be able to say the fundamentals of CPG has everything to do with driving demand and your ability to then drive conversion. But we all know that it's the path is not linear in that way and that there's real businesses that guard one's ability to drive growth. And that's everything that you just described.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

The big way to do that is to make sure that you can differentiate with those retailers. And that's where category management comes into play. And it's one of those areas that if you're in cpg, it's a big live or die and if you're not in it, you don't appreciate the criticality of that in how a product makes its way to shelf.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Why do you think we've been doing this podcast endeavor together for four and a half years and we've pretty much never talked about category management?

[Sarah Hofstadter]

It's a big fat blind spot. Not just for our show, but it's a big fat blind spot for anybody in the digital commerce space. Because we've been talking so much about all the fundamentals of what makes for successful commerce, digital commerce, E commerce, Omni commerce, whatever the hell you want to call it. And yet we don't think about our best friends and probably closest relatives to this, which would be Katnan, I believe Sarah Abitz talked about it a little bit from Clorox, but you're right. 200 and something episodes later, we're ready to get schooled.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Yeah. So shame on us. But here we are with our curious minds. Who better to learn from than someone who grew up in category management? We're very excited to have our pal Ben from Monster Energy onto the show to give us a little history lesson on category management.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Ben, such a thrill to have you today.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Thank you for having us. It's really excited to be here and having the opportunity to talk to both of you.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I think you bring such a wealth of knowledge and context. Let's just get into it. So one thing that you and I have had the opportunity to work together in a prior chapter, but one of the things I've always loved is your connectivity between digital commerce and category management. And it's such an, I think hidden, obvious. And yet it is so misunderstood by so many. So you've been in category management for quite some time. What did winning the category mean a decade ago? What does it mean today?

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, ten years ago winning the category meant really securing prime physical shelf space and eye catching end caps. Today US online grocery sales are projected to hit 11% compound annual growth from 2022 to 2027. It's amazing because success really hinges on that influence of not only a commercial chain selling team, but really optimizing search results rankings like share of search, ensuring that content compliance and leveraging retail media are growth drivers. Back then 10 years ago we competed for inches of of shelf space. Now we vie for top positions on search result pages recognizing less than 1% of searchers actually go to the second page on Google looking for our category. But frankly now you have retailers like Walmart and Target and Amazon that lead the industry with regards to how people search and how they find products within the energy category as well as CPG beverage. If you think about 10 years ago in data management point of sale sales data such as Nielsen or Iri Circana told us what happened products sold or they didn't. Today you think about investing behind chain retail sales by channel leaders that can ultimately build relationships with these retailers that are leading the charge. From an omnichannel and thought leadership experts within category leadership who sell with data who build shopper and media support. We need to get to the why on data streams from syndicated data sources, retail media click through rates and even new conversion paths. Think social media or third party marketplaces like Doordash or Instacart and how then shopper basket behaviors happen. This 10 year evolution has been like moving from reading headlines to writing the whole story as we've gone through. And it's been fascinating to see. You know you look at point of sale sales data 10 years ago, it's like watching game highlights and now we can see the full play by play during the live stream and giving you real time insights as shoppers make moves. So it's really exciting and I look forward to seeing what the next 10 years bring.

[Rachel Tippograph]

On that note, what role do you think the syndicated data companies still have in such a dynamic ecosystem?

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, obviously they have the corner around the call it point of sale. So again, there's no powerful results from a consumer a shopper can make than what they do with their wallet. We can search all we want online, but if we don't actually check out, that's truly what we want to make sure. And so where I see the value that those Iri Circana or Nielsen continue to bring is ultimately how consumers are using their wallet now Ultimately what did they get do to get there is going to be almost more powerful. And I think where they need to evolve being iri, Nielsen, Circana, so forth, they need to continue to evolve to give us that story into why they checked out. And ultimately I think that's the value that certain Martech companies obviously similar to Mi'kmaq and what we have continued to seen structurally around the decision tree of consumers. But I think ultimately that again checkout consumer is still the value they can bring because again the shopper's use of their wallet is still kingmaker.

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[Rachel Tippograph]

On that note of being a kingmaker, you have such a unique perspective because obviously you're operating at a major beverage company. You know, every single day. Us as leaders, we're not leading by example, we're setting the example. So when you think about the beverage category today, where there's been so much disruption, who's doing it well?

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, so it's fascinating to see kind of how the standards have been set and where people are doing it well. So I look at it from a leaders standpoint on brands, individuals and they're really those best commercial leaders, but are the ones that build bridges, not silos. They set the bar high for performance but also curiosity. And I really kind of bucketed into like who's doing well in three different areas. And one of them was really around like data driven decision making. If you look at modern commercial leaders, they're using a lot of real time data again whether it's purchase sales data or shopper insights and they're really informing a lot of the category trends. You've seen brands like Coca Cola do this extremely well. Even PepsiCo across their call it gamut of products that they have within cpg, they've really ultimately looked to build cross category. One of the other interesting things of that I see from leaders around especially data driven is the days of kind of gut decision making is really over. If you're not guided by data, you're already behind your competitors and that's where they're really looking at it from a digital shelf standpoint and then in a physical shelf. The other thing that I see on who's doing it really well is that kind of cross channel expertise and coordination. If you think about how consumers shop today, they're already shopping multiple channels. So how are you then capturing them? And the rise of omnichannel shopping online and in store. Commercial leaders really need to understand how consumers move seamlessly between online and in store. Companies like Keurig, Dr. Pepper do this very well. And even here at Monster we have omnichannel category leadership support that ultimately gives us that kind of in store online understanding and being able to build that ecosystem and story back to our Sales teams. I also look at a lot of different leaders within the beauty space on how well they continue to do it on cross department, cross team coordination, which is really fascinating. Looking at a media in store programming and of course sales execution. Commercial leaders continue to think about how they can move the checkers across the board when they should be thinking about chess and adapting across multiple boards. Because not only is that how the consumer is shopping, but that's how they're thinking. And the best shoppers aren't staying in just one game, they're moving across all of them today. And it's been fascinating to see. The last thing that I looked at as part of the three was really that agility and responsiveness. Beverage trends specifically continue to change. If you think about the last five to seven years, the rise of seltzer is non alcoholic and alcoholic. Of course now you have isotonic waters, among other things. And when you look at now the health focus leaders continue to pivot not just on the why they're making it, but what they're bringing to the table. You can see beverage, particularly alcohol brands like Marc Anthony brands continually bringing different solutions to what that trend is. Even Gallo, a wine based company that now makes a spirit based seltzer and is leading. They're the largest spirit based product in the United States. With High Noon, it's that idea that's thinking about it. And again with the agility and responsibility responsiveness that's so unique. You want to make sure you're leaning into the evolution of the workforce expectations and this generational shift in what matters to me culture. A perfect example of who's done that well is Constellation, a previous employer who invested in $100 million commitment in each focus on minority brands and female founders. And I think that's really important from a leader standpoint to kind of just make sure you're leaning into it in a lot of different ways. Because in short, a lot of consumer CPG leaders are very tech savvy, they're very agile. But by breaking down those silos and empowering their teams, they can ultimately adapt in this fast paced market and stay above the competitive edge that only harnesses the data what they need to.

[Rachel Tippograph]

It's interesting hearing you cite some of these companies and some of them I'm personally close to. When you talk about Marc Anthony Brands and E.J. gallo, essentially the families, the founders are still actively involved in the business and they're making decisions for legacy, not short term sales 100%.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Another great example would be Jim Koch of Boston Beer. I mean, he created an FMB with twisted Tea a decade ago that's still relevant today. And oh no, oh, by the way, in the middle he's created Angry Orchard and rode the Cider wave. He created Drew Lee and rode obviously the Hard seltzer wave. And then he obviously started with Boston Beer and rode the craft wave in the 90s. And so it's that constant evolution that you're again not doing research, but you're doing objective research that again goes back to the agility and responsiveness that data driven decisions. And frankly, the most important thing is cross channel coordination. Understanding not just what the generational shift is happening, but coordinating along your retailer partners, distributor partners, shopper media and so forth.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

You just hit on a couple of really critical things. But also if I had to do a word cloud of this episode right now, I would say the words that we'd be using that would be coming up the most is cross or across and multi. But now you're talking about what becomes a market maker. And it's not looking to the left and it's not looking to the right. It's actually creating category. And all the examples you just gave I think really has to change the mindset. So whether it's the idea of living or dying by a planogram which already assumes a finite space.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Correct.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Or what category managers need to do to be slaves to the category definition, how do you change the mindset of organizations that may not necessarily have that either agility built in or. Or either. Or the skills associated with that.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah. So it's really important again at the beginning just to stay curious. And you mentioned shelf planogram, shelf planning management. That's obviously a big driving force of that finite space. You know, the planogram used to be the playbook we all had, but today it's just one chapter of the story. I know I've used this analogy in the past with other people, but like for those Stranger Things fans out there, like the digital shelf is the upside down version of the physical shelf. It's dynamic, it's different but the same and it's constantly shifting. So when you think about not just being like eye level placement if you will, but it's about again that top of search visibility. And I think brands and leaders need to continue to shift their mindset on how people think about this kind of finite space because another unique component of this is in the in store environment. You talk about how you can dominate the physical shelf, but online everybody gets one product listing box. It's the same Size and it's truly shopping democracy at its finest. And that's what's so fascinating about this kind of retail media environment to secure not just digital real estate, if you will, but if you're only planning that physical shelf, you're missing half of the game in this environment. And you're also missing half of the perspective that leaders need to have. I think about category leaders for years and they fought tooth and nail for eye level shelf space or even like 70% of purchases in store. How do we drive more in store sales? Well, in today's environment, especially with grocery CPG approaching 10% mix now online you're really seeing even a higher mix of retailers focus on that online component. Just listen to Walmart's earnings call, Target's earnings call, like they're already seeing that mix in some categories. We in the energy category already have some retailers with over 10% mix online for energy beverage. It's just not about that physical placement. And I think you make a great point on ultimately not just opening your mind, but ensuring that brands are optimizing your product wherever the consumer wants to find it. And that's that value of a dynamic landscape. And really where the planogram was today, we're trying to influence it and now we're trying to influence that algorithm where people that can adapt and thrive. And I use a lot of analogies internally here at Monster and a lot of them is giving our sales team that kind of in store example of an online if you will, and an energy drink component like being eye level on that physical shelf that everybody as strives to be. It's like being at the top of the search results page for ultimately walking down the energy drink aisle, which we all do in our local grocery store or mass merch. It's like being at the top of the search results for the term energy drink again starting that agnostic search which is so fantastic. And then obviously we all fight for brand blocking and space on the shelf and that's like ultimately maximizing your search results page for your own brand. And that's where conquesting comes in and a lot of other things. And, and I think that's where you think about again doesn't matter if you're a beauty category or you're listing on on Home Depot. It's that whole environment of making sure the findability of your product is there. And that includes in an in store and online environment.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

All right, let's pivot over to the how because what you're saying is definitely the what. And I'M totally on board and in fact everybody starts using this, this sound bite. You just said shopping democracy at its finest. I freaking love that. I wrote it down. It's on the whiteboard. It's happening.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

I love it.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I love it. It's all yours. Credit will be given whenever I use it. You can copyright it. But a lot of what you're talking about is not just a mindset shift. It's a hard skills shift. Right. Like negotiating physical space and eye level space is very different than capturing algorithmic sure. Trends and conquesting based on competitor weakness. How do you change the mindset in your position? You're overseeing the whole kit and caboodle, but you've got people that are ingrained in doing things different, you know, a certain way. You're trying to expand their mind but also expand their skills. How do you do it?

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, I think it starts with helping them to understand that curiosity is their friend. When you think about how you can influence someone or frankly just make sure that they understand how it impacts their business. It all starts with a level of curiosity helping them to be curious not just about their business, but how the consumer shopping with their business. And this would be a commercial leader as an example. I think also one of the things you want to continue to drive is education as well as empowerment, understanding that there is no wrong answer for this. And we are here to help you guide along using examples of your category but also using examples of your own personal life. We all shop for different things in our lives that have nothing to do with the categories in which we work. So how do you take those learnings that you may do in your personal life and then apply them. And so I think it's really important to start there. And the how is really making sure that people understand that sometimes the data around them, if you will, can still serve them with informing this. Whether it's omnichannel retail or frankly the influence of a consumer that's ultimately trying to find your product in different environments. And I'll give an example. So one of the things that we try to do here is make sure that we not just tie the in store environment and the actions that we're doing with the online actions as well. But we also try to overlay the why we're trying to do this with whether it's audience targeting or it's frame of mind with regards to day partying, again, the energy category, you could purchase it four times a day. So helping our in store environment and the in store teams understand what we're doing is just ultimately adding value to all the actions they're doing in store. And then of course, reminding everyone, in this case in CPG Grocery, the actions that they take in store, all the work they put in store, plus all the media and the almost air cover we give them, all of the products sold still comes from the shelves in the store. And so ultimately that's the power going back to the retailer environment, but it's really curiosity and helping them to understand that this is something they can look at. The empowerment component. There's no wrong or right answers. Let's ask questions and we can work on it. And then education. We're all in this together and we're all learning together. And I think that's really how we can continue to empower as well as elevate others.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I agree with everything that you said. The one other ad that I would love to get your take on is essentially organizational design and compensation incentives.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yep.

[Rachel Tippograph]

I'm thinking about Monster.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Right.

[Rachel Tippograph]

And I was recently in a meeting with you and you had incredible stakeholders in the room.

[Wix Representative]

Yeah.

[Rachel Tippograph]

But I know how much work it took on your end to get all of these disparate people into that one room with us. And organizational design, I feel, has so much a part of this in these large organizations. So just your thoughts there?

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah. So it's really important to realize that everyone has their own swim lane, and obviously everyone levels up to different roles and responsibilities. When we talk about the democracy of data in any large organization, it's important to realize when there's a data source that either flows into the organization or out of the organization, multiple people touch it. So I think it's really important when you think about starting with data organization and structure, that there's almost like these collaboration meetings that take place. We have one here at Monster we call the trifecta between media and shopper, marketing and E commerce that ultimately makes sure not just everyone's on the same page, but frankly, everybody's rowing in the right direction. I don't think there will be a time, at least in the short term, where everything will be under one head of an individual and everyone will manage that and that because ultimately that creates silos. And so it ultimately helps when there are different departments that all work together because everyone can touch a piece. One of the things that I like to say, and I work very closely with my peers here at Monster that we're really collaborative about, is, is this a business case with IT or media support? Is this a retail media case with business support or IT like who's the leader and who's the support. And again, you can build racing models all you want that can bog it down. But it's the whole idea of who can lead and then who needs to support that. That way everyone understands from an environment standpoint what their place is. And I think it's very healthy within large organizations that we have different departments that have different priorities as long as when projects come in, and especially the one you're referencing around our digital commerce component, that people realize in this environment I need your help to be successful and you need my help to be successful. And at the end of the day, our goal in our case is to sell more monster, more bang, more nos. And so by doing that, we need to create better findability solutions and we need to then ultimately maximize the conversion that we can get from it. And I think when it comes to structure, that type of quote, cross collaboration makes everybody better because everyone's career is a spider web. And you never know if somebody from web design wants to work in E commerce or somebody from E commerce wants to go work in retail media. And if they don't get that exposure, then their career becomes either a ladder or frankly a glass ceiling. When you talk about compensation, I think one of the things that's really fascinating about the industry is really Covid brought grocery CPG omnichannel ahead by like seven years. And it really helped to understand that the environment of E commerce is not only here, but it's here to stay. And though it may, at least in grocery CPG, it may not be 100% or even 50% of our category because it's always going to be easier to go in store, it is still going to be a significant amount. And at least going forward, as you think about the compensation structure or resource structure of an organization, it's making sure that in this, in our case, we're building a case to show not just where our growth is coming from, but why it's growing and that we have a larger breadth of the aspirational consumer that will make sense not only our brand today, but 10 years from now. So let's build that lifetime value with this consumer. And this is why you need to invest in this today.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Ben, I love your passion and we could probably keep picking your brain about so many topics, but we have to ask you our famous last question, which is what's the bravest thing you've ever done?

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, it's been one of those things, as I thought about what we've done and how in my career. You know, I'm a Midwest kid born and raised and the bravest thing I've ever done was moving to Northern California at 23 right out of grad school. I've never been there before. I didn't know a single person and really stepping into a new job and a completely unfamiliar industry and environment personally and professionally. It was a crash course and adapting to a different culture way of life, all figuring out my career and personal paths. It was really a great experience for me and embracing the unknown really taught me resilience. It shaped how I approach every challenge today with curiosity and confidence to navigate the unfamiliar. It was really the bravest and best decision I've ever made.

[Rachel Tippograph]

But California didn't keep your heart because you're back in the Midwest.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, Constellation moved me back here in 2019, but a lot of my vacations are still out there and I still have a good friend network out there which I go out and see pretty often.

[Rachel Tippograph]

Well Ben, thank you for sharing your insights. I felt like I was with a CPG historian for the past 30 minutes. Sarah and I are appreciative for your friendship and partnership.

[Ben from Monster Energy]

Yeah, thank you for having me. It's great to be on.

[Rachel Tippograph]

If you like what you heard from Ben and you want to think more about some of the topics, especially category management, go check out an episode that we did probably two years ago with Sarah Abitz from Clorox. And then if you want to go check out a best in class brand. According to Ben, he gave a shout out to Marc Anthony Brands. And so you can go check out an episode we did about a year ago with Nuno, the Chief Digital Officer of Marc Anthony Brands. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend. Write a Review Share on LinkedIn thanks for listening.

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[Jackie Cooper]

Hi, I'm Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As a result, I've met some of the most fascinating and inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth, we're coming centre stage and sharing the mic to experience stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.