Future of Consumer Marketing

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews John Solomon, CMO of Therabody. Therabody has transformed from a single percussion therapy device company (Theragun) into a comprehensive wellness ecosystem spanning performance, recovery, beauty, and everyday wellness. Under John's leadership, the brand has evolved from targeting elite athletes and weekend warriors to reaching mainstream consumers across multiple life stages - from millennials to active aging demographics. Through strategic brand architecture, product innovation, and audience-first marketing, Therabody has built a multi-category platform that maintains relevance across vastly different consumer segments while scaling from a DTC startup to a global omnichannel brand.
Topics Discussed:
Transitioning from niche athlete-focused brand to mainstream multi-category platform
Complete brand architecture overhaul: packaging, positioning, and product development
Building audience-first marketing organization vs. product-centric teams
Leveraging AI for personalized customer experiences and operational efficiency
Managing brand reputation at scale across digital platforms
Retail strategy: balancing profitability with experiential brand building
Cross-category technology innovation and platform thinking

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews Henrik Jonsson, CEO of agood company. Henrik shares the brutal reality of marketing sustainable products in a mass market that claims to care about sustainability but refuses to pay premium prices for it. Through painful lessons learned over five years, agood company discovered that circular products must compete on traditional value propositions—price, quality, and design—rather than relying on sustainability as a differentiator. Operating across five distribution channels and generating revenue through D2C, retail partnerships, corporate gifting, brand collaborations, and ODM partnerships, the company has evolved from a trial-and-error startup to a focused business targeting 50 million euros in revenue by 2029.
Topics Discussed
Debunking the myth that consumers will pay premium prices for sustainable products
Building a "seamless transition" strategy to replace non-circular products at competitive prices
Operating across five distinct distribution channels with different marketing approaches
Scaling from startup losses to profitability while maintaining circular production principles
Managing provocative marketing campaigns and handling social media backlash
Recruiting purpose-driven talent in competitive markets
Balancing transparency about imperfection with authentic sustainability messaging

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews Matthew Kelly, Founder of Spacegoods, a functional beverage brand that has raised over £6 million and become the UK's leading mushroom coffee company. After experiencing a dramatic business failure, Matthew rebuilt from his lowest point to create a premium wellness brand that challenges the black-and-brown aesthetic of traditional supplement companies with bold pink and purple branding. Through disciplined focus on unit economics, creative-first marketing, and authentic founder storytelling, Spacegoods has grown from a single-product launch to a multi-million pound business targeting the premium wellness market.
Topics Discussed:
Rebuilding after catastrophic business failure
Creating differentiated positioning in crowded functional beverage market
Building subscription-first business model with strong unit economics
Transitioning from bootstrap to venture funding and managing investor relationships
Developing creative-first performance marketing strategies
Expanding from direct-to-consumer to multi-channel retail strategy

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews Andrew Salisbury, founder and CEO of Purity Coffee. After selling his B2B software company in Latin America, Salisbury entered the coffee industry with zero experience but armed with a compelling hypothesis: what if every decision in coffee production was optimized for health rather than taste, cost, or convenience? Over the past decade, Purity Coffee has grown from an experimental concept to one of the fastest-growing coffee companies in America, earning five consecutive spots on the Inc. 5000 list. By creating the "circular health coffee" category and building direct relationships with consumers who value functional benefits, Salisbury has proven there's a substantial market for premium coffee positioned as medicine rather than just beverage.
Topics Discussed:
Transitioning from B2B enterprise software to direct-to-consumer coffee
Creating a new category: "circular health coffee" vs. specialty coffee
Building a health-focused brand without falling into the biohacker niche trap
Leveraging word-of-mouth marketing through product quality and customer testimonials
Strategic retail expansion focused on health-conscious distribution channels
Testing and validating health claims through scientific partnerships
Scaling from 100 enterprise customers to tens of thousands of coffee consumers

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews Taryn Olsen, Director of Brand Marketing and Strategic Partnerships at Parks Project. Parks Project creates fashion-forward goods inspired by national parks while operating on a give-back model that funds conservation projects. After learning that traditional volunteer content performs poorly while landscape imagery drives massive engagement, Taryn has pivoted their marketing strategy from highlighting conservation work to focusing on inspiration and awe - moving backward in what they call their "wheel of conservation" to drive deeper emotional connections with parks before asking for conservation support.
Topics Discussed:
Transitioning from documentary-style conservation content to inspiration-focused marketing
Building emotional connections through the "wheel of conservation" framework
Leveraging partnership opportunities within national park visitor centers
Creating premium positioning in traditionally commodity souvenir markets
Developing grant-based give-back models with legal compliance considerations
Using authentic storytelling to compete against AI-generated content trends

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews Khalil Khamis, CEO of Crafty Ramen. When COVID-19 forced restaurant closures, Crafty Ramen pivoted from a small Canadian restaurant chain to a frozen meal kit phenomenon that caught fire online and now sits on 1,600+ retail shelves across Canada. Their journey from selling 100 local meal kits that sold out in minutes to becoming Walmart Canada's go-to solution for restaurant-quality frozen ramen reveals critical lessons about product evolution, retail expansion, and marketing in the CPG space. Khalil shares how they transformed consumer demand during lockdown into a scalable retail business while maintaining product quality through multiple format changes.
Topics Discussed:
Pivoting from restaurants to CPG during COVID-19
Building viral demand with limited inventory and local pickup
Transitioning from fresh meal kits to frozen products for retail scalability
Strategic decision-making around direct-to-consumer vs. retail channels
Trade show strategies for breaking into major retail chains
Building distribution relationships and managing 1,600+ retail partnerships
Team structure for lean marketing operations in CPG
Personal branding vs. corporate brand pages in modern consumer marketing

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Andres Figueira interviews Julia Cooper, Vice President of Brand and Marketing at Endy. Endy revolutionized Canada's mattress industry by being the first to deliver premium mattresses in a box, disrupting traditional brick-and-mortar retail with 2-day delivery across Canada. Julia shares how Endy transformed from a direct-response focused startup into a brand-first company by flipping conventional sleep marketing on its head - positioning themselves around the energy and potential of mornings rather than the fatigue of bedtime. Through strategic partnerships with Tim Hortons and the WNBA, innovative regional localization in Quebec, and a disciplined approach to influencer marketing, Endy has built a distinctly Canadian brand that drives both awareness and performance.
Topics Discussed:
Transitioning from direct-response to brand marketing in D2C
Disrupting sleep industry marketing by focusing on morning outcomes
Strategic scaling of influencer programs from "always on" to campaign-driven
Regional localization strategies for culturally distinct markets
Leveraging partnerships and sponsorships for brand awareness and growth
Implementing AI experimentation mindset across marketing teams
Building authentic brand partnerships that drive both awareness and performance
 

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Andres Figueira interviews Philip Freeman, CEO and founder of Murphy's Naturals, a nationally distributed outdoor products brand that's cracked the code on natural insect repellent. What started as a garage-based solution for Philip's mosquito-sensitive wife has grown into a 50+ employee company manufacturing 85% of their products in-house and distributed through major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. Philip's journey from naval officer to CPG founder demonstrates how authentic problem-solving, uncompromising quality standards, and values-driven growth can disrupt established chemical-dominated markets.
Topics Discussed:
Building consumer trust in a category plagued by ineffective natural products
Scaling from Amazon to major retail through review-driven credibility
Manufacturing strategy: when to bring production in-house vs. outsourcing
Product innovation within brand guardrails and core values
Maintaining B Corp certification while scaling and taking investment
Creating authentic brand narratives from genuine problem-solving origins

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews James Kennedy, Brand & Marketing Director at Numan. Numan has transformed from a provocative men's health startup into a sophisticated, gender-neutral digital healthcare platform. James shares how they've navigated one of marketing's most challenging sectors - healthcare - while maintaining brand authenticity and driving growth. From executing taboo-breaking creative campaigns on minimal budgets to successfully pivoting from male-only to unisex positioning, Numan's journey reveals how to balance edgy brand personality with regulatory compliance and consumer trust in a heavily regulated industry.
Topics Discussed:
Balancing provocative creative with healthcare regulatory requirements
Executing successful above-the-line campaigns on startup budgets
Managing brand evolution from single-issue treatment to holistic healthcare
Navigating gender pivot from male-focused to unisex brand positioning
Building consumer trust in digital healthcare during and post-COVID
Integrating performance marketing with brand awareness strategies
Assembling marketing teams for regulated healthcare environments

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews Dominik Burziwoda, CEO & Founder of Perfood. Perfood develops digital therapeutics using personalized low-glycemic diets to treat lifestyle-associated diseases like type 2 diabetes and migraines. Operating in Germany's regulated healthcare system, Perfood must navigate the complex challenge of marketing to three distinct stakeholders: insurance companies as payers, medical doctors as prescribers, and patients as end users. Through their B2B market access approach, they've created a pharmaceutical-like business model that delivers digital therapy through an app, achieving patient remission rates that traditional drug therapies cannot match.
Topics Discussed:
Building a regulated healthcare product that serves multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously
Navigating marketing restrictions and compliance requirements in the digital therapeutics space
Creating personalized health solutions using continuous glucose monitoring and AI-powered food recognition
Developing longer sales funnels for complex healthcare products (4-6 months conversion cycles)
Balancing scientific credibility with consumer-friendly messaging
Scaling digital therapeutics across multiple disease indications and international markets