the Joshua Schall Audio Experience

• Why "Brain Rot" Could Democratize the Cognitive Health Category

  What does a term initially used 170 years ago in one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature have to do with the cognitive health category? And what was the term that Henry David Thoreau used his 1854 non-fiction book Walden to criticize society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas in favor of simple ones…seeing this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort? Brain Rot. But that term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past year or two. Brain rot is a term used to describe the phenomenon involving a constant consumption of short, fast-paced content that can overwhelm the brain, leading to decreased attention spans, mental exhaustion, and a reduced ability to engage with deeper, more meaningful activities. Initially gaining traction on TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities, brain rot became so widespread that Oxford University Press even named it the 2024 word of the year. But what if I told you that the term “brain rot” gaining mainstream prominence could prove extremely important in further expanding and evolving the cognitive health category? I believe brain rot moving into the mainstream lexicon could have the power to democratize the cognitive health category. And that’s because “brain rot” doesn’t age discriminate, or for that matter…discriminate based on ethnicity, gender, or any other characteristic. In fact, very rarely is anyone completely protected today against experiencing mental fatigue from social media information overload. Now in stating that…purchasing behavior doesn’t necessarily change materially just because a societal problem has been catapulted into the minds of more consumers. And there’s pros and cons to when a functional CPG category is democratized. But something that usually helps push that consumer awareness down funnel through consideration and into purchasing activity is having that category creating brand that unlocks massive commercial success by meeting consumers where they’re at with the ideal product development variables…eventually triggering competition that further evolves the market. And while there’s a multitude of competitors currently within the cognitive health category…it hasn’t seen a Liquid I.V. or Vital Proteins type breakout brand that creates the category by pushing democratized consumer awareness down funnel unlocking massive commercial success. But in stating that…I also acknowledge this business phenomenon could occur in the near-term future from a strengthening sub-segment of the cognitive health category. And then finally, instead of providing you with a typical collection of “retail sales data trends” to validate what you already intuitively assume, that peak performers are more frequently seeking out “fast-acting cognitive-boosting” functional CPG products in convenient formats to improve their daily life, I wanted to end this content a bit differently by adding value through an anecdote surrounding my recent personal journey to minimize “brain rot.”

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• [MONDAY MINUTE] FDA Front-of-Package Nutrition Label Proposal & RFK Jr. "Make America Healthy Again" Movement

  Did you know that about one in five U.S. children are obese…a number that’s nearly four times the rate in the 1970s? So, what has changed in the last 50 years? The finger is usually pointed towards the proliferation of ultra-processed and/or hyperpalatable foods. Seeking to solve this growing problem…the FDA has been exploring a front-of-package nutrition labeling strategy that lists Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Sugar on every package with each nutrient being accompanied by a traffic light color system score box. But while these blatant warnings have never been required for food products sold in the United States, CPG brands selling into Mexico (and soon Canada) comply with different FOP nutrition labeling obligations. And I’d typically say a mandatory system would never happen…but RFK Jr. promising to "make America healthy again" by cleaning up the U.S. food system has me second guessing myself.

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• iHerb is the "Quiet Giant" of Dietary Supplements Ecommerce | Global Sales Playbook

  Can you name the health and wellness retailer that generates between four to five times more revenue selling categorical products online than the combined efforts of GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe? And here’s a hint for you…it’s not Amazon! Since the bulk of my audience is located within the United States, I’m going to assume that iHerb probably wasn’t the first health and wellness online retailer that popped into your head. So, despite its massive multibillion-dollar success…iHerb isn’t widely known in the U.S. market, mostly because the vast majority of its commercial activity happens internationally. But before blooming into a global powerhouse, iHerb began almost three decades ago as a Yahoo store selling St. John's Wort supplements online. And after the founder forgot to disable the international orders feature when the website launched, iHerb started getting orders from countries like South Korea. But rather than turning off the feature, iHerb decided to start fulfilling them. As sales started to grow, iHerb opened its first fulfillment center in 2002…marking the beginning of a strategic expansion that will soon include nine state-of-the-art logistics operations across the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. And because of its relentless focus on revolutionizing logistics solutions, iHerb can serve the health and wellness needs of customers located in 180 countries…maintaining an average global shipping time of less than five days and offering free shipping in 80 countries. Moreover, iHerb strives to create a localized shopping experience by translating its shopping platform into 22 languages and accepting more than 80 different currencies. Furthermore, iHerb has expanded its online marketplaces presence…reaching more consumers worldwide through 25 digital stores on platforms like Amazon, Tmall, Rakuten, and Coupang. But after a 22-year long journey, from selling a single supplement product to becoming a global leader in the health and wellness industry…iHerb surpassed $1 billion in annual sales. And while that was an enormous accomplishment, it only took iHerb six more years to reach $2 billion in annual sales. In fact, iHerb exceeded $2.4 billion in net sales last year…reflecting a YoY growth of 14.5%. And then for the final portion of my latest first principles thinking content, I'll briefly share my professional experience with iHerb, but more importantly provide a helpful geographical expansion strategic framework (that includes how to best leverage iHerb) for all my brand operators within the intersecting CPG categories of functional foods, functional beverages, and nutritional supplements.

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• Europa Sports Partners Transformation | IM8 Health Growth Outlook | Prenetics Full-Year 2024 Update

  Life can be A LOT like driving on an interstate highway. It’s important to stay in your lane, only glance backwards if you’re planning to make a change…and always watch out for David Beckham because he might swerve bend that corner woah! So, when it was officially announced in September 2021 that Prenetics (NASDAQ: PRE), a diagnostic and genetic testing company based in Hong Kong, was going public through a SPAC merger…I fully admit not even spending one iota of energy on the financial news headline. But I initially crossed paths with Prenetics last March when the company reached out to me regarding an upcoming strategic realignment that would focus on the U.S. consumer health market. And while I didn’t sign an NDA…I’ll keep the full extent of what I wrongfully assumed would be brief friendly surface-level introduction conversation confidential. Though, two major focuses of my strategic commentary did turn into public knowledge…David Beckham becoming a strategic investor of Prenetics (and co-founding a supplement brand called IM8 Health) and the acquisition of Europa Sports Partners. So, with more cash on the balance sheet (from selling a share of its Insighta joint venture to Tencent) and leadership recently confirming that going forward Prenetics would concentrate fully on the consumer health businesses it wholly owns and are scaling aggressively…my latest first principles thinking content will equally focus in-depth on the Europa Sports Partners and IM8 Health deal activity.

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• [MONDAY MINUTE] Non-Alcoholic Beer Reaches All-Time Record Market Share | Dry January 2025 Trends

  Dry January 2025 has commenced, but how measurable were effects on beer sales across grocery retailers? According to NielsenIQ sales data, non-alcoholic beer scored a record-high 4.2% share of all beer sold through grocery retailers in January. Moreover, non-alcoholic beer saw slightly more than 20 percent YoY volume growth last month…compared to the six percent YoY decline seen by the traditional beer category. Over the past three years, Dry January non-alcoholic beer sales across grocery retailers have grown 138%...with the marketplace doubling to over 150 brands selling non-alcoholic beers. But even with that heightened level of competition, the non-alcoholic beer category leader, Athletic Brewing has continued its dominance by again achieving Dry January top-seller status in 2025…successfully outselling non-alcoholic product variants from beer giants from Anheuser-Busch and Heineken.

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