Podcast
the Joshua Schall Audio Experience
Hosted by Joshua Schall · EN
Welcome to the Joshua Schall Audio Experience
On my podcast, you’ll hear episodes of my popular short-form Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) news segment "Consumed", a long-form CPG entrepreneurship interview segment "Formula For:", deeper dive segments "Deep Dish CPG", public speaking engagements, and any of my new and current thoughts that I record specifically for this audio experience!
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41episodes
Episodes
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[MONDAY MINUTE] Why Modern Consumers Don't Trust Your Corporate Brand Voice
3d ago00:00:57Tap to summarizeStop clinging to that "pristine" brand image, as the old CPG playbook of polished, sterile messaging is fundamentally broken because it ignores how trust actually works today. Modern consumers don’t want abstract brand voices…they want believable like seeing how your product fits into a messy, real, lived-in life! Arguably, this is why social commerce is exploding…as it’s more real life than sales pitch. So, start putting humans at the center of your CPG brand…whether it’s a founder or an employee with actual skin in the game. Individual personalities are the only things that scale now because video platforms are literally built to distribute people, not logos. Likewise, tap into niche creators who already speak the language within your specific cultural intersection. However, remember that collaborations aren’t just for "reach," they represent your CPG brand’s community and societal class…which can earn you the right to expand laterally (when strategically appropriate).
Transcribe →Why Barebells Just Bought Its Secret Weapon | Vitamin Well Group Acquires EMPWR | Protein Bar Market
1w ago00:08:59Tap to summarizeWhy Barebells Just Bought Its Contract Manufacturer (The Protein Bar Wars) 🚀The protein bar market is trapped in a "sea of sameness," as most brands use the exact same ingredients and contract manufacturing cloned recipes. Except for Barebells, which completely disrupted the global market by making protein bars that taste like actual candy. In this video, I break down the massive strategic acquisition by Barebells' parent company, Vitamin Well Group (backed by Cinven), to buy EMPWR Nutrition Group...the secret engine behind Barebells' success. Discover how mega-cap private equity scales a consumer platform, why "form factor" is the ultimate intellectual property, and how this deal completely rewrites the strategic optionality available as they compete against major incumbent protein bar brands like Quest Nutrition.Also, I'll provide insights on the following:📉 How customer concentration leverage allowed Cinven to buy a top-tier manufacturer at a massive discount.🍫 Why the mechanical process of making a "candified" multi-layer bar is an underacknowledged nightmare—and why owning it matters.🎯 How wiping out the co-packer middleman frees up cash for prime retailer real estate and aggressive discount.⏱️ How owning the production schedule allows Barebells to prototype and test wild seasonal flavors ahead of competitors.🔥 What happens to the 100+ other global brands that currently rely on EMPWR for production?So, is the asset-light business model dead for wellness CPG brands? Watch to find out!
Transcribe →Novelty vs. Routine: Brutal Business of "Fun" Supplement Formats
1w ago00:14:10Tap to summarizeIs This the End of Vitamin Pills? Are you tired of swallowing giant supplement capsules every single day? You’re not alone. Nearly 40% of adults suffer from "pill fatigue," defined as the physical and psychological burnout of maintaining a complex, multi-bottle daily routine. In this video, I'll dive into the radical shift toward what I dubbed "Frictionless Wellness." Next-generation wellness CPG brands are abandoning traditional pills entirely to treat the mouth as the ultimate biological highway. By bypassing the gut and liver, these innovative direct-to-mouth formats deliver rapid oral absorption without the need for water. But can these "bleeding-edge" innovations cross the strategic chasm into permanent consumer habits, or will they get crushed by heavyweights like Celsius energy drinks?Key TakeawaysOral Absorption: Direct-to-mouth delivery skips the harsh stomach acid and liver first-pass effect, potentially shaving 30–60 minutes off nutrient onset timesCandy-fication vs. Efficacy: Brands face a brutal balancing act between packing a clinical dose of an ingredient and making a functional candy taste tolerableMilligram Ceiling: Form factors like pouches and strips physically cannot hold heavy macronutrients, limiting their ability to replace full nutritionNiche Utility Wins: The future belongs to hyper-specific use cases—like fast-acting sleep strips or focus-driven modern oral pouches for long road trips
Transcribe →[MONDAY MINUTE] Why Everyone is "Texture-Maxxing" Their Food Right Now
1w ago00:00:41Tap to summarizeHere’s something I told a client, but they couldn’t come to grips with it. The "anything-goes" science foods era is dying…and society is firmly heading into an Age of “Sensory Grounding.” Texture has become a personality trait. I’m talking about "texture-maxxing" everything…you know freeze-dried, crispy, chewy, and velvety mashups. Also, in this economy, consumers want quality they can actually feel and trust…whether that’s the emotional safety of handmade sourdough or the fermented, fiber-packed, and sour canned veg prepared by long-lost “old-school Grandma” methods. It’s about craving quality and reliability over wild food trends…seeking a strong value proposition for every dollar spent.
Transcribe →TikTok Shop "Omnichannel Flywheel" Explained | Why Most Supplement Brands Fail on TikTok Shop
2w ago00:08:10Tap to summarizeIs Your Supplement Brand Looking at TikTok Shop All Wrong? Most supplement and health brands treat TikTok Shop as an isolated sales channel. They look at direct dollars spent versus immediate revenue out, and if the margins aren’t instantly positive, they call it a failure. That legacy mindset is costing brands millions in lost growth. In this video, I'll break down why a performance-siloed view of TikTok is holding you back, and how the fastest-growing brands are using it to fuel a massive, multi-channel flywheel effect. TikTok Shop is currently the 4th largest health ecommerce retailer in the US, generating over $800 million in the vitamins and supplements segment alone over a recent 52-week period. But the real value isn't the sales inside the app. And I'll discuss the predictable multi-channel consumer loop that begins with a massive surge in Amazon branded search volume, shifts towards an ecommerce windfall on Amazon, and then that viral online discovery spills over into physical retail, leading to a massive lift in offline revenue and total distribution points. But to unlock this, leadership has to abandon traditional DTC playbooks, give up absolute creative control, and embrace a "loose reins" affiliate strategy to scale content volume. Watch the full video to learn how to let the algorithm act as your ultimate creative director and achieve true attention arbitrage.
Transcribe →Fake Trump Manufacturing Boom? Messy Reality of American Factories
2w ago00:01:07Tap to summarizeTrump promised a manufacturing boom, but the truth thus far has been arguably much messier (at least across the CPG industry). On the one hand, CPG giants like Mars, Chobani, and Coca-Cola announced they’d spend billions on new manufacturing facilities. Although with interest rates staying relatively higher…and construction costs skyrocketing, we’ve seen a strategic rebalancing. And yes, Tyson Foods, General Mills, and other massive CPG companies are selling factories just to stay lean…but the larger strategic narrative can be defined as "making more with less." So, what’s going on? The expected CPG manufacturing boom has been stealthy…with companies not necessarily building bigger but retrofitting existing factories to be smarter. And within a sector that relies heavily on immigrant workers, automation and high-tech robotics are critical to replace the labor they can't find. Output is rising, and efficiency is increasing…yet manufacturing jobs are slightly dipping. This is a complicated story, but likely only the beginning of a new industrial era.
Transcribe →Why Your Favorite Beverage Brands Are Silently Going to War | CPG Industry Aluminum Crisis
2w ago00:11:07Tap to summarizeThe beverage industry is hitting a catastrophic wall, but it isn’t just standard inflation. A high-stakes "metallurgical siege" is unfolding at the exact intersection of consumer packaged goods (CPG) and defense economics. In this video, I break down why aluminum costs have recently surged on the London Metal Exchange and what this means for the future of grocery shelves and beverage coolers. From China's strict production caps to Middle East tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, global supply chains are fracturing. But the biggest threat? The Pentagon. Under federal law, defense contractors have prioritized access to American metals. As the U.S. modernizes its military arsenal under a $1T+ defense budget, the CPG industry is left fighting for the residual scraps...artificially inflating baseline costs and crushing profit margins for everyday brands. I'll dive deep into the companies caught in the crossfire, why the famous 2021-2022 Celsius Holdings survival playbook won't work today, and how "form-factor agility" (moving from cans to powder stick packs) will separate the survivors from the bankrupt in the late 2020s.Also, I'll be examining topics like: Why the U.S. only produces 1/3 of its required primary aluminumHow military procurement dictates commercial grocery marginsWhy venture capital is abandoning weak-margin CPG brands for defense technologyThe folklore of Celsius Holdings importing cans from Europe, and why protectionist tariffs killed that strategy for 2026 Why brands can no longer shrink past the standard 12-ounce sleeveHow functional wellness beverages hold the ultimate leverage over traditional soda and beer.
Transcribe →[MONDAY MINUTE] From Sugar Highs to Ozempic Side Effects: The Langers Pivot
2w ago00:00:46Tap to summarizeIf you had “legacy juice brand pivots to GLP-1 side-effect management” on your bingo card, come collect your prize. Honestly, whatever simulation loop we’re in currently, does anything say “growing up” quite like your favorite childhood juice brand suddenly caring more about keeping your Ozempic-induced bloating in check than your sugar high? Backed by a $10 million manufacturing overhaul, Langers’ new No Worries GLP-1 Support Beverage moves beyond basic hydration to act as a functional companion (packing a hefty dose of prebiotic fiber along with magnesium and tart cherry juice into every can). This strategic move proves Langers is no longer just a juice brand…transforming into a problem-solving powerhouse for the modern, health-conscious consumer.
Transcribe →87% of Convenience Stores are Making Room for THIS Energy Drink Brand
3w ago00:00:58Tap to summarizeMore than one-fifth of the 150K+ convenience stores have spoken, and they shared some interesting opinions about the growing energy drinks category. And even if you aren’t familiar with every insight regarding this beverage category, I’m sure you intuitively recognize that convenience is the most important sales channel (by sales dollars) for energy drinks in the U.S. market. But here are my top “categorical” takeaways from the most recent Goldman Sachs Beverage Bytes survey. Firstly, c-stores are preparing to allocate more space for the female-focused, better-for-you energy drink brands…with 87% stating they’ll find more room for Bloom between now and January 2027. Similarly, after just lapping its first year in-market, Phorm Energy is expected to earn more “cooler space” between now and the start of next year. Finally for my category “inflation watchers,” around 81% expect pricing to increase across the energy drinks market throughout the year…with 25% believing price hikes will be “significant.”
Transcribe →Olipop Rejected Coca-Cola & Red Bull | What's Next For Olipop?
3w ago00:09:26Tap to summarizeWhen PepsiCo acquired Poppi for nearly $2 billion in early 2025, everyone assumed Olipop would be next. Rumors swirled, negotiations stalled with Coca-Cola, and then...Olipop walked away. Critics claimed they missed the peak of the prebiotic soda mania. But the truth could be much more rebellious. In this video, I break down why Olipop's independence isn't a failure, analyze Olipop's impressive financial health ($700M+ in tracked sales), and explore three hidden paths for unlocking their future enterprise value.In this video, you’ll learn more about:Olipop "Mistiming Myth": Why critics are wrong about Olipop missing the prebiotic trend.Red Bull & Monster Energy Factor: How alternative distributors could change the convenience store game.Gut Health M&A Roll-Up Strategy: How Olipop could clone the Simply Good Foods playbook to target an IPO in 12-18 months.Food Tech Pivot: Transforming OliSmart into a B2B ingredient supplier.What do you think? Should Olipop sell to Coke, or should they build an independent gut-health empire?
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