#106: Mike McCandless - How to Sell a Supplement Brand

Aug 4, 2023

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https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/mike-mccandless-106

If you’ve been around the supplement industry the past decade or two, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Mike McCandless, the founder of Scivation and creator of the legendary Xtend BCAA formula that upended the entire sports nutrition industry.

Mike McCandless: A Master of Supplement Business Transactions

The last time we publicly spoke was when Scivation was sold to NutraBolt in early 2017, but that wasn’t Mike’s first — nor last — business transaction. Before Scivation took off, he started in retail and Internet retail, running and selling 1Fast400 and Bulk Nutrition. After Scivation, he also started and sold KetoLogic and FBomb, and also finally parted ways with his PrimaForce single-ingredient brand that was a longtime PricePlow favorite.

Mike’s been listening to the PricePlow Podcast, and, well, he’s got a lot to say. As is often the case with him. So we brought him on to tell his story, give his opinions, and see what he might do next.

With no more non-competes in the industry, Mike’s possibly itching to get involved in the next big thing, but at the “old” age of 44, he’s not interested in another startup. He is, however, interested in helping good people turn their supplement businesses into transactable entities that can be sold.

Prepare yourself for a podcast of the ages. There is a 0% chance you’ll listen to this and not learn or laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR3nuvMe5VY

Detailed Show Notes with Mike McCandless

Note: In these show notes, Mike McCandless will just be called Mike. For references to PricePlow’s Mike, we’ll note him as “Mike R”.

(0:00) – Introductions
(2:00) – Mike’s origin story and synopsis of sales
(4:45) – What is 1Fast400?! Flashback to the Bodybuilding.com Forums
(8:00) – Prohormones and Ephedra: The OG Industry Seed Funding in the 2000s
(15:00) – The hidden lesson from Bulk Nutrition
(16:45) – Question: Why not continue down this path to success?
(18:25) – Answer: A counterfeit lawsuit takes down Mike’s retailers
(21:00) – Scivation and Branched-Chain Amino Acids
(22:30) – The Start of Scivation Xtend
(25:15) – Knowing everyone through online retail but trying to start a brand
(26:00) – Enter Marc Lobliner, Exit Marc Lobliner
(27:30) – Chris Lockwood and the Reflavoringg / Reformulation
(30:00) – Beware of “Built to Sell”?
(33:30) – 2012: Nutrabolt’s First Acquisition Offer
(34:45) – CEO is a Very Overused Term – Getting a Real CEO
(37:00) – What changes did the private equity group force?
(41:00) – “It’s Just Widgets”
(42:00) – Sidebar to Scivation Flexatril
(43:45) – The team you start with is almost never the team you end with
(46:00) – Gamechanger: Bringing competent staff to GNC
(47:45) – Going Pro: Raising Xtend’s Price and Doubling Sales
(49:30) – Mike’s real reason for Xtend’s success
(55:00) – Winning in retail: Commentary on Vitamin Shoppe Episode #105
(59:30) – Driving Traffic to a Retailer: Can Mike still hang?
(1:05:30) – “Supplement Brands” Aren’t Brands

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