the Joshua Schall Audio Experience

Joshua Schall
  • 4.8 (17)
  • Business
  • Daily

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! Leave a review on iTunes and let me know what you think!

  1. 1d ago

    Can QUEST Nutrition, Atkins, & OWYN Bounce Back? | Protein Snacking Market Shift | Simply Good Foods Q4 2026 Update

    Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ: SMPL) recently released its fiscal Q4 and full-year 2026 financial results. The numbers reveal significant headwinds across the entire portfolio, including Atkins, OWYN, and Quest Nutrition. In this comprehensive analysis, I'll decode the consolidated performance (noting a 9.7% YoY drop in Q4 net sales to $333.3 million) and dive deep into the brand-level metrics driving the current turnaround strategy. Key Topics Covered: Consolidated Financial Picture = Breaking down the 6.5% decline in full-year net sales ($1.37 billion) and the broader retail takeaway pressure across U.S. channels.GLP-1 Era Atkins Revitalization = How the "Age of Ozempic" has permanently disrupted traditional dieting brands, and an evaluation of the new "Atkins Is Metabolism Changing Nutrition" campaign.OWYN Slow and Steady Rebuild = Understanding the compounding impact of recent product quality issues during distribution expansion, and the pivot back to basics with "Every Ingredient Earns Its Place".Quest Nutrition Historic Decline = Analyzing the shift where salty snacks grew 13% but bars dropped 6%. We discuss why Quest is no longer just a protein bar company and how "Doritos Protein" threatens its long-term competitive moat.Macro Headwinds & Strategic Price Increases = Why elevated dairy protein commodity pricing is forcing double-digit strategic price hikes, what that means for volume elasticity, and how it impacts the first half of the next fiscal year. Whether you're a consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand founder, investor, or industry strategist consultant, this breakdown offers critical insights into the evolving landscape of convenient nutrition, mainstreaming protein snacking, and defensive brand positioning against Big CPG.

  2. 1d ago

    [MONDAY MINUTE] 96% of Shoppers Now Agree on This Major Grocery Shift

    What if I told you a brand-new report just revealed 76% of people are now combining fresh and frozen ingredients in the exact same meal. Is the fact that it’s no longer an “either-or” choice shocking to anyone? Now, maybe it’s because my culinary skills are (at best) laughable but I thought everyone was mixing up a fresh salad kit to accompany their frozen Detroit style pizza! But maybe what’s surprising is how most people are using frozen items to slash food waste and stop throwing money away. Additionally, 96% believe the freezer aisle is now packed with better-for-you options. Frozen food is no longer just a backup plan…making mealtime cheaper, faster, and smarter. So, do you mix fresh and frozen when you cook?

  3. 2d ago

    Deceptive World of Food Marketing

    Stop buying into the hype. Food marketing is moving faster than ever, and too many CPG brands are using "half-truth" stories to sell products (betting that you won't look deeper). Don't be a pawn in today's hyper-frenetic market. It’s time to turn the box over. Read the ingredients, ignore the buzzwords, and demand genuine value instead of a flashy label. For the CPG brand founders watching...in an industry filled with hyperbole, authenticity is the only trend that lasts. Choosing short-term virality over radical transparency puts your brand at risk for permanent reputation damage. Consumers are always watching, and they deserve transparency (not trends that obscure the truth).

  4. Oct 26

    Controversial Rise of Religious Energy Drinks

    Is faith the ultimate economic asset in a world dominated by secular brands? For decades, we’ve watched corporations adopt the tribalism, loyalty, and passion of traditional religious devotion. But we are currently witnessing a massive strategic inversion: traditional religion is adapting to the contemporary language of consumer packaged goods (CPG) to fight back. In this episode, I'll dive deep into the sudden, explosive rise of faith-forward energy drinks and the unique consumer behaviors driving this niche market. Using my strategic forecasting matrix built on three core pillars (Cultural Forces, Contextual Demand Spaces, and Game Theory), I'm breaking down how these startups are rewriting the rules of brand loyalty. We also explore the fascinating parallels in beverage subcultures, including how the LDS Church’s strict dietary parameters birthed the trending "Dirty Soda" phenomenon and why Monster Energy sponsoring BYU is an absolute masterclass in asymmetrical game theory. Can a faith-forward energy drink brand break through the "Identity Trap" into mass-market retail, or will the monetization of an "evangelism tax" keep them permanently confined to a profitable subcultural niche? Let’s look past the labels and analyze the business strategy behind the movement.

  5. Oct 26

    [MONDAY MINUTE] CPG Brands Panicked for America 250 | Secret to Unlocking the "America Branding Strategy"

    I love the United States of America, but can we agree that all these CPG brands panicked leading up to our country's 250th anniversary? The result? While many slapped the American flag (or America 250 logo) on their product, others swam in a sea of identical red, white, and blue. Newsflash: 'America' isn’t a monolith. In fact, patriotism means completely different things to different demographics. Anheuser-Busch owns industrial Rust Belt grit. Tillamook owns Pacific Northwest agricultural heritage. Both are American. Neither looks identical. Therefore, to effectively unlock the “America branding strategy,” stop aiming for everyone. Pick a specific cultural thread. Highlight local subcultures. If your CPG brand can’t explain which specific piece of the American story you’re honoring, and why you earned it…then drop the clip-art flags and anniversary logo. Stop blending in before your brand equity is dead.

  6. Oct 22

    Abbott Nutrition Spinoff Strategy Breakdown

    Why is healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories pulling off one of the biggest corporate breakups of the decade? In this episode, I'm breaking down the high-leverage "market engineering" behind Abbott’s decision to separate its global Nutrition business into an independent, publicly traded company by the end of 2027. While it’s easy to look at recent sluggish volumes and over a billion dollars in lawsuit settlements and think this is a panic move, the reality is far more strategic. By separating its $42 billion medical innovation powerhouse from its $8.5 billion consumer staples giant, Abbott is unlocking massive trapped shareholder value (echoing successful historical spinoffs). I'll dive deep into the strategic blueprint of incoming CEO Daniel Salvadori, including: Why Wall Street prefers pure-plays over a structural corporate identity crisis.How iconic brands like Ensure and Glucerna are uniquely positioned to become the ultimate companion therapies for the exploding GLP-1 (weight-loss drug) market.Transforming a legacy pediatric product like Pedialyte into a dominant, high-growth lifestyle hydration asset.Where the new standalone company will deploy its estimated billion-dollar capital allocation budget to acquire premium lifestyle brands and upstream proprietary science.The reality of ring-fencing billion-dollar infant formula liabilities away from Abbott’s high-flying medical device segments. What do you think of this massive strategic move? Is it a brilliant play for the "Age of Wellness," or will they face the retail traps of past competitor spinoffs?

  7. Oct 21

    Life After MusclePharm | Exposing His Radical Next-Gen CPG Blueprint | Brad Pyatt

    In this exclusive insider conversation, Brad Pyatt addresses the brutal realities behind building MusclePharm into “THE” preeminent most talked about global powerhouse brand of that era...and arguably pioneering A LOT of what’s now pervasive across the modern sports nutrition business landscape. Back then, MusclePharm rewrote the strategic playbook by treating the supplement brand like a media and entertainment property, capturing underpriced attention long before today’s extensive digital platform influencer era was even formalized. By now, most recognize (in hindsight) that MusclePharm’s hypergrowth was a double-edged sword…and admittedly, there’s a very public “good, bad, and ugly” storyline attached to Brad Pyatt (which he transparently doesn’t shy away from). However, we’re looking far beyond those early MusclePharm days together to map his evolution within the broader functional CPG space. We dive into the relatively unknown origin story of TRUBAR, which recently sold for $173 million, and how it birthed an “idea” he still can’t stop thinking about years later. Finally, we explored his current portfolio of functional CPG brands like IQ Pouch, VKTRY Protein Shots, and RITE Energy. Brad and I deconstructed his strategic flywheel…from selecting key functional ingredients and owning underserved consumer need-states, to navigating a hyper-mature creator economy and shifting from aggressive offense to sustainable business success. This was much more than just another “industry jam session” between two old colleagues, so I hope you enjoy and get value from it!

  8. Oct 19

    [MONDAY MINUTE] "Middle Ground Paradox" Killing Food Trends | Big Dairy is Repeating the Meat Industry's Mistake

    Hormel struggled to sell Applegate “Well Carved” hybrid burgers. Likewise, Tyson Foods couldn’t overcome the “middle ground paradox” with its “Raised & Rooted” blended meat burgers. Essentially, vegans wouldn’t touch them because of animal protein, and purists wouldn’t touch them because they felt "processed." So, the middle ground felt like a compromise to both sides. Although we can only hope that Big Dairy learned from those meat industry mistakes, especially with “blended dairy” products appearing on more grocery store shelves nationwide. But as someone that has occasionally shared on social media his enjoyment of blending whey and plant-based protein powders together, I believe the winning strategic narrative is treating the plant ingredient like an upgrade rather than a filler. Better frothiness. More depth of flavor. Lower sugar content. It’s about selling enhanced utility that you can’t get from milk or plants alone. Therefore, maybe it takes a terminology rebrand…moving from the implicitly compromising “blended” to the “balanced” premium consumption experience.

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About

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! Leave a review on iTunes and let me know what you think!

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