Simply Good Foods’ Stuart Heflin on Building Quest Nutrition’s Culture and Category Leadership

Summary

BRAVE COMMERCE Podcast Summary
Episode: Simply Good Foods’ Stuart Heflin on Building Quest Nutrition’s Culture and Category Leadership
Release Date: August 12, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, hosts Rachel Tippograf, Founder & CEO of MikMak, and Sarah Hofstadter, President of Profitero, engage in a deep conversation with Stuart Heflin, SVP and General Manager at Quest Nutrition. The discussion centers around Quest’s remarkable journey in maintaining a strong company culture and establishing category leadership in the competitive eCommerce landscape.

Maintaining Company Strategy Post-Acquisition

The conversation kicks off with a critical discussion on company strategy, especially in the context of acquisitions. Sarah Hofstadter (02:38) questions the importance of maintaining a clear strategy during scaling phases. Stuart Heflin emphasizes the significance of not getting comfortable and doubling down on what makes the company unique.

Stuart Heflin (07:22): "Don't get comfortable. You have to double down on the things that make you who you were."

Heflin highlights that despite the challenges of integrating new processes post-acquisition by Simply Good Foods, Quest retained its core team and cultural essence, which was pivotal in scaling without losing its "soul."

Protecting and Cultivating Company Culture

A significant portion of the discussion delves into Quest’s unwavering commitment to its culture. Sarah prompts Heflin to elaborate on what makes Quest’s culture special.

Stuart Heflin (09:17): "If you have a great idea, it will be listened to and has the opportunity to really change and evolve the direction of the company."

Heflin elaborates that Quest fosters an inclusive environment where every team member, regardless of their position, feels empowered to contribute ideas. This democratized approach ensures that innovative ideas surface from all levels, promoting a strong sense of ownership and collaboration.

Scaling Without Losing Identity

Rachel Tippograf (10:27) inquires about how Quest managed to maintain its identity while scaling. Heflin explains that Quest operates as a flat organization, minimizing hierarchical barriers and encouraging direct communication across all levels.

Stuart Heflin (10:36): "Everyone is just on the same page. There's this sort of democratic approach to how we collaborate."

This flat structure has been instrumental in preserving Quest’s agility and responsiveness, allowing the company to scale efficiently while staying true to its foundational values.

Navigating a Competitive Market

Rachel shifts the conversation towards the competitive landscape in the high-protein, low-sugar product category. Heflin discusses the evolution of consumer demographics and how Quest has adapted its strategy to appeal to a broader audience.

Stuart Heflin (14:32): "We've tried to bring macros to people where they are... Don't stop eating chips. Just eat these chips."

Quest has diversified its product line beyond traditional protein powders and bars, introducing cookies, chips, and even protein milkshakes. This diversification is part of Quest’s strategy to mainstream macro-friendly products, making them accessible and appealing to a wider consumer base.

Innovating the Ready-to-Drink Segment

Addressing the crowded ready-to-drink (RTD) protein market, Heflin shares Quest’s approach to product innovation. After an initial unsuccessful launch of a conventional RTD protein drink, Quest reevaluated its strategy to align with its foundational principles.

Stuart Heflin (18:14): "We always go back and look at the postmortem about what didn't work... we have to do this the Quest way."

Quest’s latest offering, a protein milkshake boasting 45 grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar, exemplifies their commitment to delivering high-quality, flavorful products without compromising on nutritional value. This product development underscores Quest’s dedication to flipping the macronutrient profile of indulgent foods, making them both enjoyable and health-conscious.

Retail Partnerships and Brand Representation

Rachel probes into how Quest ensures brand consistency across various retail environments. Heflin emphasizes the importance of packaging and strategic partnerships with retailers.

Stuart Heflin (21:39): "The package itself has to do a lot of work, both in terms of communicating on the emotional side as well as the rational side."

By investing in standout packaging and forging strong relationships with retailers, Quest ensures that its brand is effectively communicated both in-store and online. Collaboration with retailers allows Quest to tailor its brand presence to different platforms, enhancing visibility and consumer engagement.

Organizational Design and Retail Media Integration

The discussion transitions to organizational design, specifically regarding retail media’s placement within the company. Heflin reveals Quest’s evolution from a siloed structure to an integrated media strategy.

Stuart Heflin (26:08): "Today, we have media. The same person that runs media runs whatever we're doing on eCommerce... it all fits together."

This integration ensures a cohesive full-funnel marketing approach, eliminating silos and fostering synergy between digital and traditional marketing efforts. Such alignment is crucial in optimizing sales influenced by digital interactions, which account for a significant portion of consumer purchases.

Personal Insights and Leadership

Towards the end of the episode, Rachel invites Heflin to share a personal favorite Quest product and a reflection on his leadership journey. Heflin humorously selects the protein milkshakes as his go-to product while also expressing a fondness for the spicy chips.

Stuart Heflin (27:28): "I'm gonna say these milkshakes because every single day I at least drink two or three of these a day."

When asked about the bravest thing he has ever done, Heflin recounts his bold decision to leave a prominent position at a leading protein powder brand to join the then-scrappy Quest team. This leap of faith underscores his belief in Quest’s vision and his commitment to personal and professional growth.

Stuart Heflin (27:33): "Don't be too afraid to bet on yourself if something feels right, even in the moment."

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with heartfelt commendations from the hosts, acknowledging Heflin’s pivotal role in Quest’s success. His leadership, characterized by a steadfast commitment to culture and innovation, has propelled Quest to maintain its edge in a crowded market.

Sarah Hofstadter (30:06): "Your success is 100% due to the smarts, but so much the tone. It's just the tone that you set."

Heflin expresses gratitude for the opportunity to share Quest’s story, hoping that listeners found both inspiration and actionable insights from the conversation.

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Key Takeaways

• Strategic Consistency: Maintaining and refining company strategy without frequent overhauls ensures clarity and direction.
• Cultural Preservation: A democratic and inclusive culture fosters innovation and employee ownership, essential for scaling.
• Market Adaptation: Diversifying product lines and mainstreaming macro-friendly products can capture a broader consumer base.
• Product Innovation: Aligning new products with core brand values ensures success and differentiation in competitive markets.
• Integrated Marketing: Eliminating silos and adopting a full-funnel approach enhances marketing efficacy and sales optimization.
• Leadership and Vision: Bold decisions and unwavering belief in the company’s vision are crucial for transformative growth.

This episode of BRAVE COMMERCE offers a comprehensive look into how Quest Nutrition has successfully navigated growth and competition by staying true to its culture and strategic vision, providing valuable lessons for businesses aiming to thrive in the dynamic eCommerce landscape.

Transcript

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[Stuart Heflin]

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ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com I mean obviously we had some things we had to do, right? We had to integrate, we had to take on new processes, new systems. But they let us be Quest. And you know, that freedom sort of gave us permission to scale without losing our soul. And so the real important takeaway here is and I'm a big proponent of culture. I talk about culture all the time. Anytime I have these opportunities, you know, there's a lot of people I hear talk about strategy. I'm a culture guy. The culture, you have to protect it at all costs. And I think if there was one thing I would point to is from the time of the pre acquisition until now, the Quest brand and the Quest team has kept its culture welcome to.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Today'S episode of Creative Commerce.

[Rachel Tippograf]

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

[Sarah Hofstadter]

And I'm Sarah Hofstadter, chairwoman of Profitero Plus.

[Rachel Tippograf]

And this is a show that talks about what's relevant in commerce for the world's biggest brands. Sarah, when you're leading the charge at different companies, how often are you refreshing the company strategy?

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I don't think you should be refreshing the strategy all too often. Unless things are really going boobar or like there's a major market dynamic shift. There are certain things that you kind of want to be consistent on values, expectations, on behaviors. If your strategy shifts too frequently, people get whiplash, they get confused, and it's hard to remember. I don't know. What about you?

[Rachel Tippograf]

I pressure test the strategy every year, and most years, nothing needs to change. But every few years, because of where Micmac sits in the ecosystem at the center of commerce and marketing, I do find myself needing to tweak a few things. Never around mission, vision or values, but more around differentiation.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I think that makes a lot of sense. I mean, ultimately, you know, you can look to the left and the right about competition, but I actually don't think that's the right answer. It's really looking to what, where the market dynamics are and where the market opportunity is, and then making sure you're aligned against that.

[Rachel Tippograf]

Exactly.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

And that keeps your North Star north. And it actually, it ensures that you don't end up veering 5, 10, 15 degrees out. And then wake up one morning, you find out, you know, you're in Kalamazoo 100%.

[Rachel Tippograf]

It's really interesting with the guests that we're about to bring onto the show, because there's a moment in the episode that just crystallized everything for me. And it's when Stuart started to talk about the company strategy. But the reason why it came up is because, Sarah, you asked a question around, when have things gone wrong? And Stuart gave an example. When the company abandoned the strategy for a moment, a brief moment, and that product launch didn't end up working out. And then they realized they must always execute the company strategy, which was so crystal clear. And Sarah, since you love Quest and so does your son, what was the articulation of the strategy?

[Sarah Hofstadter]

The idea is so simple. Part of having a clear strategy is actually making it memorable. And he was talking about basically flipping the pyramid of anything that is an indulgent food, whether it's baked goods or milkshakes or chips or whatever it is, figure out how to make it Lower in the sugar and carbs and higher on the protein and fiber. And if you can nail that and retain the taste, you've got yourself a winner. And if you can't, you go back to the drawing board and it becomes very simple. I mean, the new milkshakes that they just launched are 45 grams of protein, and it's a freaking milkshake that pretty much nails brief.

[Rachel Tippograf]

And so, on that note, we're going to bring Stuart onto the show. You're going to see why Quest has continued to dominate the market, even with all these different entrants, and why their company culture is also so strong.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Today, we are happy to have Stuart Heflin, SVP and General Manager at Quest. Stuart, thank you so much for joining us. You're a little bit of a celeb in the Hofstadter household, so thank you so much.

[Stuart Heflin]

Well, let me just start off by saying it's an honor, it's a pleasure to be on the Brave Commerce podcast with you, Sarah and Rachel. I want to congratulate you guys both on your success that you've had, obviously, at Mic Mac and Profitero, as well as this podcast here, which is quite sort of the must listen to podcast in the industry. And obviously it means a ton for me to be here and to come talk to the world about what we're doing over here at Quest. And I really speak on behalf of not only myself, but the whole team and really want to hopefully entertain your listeners today.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Well, thank you. That means a lot. And your 20 bucks is in the mail. I'll venmo that to you. But seriously, we really appreciate it. But what you have done with Quest since before the Simply Good Foods acquisition is nothing short of extraordinary. Scaling it the way you have. We've seen so many stories, possibly cautionary tales of brands who lose their edge post acquisition. That didn't happen with you. So what advice do you have on how to scale and thrive versus so many of these others? We don't need to talk about the losers, let's just talk about the winners.

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, that's a good question, Sarah. I think the main takeaway here is don't get comfortable. And you have to double down on the things that make you who you were. And in this case, we really doubled down on what made us Quest. And that can be difficult to do because, you know, especially if you're coming from a world where the intent of the company is to be acquired, you're an acquisition target. You know, people are trying to find an exit, maybe make A little bit of money, the tendency becomes to sort of slow down, take a deep breath, relax. And we were lucky that we kept a lot of the core folks, even to this day on the team at Quest. And we didn't do that at all. We doubled down, we doubled down on everything that made Quest different. There's a tendency to want to go corporate. There's a tendency to want to, as we like to say, be big company. What we try to do is double down on being scrappy. The mission stayed intact. We got more obsessive about our consumer. And I think actually with Simply Good Acquire and Quest, it gave us access to more resources, more data, which actually helped us drive the consumer harder. And to the credit of Simply Good, when they acquired Quest, you know, they didn't try to fix Quest. I mean, obviously we had some things we had to do, right? We had to integrate, we had to take on new processes, new systems. But they let us be Quest and you know, that freedom sort of gave us permission to scale without losing our soul. And so the real important takeaway here is Quest. And I'm a big proponent of culture. I talk about culture all the time. Anytime I have these opportunities, you know, there's a lot of people I heard talk about strategy. I'm a culture guy. The culture, you have to protect it at all costs. And I think if there was one thing I would point to is from the time of the pre acquisition until now, the Quest brand and the Quest team has kept its culture.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

What do you think is behind that? And are you comfortable talking a little bit more about what makes that culture so special?

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, well, I think that culture means different things to different people. The way I tend to think of a great culture, if you ask me, how would I judge a culture or rate a culture, I think comes down to really a simple thing. Anyone that is in this brand, on this team, in this company, I don't care if you are the front desk coordinator, I don't care if you're an abm, I don't care if you are a procurement manager all the way up to a general manager can make a difference. If they have a great idea, it will be listened to and has the opportunity to really sort of change and evolve the direction of the company. And I think when you have people who not only think that's true, but they really believe that in their soul, that causes people to bring their full self to work and it really creates a sense of ownership. And we're all in this together and we're all rowing in the same direction, in the boat. Great ideas. I mean, it sounds like a cliche, but they do come from everywhere. And people just have to feel like they're included. They have to feel like someone wants to hear their point of view. That's really how we've created this culture and I think kept it sort of thriving and bustling in the company.

[Rachel Tippograf]

As you guys scaled, how did the executive team put themselves in a position to hear ideas from people who could be layers underneath?

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, well, I think the thing that generally happens when a company happens happened here. Right. If you think about the folks who were the executives at Quest pre acquisition usually kind of lop a layer off the top, right. The CEO, CMO at the time, they all cashed out and left and then left. Sort of people like me who stepped into the leadership vacuum, if you want to call it that. Right. But I think one of the cool things about Quest was we always were a very, very flat organization. We're always an organization that didn't have a lot of need and necessity for hierarchy. You could often go to a meeting, at least in our building. Even today you can't just sit in a room and tell, well, that person's a director or that person's an ABM or that person's technical researcher. People are just all on the same page. And there's this sort of democratic approach to how we collaborate. And the interdependence is fairly noticeable. And so I think that we try to create this as much as possible. A democratic type of team where everyone is held accountable and everyone can contribute. As I said before, Omnisend automates all.

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[Rachel Tippograf]

Switching gears while everything does start with people, Quest also is an incredible product. And it's funny in my mind, Quest was a part of my childhood, but really the company started in 2010, so I don't know why. I think that the brand goes further back into like the 1990s, but here we are. It's just amazing to think about the sort of market share that you guys have gained. The category has become very crowded since inception. How do you guys think about the competitive set now?

[Stuart Heflin]

It's funny because actually I've been in this space for a little bit of time, you know, if you don't think about active nutrition or nutritional kind of performance, because I used to work at a powder brand before here and then I came to Quest and around 2018, and I think it's been crazy to watch the evolution of this category just in terms of one, the consumer. When I first started, I think this consumer was a lot more maybe a stereotypical what you might think of, right? People who tend to be focused on either ultra fitness in the weight room a lot, people who are really trying to lose weight, people who are, I would say, focused on health in a way that maybe is a little bit more than the average general population is. So as this category has evolved and I think we've played a role in this at Quest because we've tried to bring these macros, this nutrition to people where they are. And so instead of you have to have a powder, which is tough to make and it's not very convenient, or you have to eat a very chalky, not very good tasting bar or, you know, a ready to drink shake, which is kind of boring. We've tried to bring people and make people questies by bringing them cookies and bringing them chips and bringing them candy and really just saying, don't stop doing what you're doing. Don't stop eating chips. Just like, eat these chips. We start to see now that there's a mainstreaming of macros. A mainstreaming of macros. I think in particularly with the young generation. I was just at Duke University talking to their business students a couple months ago, and I think we started off the lecture saying, how many folks in this class are trying to get more protein? Literally every person in the class raise their hand. Like, I don't think everybody in there is like this super, you know, weightlifter in the gym, bro type person. And that's just becoming more and more mainstream. And so obviously we've seen the consumers that are interested in this category expand at the same time. What we've seen is the center store food categories, the traditional food categories that used to, you know, really rely a lot on population growth and, you know, a certain amount of stores opening and just general inflation happening. And they got some growth out of that. Like we've seen really a lot of those categories. Especially now with GLP1s, the growth over there has really collapsed. And so there aren't a lot of places for people to find growth in the store. What we're finding now is whereas in the past this category was kind of sleepy, you know, really smaller insurgent type brands, we still have that just fairly low barriers to entry. You're seeing like the big guys now start to play over here, people who are kind of used to be in these bigger categories in the center of the store, maybe in the frozen or refrigerated aisle now trying to come and play in this game when the high protein, low sugar, low carb game. And so overall, the category has gotten bigger, it's gotten more competitive, it's gotten a much more broader reach in terms of diversity of the consumer. It just really makes it more and more important for us to be more sophisticated and more determined and more sure what we're doing as far as our strategy to grow in that environment.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

Well, one thing that's been really interesting is you were talking about the diversification, whether it's, you know, the bakery or chips and now this entry into drinkable protein. You talk about category growth and different drivers here. Drinkable protein has been actually a pretty crowded space. You talked about your heritage and powder Ready to drink obviously very different from powder, but ready to drink is still quite competitive with a lot of money going into ANC for that. What gives you the right to play and the right to win? Like what's your edge here?

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, well, first, Sarah, I hope we have the right to play. We're still learning whether we do or not. And I don't want to, you know, spike the football or anything like that. This is a space that we've had a couple of fits and starts in and we've learned a lot over the years. So, you know, we actually had a ready to drink protein, which is sort of what you would Normally see, a 30 gram whey protein tetra type of offering. It looks a lot like many, many brands out there. And we launched that, I don't know, about six years ago or so and it didn't really work for us. What we found is we've had a lot of great initiatives, a lot of great innovation. That's really the lifeblood of this brand. We've had a few that haven't worked and that's one of them. And when we always go back and look at the postmortem about what didn't work on our brand, it always comes down to in one way, shape or form. One thing we didn't follow our brand's strategy, which is what we do is we take products that have high sugar, high, you know, carbs, low protein, low nutritional value, low fiber. That's sort of the macronutrient triangle of those products. Right? We flip that upside down. So we always like to say we flip the macros upside down and we say we honestly, we flip them right side up. We take those things that are high sugar, we make them low sugar, high carb, make them low carb or low net carbon and then high protein, high fiber. Right. And so if you think about a 30 gram tetra RTD, there's nothing that's unhealthy about that. There's nothing to flip upside down. It just becomes like sort of a look alike product out there, kind of also RAM product. And when we decided to take another run at the protein drink space, we said we have to do this the quest way. We have to figure out what it is that we're flipping the macros upside down on it. So we did a ton of research. I'll just say that we Found that the most missed indulgent drink that people told us was a milkshake. And they said that's the number one thing they missed. And if we could create for them a protein milkshake that tasted amazing and that delivered on these macros that they will buy. And so this is where this whole protein milkshake came from. You can see here, I'm holding it up, just doing a little advertising on, on your show here. But you know, Quest protein milkshake, 45 grams of protein, industry leading level of protein, only 2 grams of sugar made from ultra filtered milk. So I mean it just absolutely tastes like a melted milkshake. And so that's the way you do quest. RTD's not just doing what everyone else is doing. And so we have high hopes for it so far. I think consumers have been giving us really good feedback on it and you know, telling us they like what we're doing so far. So we have to do things the Quest Way. Like, I guess, is the long story short, when we get into these categories.

[Rachel Tippograf]

The fact that you can so clearly articulate what the Quest Way is gives you a leg up on the majority of companies out there because that's when they lose their identity and their sense of self. It's pretty amazing. How do you translate that to the retail environment? Because the retailers own the aisles, the retailers own the digital shelf. So how do you ensure that it shows up the Quest Way in a retail environment?

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, well, I think it starts with basics. The most important piece of communication that we own as a brand, as a marketer, and the thing that we can always control is the label is the package is the thing that always is there for consumers. And so I think we have to really put a lot of work into how our package is designed so that it could be standalone. As a piece of communication, you have to assume at some point you're not going to always be able to have marketing, you're not going to always be able to have in store signage or shelf signage or displays within cars and headers. Right. You would love to have all that stuff. But the package itself has to do a lot of work, both in terms of communicating on the emotional side as well as the rational side. I think beyond that though, we have, I think, best in class partnerships with our retailers across the board. And I think we do a really good job, especially with our internal commercial team, whether it's thinking about our customer strategy and execution team, really understanding what each retailer is trying to do strategically and then marrying that up with our brand and then understanding what assets we have to create executions that might work together. And so if you look across the board at our top retail partners, our brand comes to life in many different ways at each retailer. Everybody's different, everyone has different. You know, whether it's clean store, there's certain things more focused on digital or omni more focused on, you know, winning that shelf. We have strategies, I think, that help us win in any situation with these retailers. And I think retailers really value us because of what we do to their category as far as driving growth and bringing in incremental shoppers and incremental consumers, which is what it's really all about.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I do love this whole quest way, and I love the fact that you're able to encapsulate this so well. One of the things, and you also talked so much about the importance of culture and democratization that you're running a democracy here. And I would say probably omnicommerce is one of those areas where democratization is critical to success. 60 to 65% of store purchases are digitally influenced, regardless of where the actual conversion happens. Digital penetration is higher than ever. And you guys, arguably, especially given the repeat business of yours, pretty strong. How do you get the whole company aligned to optimizing those sales when the influence is sitting elsewhere?

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, I think it's about adopting a mindset, really. And I think this is one area where you could really get so caught up in metrics and KPIs and conversion rates, et cetera, that you sort of miss the forest for the trees. And I think we have to understand that digital is sort of a way of life. It's not a channel, it's a lifestyle. It's just the way people are consuming and living every day. And so whether it's something like Amazon, which obviously are huge in the E commerce space, I think if you look at whether it's something like Walmart, where it's an OPD or trying to make a quick pickup, or whether it's sort of impulse purchase on Walmart or Target.com or Kroger.com or even looking at trying to get more value and [e-mail] or Sam's.com or one of those, like, we have to be all those places. We have to be everywhere the consumer is in the digital space because they're living in that space. And we have to be driving influence in that space. And ultimately we have to make it where this is super frictionless and we all work together. And I think one of the More important things around this whole space is we can't operate in silos. So one of the things that we've been really harping on as, as a team, as an organization, as a brand is full funnel approach to everything we do. Full funnel approach to everything we do. There isn't a special like digital silo or however you want to look at that. This is how all of the pieces of, you know, the marketing touchpoints work together. And digital is just the way this consumer lives.

[Rachel Tippograf]

On that note, because we talk a lot about org design on this show. How does it work at Quest or what's your perspective on take retail media? Because what we have found is that in some organizations it does sit in marketing. Other organizations it sits in sales, the commercial team, and it does create silos depending on where it's placed. So just curious how you guys navigate that at Quest.

[Stuart Heflin]

Yeah, this is one where I'm really proud of the progress that our organization has made because I think we used to be a lot more siloed in that. I mean, I will go so far as to say if you came to talk to me two years ago, like media and digital commerce media didn't even sit in the same bucket. So there was all these different kind of vertical silos. And so today we just have media. The same person that runs media runs. Whatever we're doing on E Commerce, whatever we're doing in above the line TV or we're doing in streaming, it all fits together. And within that, there's obviously a strong tie to the brand. But then there's a tie through our commercial strategy and execution team through every single retailer. So we have expertise in both understanding each E Tellers landscape and what they're doing and what different assets we have to utilize. Leverage. We also have expertise around what the brand is doing and how we want to drive a full funnel strategy across the board so there's full integration. I mean, I think one of the things I'm really proud of is our organization has made that leap in the last couple years and I think it's really driving our business.

[Rachel Tippograf]

Stuart, before we ask you our famous last question, if you had to pick any Quest product that you couldn't live without, what would your answer be?

[Stuart Heflin]

Rachel, that's such a tough one.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

He loves all his children equally right now.

[Stuart Heflin]

I'm gonna say these milkshakes because every single day I at least drink two or three of these a day. I'm a big guy though. But you know, I just find that they're so just indulgent but also just amazing. But in terms of the macros, unbeatable. I've really been trying to get my protein in and I think it's just like sort of a go to product. That's the one. But if I had to say, 1B is definitely chips and particularly the hot and spicy chips. I really like spicy food, so I go through a lot of those as well. You ask me questions like, you know, pick your favorite child or something like that is kind of what you're asking. It's very, very difficult to do.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

The strawberry is getting sick reviews online.

[Rachel Tippograf]

Well, we have to ask you our famous last question, which is, what's the bravest thing you've ever done?

[Stuart Heflin]

I would say the bravest thing I ever done was leave a job that I had before, before I came to Quest and come to Quest. And I think it was brave because for a number of reasons. Number one, I was doing well in that job. So I, I won't mention the brand, but it was a well known protein powder brand that was honestly the biggest one in the world and I was running that. And I was living in Chicago at the time and had an opportunity to come to Quest, which was at the time sort of a scrappy little bar brand. And so I really came out here and I talked to the folks who were running this brand at the time and I really saw the vision. And one thing I always talk about, you know, I was sitting on the panel not too long ago talking about this is like the narrative of how I got where I am today is about betting on yourself. I was willing to leave a brand that was bigger than the entire company of Quest at the time by a large amount and kind of bet on myself and bet on where this thing could go. And there's a lot of drama with that too. I mean, my wife was six months pregnant. I didn't know if this was. I was moving from Chicago to la, just taking a shot on this thing because I just believed in it and it was pretty brave of me to do it. And I mean, obviously it has paid off so tremendously for me in my career and what we've been able to accomplish here and how I've been able to grow as a person and an individual. And so I always go back to that. Don't be too afraid to bet on yourself if something feels right, even in the moment. I mean, obviously this brand now, over a billion retail sales in the last seven years, we've almost tripled the size of this brand. So it's. I kind of saw that vision and I was willing to take a leap. That's why I think that was pretty brave.

[Sarah Hofstadter]

I would concur. I know where you were before and as you're speaking I'm like, this guy bets on himself. He has every reason to be betting on himself because what you have done for this brand is nothing short of extraordinary. Your success is 100% due to the smarts, but so much the tone. It's just the tone that you set even in this 30 minute episode really comes through so clearly. So if you're hiring, I'm sure you're probably going to get a lot of resumes coming in just listening to your leadership style. So thank you so much for joining us today, Sarah.

[Stuart Heflin]

I really appreciate those kind words and again I want to thank you and Rachel for having me as a guest on Brave Commerce again. Hopefully somebody learned something and got a little entertainment from this. I certainly got a lot out of it. Hopefully we'll talk again soon.

[Rachel Tippograf]

Absolutely. Let's go get those milkshakes. If you like what you heard and you want to hear another episode where a clear company strategy comes through, go check out the episode we did with Shark Ninja's Chief Commercial Officer Neil. If you like what you heard, tell a friend. Write a review. Thanks for listening.

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[Sarah Hofstadter]

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.