High engagement drives sports product franchise retailer Complete Nutrition's success
New CEO Jim Heidenreich is an accomplished triathlete with experience in the operational end of industrial concerns, most recently with a battery manufacturer. He sees a unique opportunity with Complete Nutrition, which pursues a high engagement model. The company bills itself as a “consultative nutritional retail store” whose mission is to help people transform their lives through fitness, health and wellness advice. The company says many of its in-store personnel, or “consultants,” are athletes, certified personal trainers, nutritionists, and others experienced in the health and fitness industry, work individually with customers to help them reach their goals by creating diet and exercise plans and recommending safe and effective weight loss, sports nutrition, and general health programs that boost results.
High engagement a key
Founded in 2005, Omaha, NE-based Complete Nutrition bills itself one of the fastest-growing franchises in the health and wellness industry. The company was founded by Cory Wiedel, who previously owned 15 GNC franchises. The company was recently ranking #1 among vitamin and nutrition franchises by independent ranking site franchiserankings.com.
Heidenreich recently spoke with NutraIngredients-USA about his plans for the company.
“We have a model where although we are a retail franchise location and we sell a lot of products our real goal is to sell whatever it is that will help the customer change. Our employees are trainers and dietitians,” he said.
“They are knowledgeable in health and wellness. They can give advice, and they live the lifestyle. They can give customers help with programs such as meal planning and training advice to meet their goals. The model would not work if we were just trying to be the cheapest and compete that way. We have been very successful. It’s a unique model, and from everything I’ve been reading it seems as if everyone is trying to knock us off,” he said.
Heidenreich said the high engagement plan the company has followed has had some unexpected benefits. Coming to the store seems to be becoming part of customers’ routines, and not just a once-a-month trip to stock on vitamins. It’s a program of trying to become a partner in customers’ transformation, rather than merely a source of products.
“You can’t just sell them a product and shove them out the door and then hope for the best. Over time our average ticket has gone down but our turns have gone up by a greater margin as we have become more meaningful to the customer,” he said.
No breakthrough ingredient
Heidenreich said that technology is the hottest sector of the sports nutrtion industry at the moment. Devices such as Fitbits and mobile apps on phones are transforming how consumers view and track their wellness journeys. On the product side, he said there is a dearth of ground breaking innovation, though some categories hold promise for strong growth.
“There are not a lot of breakthrough products right now. I used to work in the sports industry years ago and at that time ephedra was a product that led the industry. I hope that there is that next ingredient out there. Probiotics are a hot topic, and plant proteins are being explored,” he said.
Heidenreich said that sports nutrition is morphing into the leading edge of health and wellness, which in his view is really a transformation of the whole supplement industry. And he believes Complete Nutrition, with its high engagement model, stands to benefit. He said consumers don’t see the products as only for gym rats any more, but as products that deliver the most focused benefits in the supplements world.
“It used to be a just a diet category. Everyone just wanted to lose weight and you had all these fad diets. But now the sports nutrition and general health part of the supplement picture is really starting to grow. As consumers age they are saying, I don’t just want to lose weight; I want more energy. I want a higher quality of life,” he said.
