Mitch Gould Nutritional Products International Gould ??s “retail” in ?is DNA.
A third-generation retail professional, Gould learned t?e consumer ?oods industry from hi? father and grandfather ?hile growing ?p in N?w York City. ?ne of h?s first sales jobs wa? taking ?rders fr?m neighbors for bagels ?very w?ek.
A? an adult wit? a career that spans more th?n t?ree decades, Gould moved ?n from bagels, cream cheese, and lox to represent m?ny of the leading product manufacturers ?f consumer goo?s in America: Igloo, Rubbermaid, Sunbeam, Remington, Chapin, Paramount, Miracle-Gro, Native Remedies, Flora Health, Steven Seagal’? Lightning Bolt, Body Basix, ?nd Hulk Hogan’? extreme energy granules.
“? started ?n th? lawn and garden industry ?ut expanded m? horizons early on,” ?aid Gould, CEO and founder of Nutritional Products International, ? global brand management firm based ?n Boca Raton, Fl. “? w?rked ?ith Igloo, Sunbeam, Remington -- ?ll major brands that have been leaders in the consumer goo?s industry.”
Eventually, Gould segued ?nto nutritional products.
“I realized ?arly the nutritional supplements ?ere m?ch m?re than just multivitamins,” Gould ?aid. “American consumers ?ere ready t? take dietary supplements ?nd health and wellness products ?nto a whole new level of retail success.”
Gould solidified ?is success in th? health ?nd wellness industry through his partnerships with A-List celebrities who wanted t? develop nutritional products ?nd ?is p?ace ?n Amazon history ?hen the online ecommerce retailer expanded ?eyond books, music, ?nd electronics.
“During my career, ? attended many galas ?nd charity events ??ere I met diffe?ent celebrities, su?h as Hulk Hogan ?nd Chuck Liddel,” Gould sai?, adding t?at he eventually partnered with s?veral of t?ese famous entrepreneurs and developed nutritional products, ?uch as Hulk Hogan’? Extreme Energy Granules.
“?orking wit? them to cr?ate new health ?nd wellness products ?ave me a first-hand ?oo? into the burgeoning nutritional sector,” Gould ?aid. “I realized t?at staying healthy ?as very im?ortant to my generation. My kids wer? even mo?e focused on staying fit and healthy.”
?hen Amazon decided t? a?d ? health and wellness category, Gould ?a? al?eady positioned to ?lace mor? than 150 brands ?nd e??n mo?? products onto th? virtual shelves t?e online giant w?s adding ev?ry day ?n the earl? 2000s.
“I m?t Jeff Fernandez, ?ho was on the Amazon team t?at wa? building the ne? category f?om the ground ??,” Gould sa?d. “I a?so h?d contacts in the health and wellness industry, ?uch as Kenneth E. Collins, who ?as vice president ?f operations for Muscle Foods, ?ne of the largest sports nutrition distributors ?n the ?orld.
Gould ?aid t?is “Powerhouse Trifecta” ?ould not ha?e a?ked for a better synergy ?etween the three of t?em.
“This was capitalism at its best. Amazon demanded ne? h?gh-quality dietary supplements, ?nd ?e supplied them ?ith more than 150 brands and products,” ?e added.
The “Powerhouse Trifecta” ?orked ?ut s? well that Gould eventually hired Fernandez t? wor? for NPI, ?here he is now president ?f t?e company, and Collins, ?ho ?s the new executive vice president ?f NPI.
“W? wor? well to?ether,” Gould ?dded.
Fernandez, who ?lso ?orked a? a buyer for Walmart, ?aid the three ?f th?m ?ave close t? 75 y?ars ?f retail buying and selling experience.
“NPI clients benefit f?om our years of knowledge,” Fernandez ?dded.
Gould ?aid product manufacturers ?re unlike?y to find th?ee professionals with ?ur experience representing retailers ?nd brands.
“We ?no? wh?t brands nee? to d?, and ?? understand what retailers ?ant,” Gould sai?.
After his success with Amazon, Gould founded NPI ?nd solidified ?is ?lace in t?e dietary supplement ?nd health and wellness sectors.
“It was tim? to concentrate on health products,” Gould ?aid, adding that he has wor?ed ?ith more t?an 200 domestic ?nd international brands that wante? t? launch new products o? expand their presence ?n the largest consumer market ?n the wor?d: the United State?.
“?s I visited t?e corporate headquarters ?f some ?f th? largest retailers in th? wor?d, I realized that international brands ?eren’t b?ing represented ?n American stores,” Gould ?aid. “I realized t??se companies, especiall? the international brands, struggled t? gain a foothold ?n American retail stores.”
?hen Gould surveyed t?e challenges confronting international product manufacturers, ?e visualized a solution.
“?hey ?ere burning t?rough tens of thousands ?f dollars t? launch their products,” Gould ?aid. “By the tim? they sold th?ir first unit, t?ey had eaten aw?y at their profit margin.”
Gould ?aid the biggest challenge ?as learning two new cultures: America ?nd Wall Street.
“?hey didn’t understand th? American consumers, ?nd they didn’t ?now how American businesses operated,” Gould ?aid. “?hat is where I come in with NPI.”
To provide the foreign companies ?ith the business support t?ey needed, Gould developed hi? lauded “Evolution of Distribution” platform.
“? brought t?gether ?verything brands nee?ed to launch their products in the U.S.,” he s?id. “Instead of o?ening a new office in America, I mad? NPI thei? headquarters in the U.S. Since I already had ? sales staff in p?ace, th?y ?idn’t h?ve to hire a sales team ?ith support staff.
?nstead, NPI did it fo? them.”
Gould ?aid NPI supplied ?v?ry service t??t brands nee?ed to sell products in America ?uccessfully.
“?ince many of thes? products ne?ded FDA approval, ? hired a food scientist ?ith mor? than 10 years experience to streamline th? approval of th? products’ labels,” Gould ?aid.
NPI’s import, logistics, ?nd operations manager ?orked ?ith new clients t? make su?e shipped samples ?idn’t end up in quarantine by the U.S. Customs.
“?ur logistics team h?? decades of experience importing new products ?nto t?e U.S. to o?r warehouse and then shipping them to retail buyers ?nd retailers,” Gould s?id. “NPI offers a ?ne-st?p, turnkey solution t? import, distribute, ?nd market new products in t?e U.S.”
To provide all t?e brands' services, Gould founded a new company, InHealth Media, t? market the brands t? consumers ?nd retailers.
“? saw t?e companies wasting thousands ?f dollars on Madison Avenue marketing campaigns t?at failed to deliver,” Gould ?aid.
Instead ?f outsourcing marketing to costly agencies or building ? marketing team fr?m scratch, InHealth Media ?orks synergistically with it? sister company, NPI.
“InHealth Media’? marketing strategy is perfectly aligned ?ith NPI’s retail expansion plans,” Gould ?dded. “T?gether, ?e import, distribute, ?nd market ne? products across the country by emphasizing speed t? market at an affordable p?ice.”
InHealth Media ?ecently increased ?ts marketing efforts by adding national and regional TV promotion t? its services.
"Lifestyle TV hosts are the original social media influencers," Gould ?aid. "Our clients are getting phenomenal coverage that can reach more than 100 million TV households in America. In addition, we are giving them high-quality TV promotions.
Gould said IHM also has increased its emphasis on “earned media,” which is when journalists and bloggers offer coverage for free instead of the pay and play model that exists in many formats today.
“We have access to thousands of media professionals that we reach out to on a regular basis,” Gould said. “Because our clients have created innovative products, we have been able to get them coverage in top trade publications and general mass websites, such as HGTV, Forbes, and Vitamin Retailer.
“You cannot buy this kind of credibility, prestige, and coverage because it is not for sale,” Gould said. “Our team has developed contacts with these major news outlets, which is how they found out about our clients’ products.”
NPI works with large and small product manufacturers.
“We emphasize timeliness and affordability,” he said. “We know all the costs, so there are no surprises. When the brand sells its first product to a consumer, they have the profit margin they set as a goal months earlier.”
Gould is proud of his “Evolution of Distribution” platform.
“I developed it to help international brands succeed,” Gould said.
During the years, Gould successfully used his “Evolution of Distribution” to help new brands, such as Scitec Nutrition and Native Remedies, both of which succeeded in conquering the U.S. market..
“We saw that NPI had lots of experience in helping companies get a good foothold in the U.S. Working together, NPI has been instrumental in introducing us to various key distribution channels (including The Vitamin Shoppe),” said a Scitec Nutrition executive.
Native Remedies also benefited from NPI’s “Evolution of Distribution.”
“We are thrilled to have our products available at these top retailers,” said George Luntz, then president and co-founder of Native Remedies. “It is great to have a business partner like NPI helping to expand our market reach. We expect this to be a banner year for us.”
Gould said he is proud that these companies succeeded with NPI’s help.
“This is what NPI does,” Gould said. “We find innovative and creative health, wellness, and beauty products, and the NPI and IHM teams work together to introduce them to consumers and retailers.”
For more information, call 561-544-0719 or visit nutricompany.com.