“The power in our decisions for years was saying no to those things,” Cole said, but after years of behind-the-scenes work to prepare for this moment, from iterating on its products to build a community of consumers, it’s ready to start saying yes. Speaking with Retail Brew following the panel, Cole, alongside Finkelstein—who has worked with AG1 through its partnership with Shopify—shared why the timing was right and how digitally native retail brands should be thinking about the move to offline in 2025.
After doing one thing for so many years, the expansion process won’t necessarily be easy, Cole admitted.
“It’s like, white knuckle all the way where we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s the site experience gonna be? Everybody’s used to seeing only one thing—what happens when they have the option for two?’…So that journey for us is gonna be really exciting. It’s very invigorating for the team,” she said.
“It’s less about online versus offline,” he said. “It’s more about, can your brand actually grow larger, whether it’s through LTV or it’s to reduce your cost per cost acquisition through physical retail?”
“There is nothing I could say to a customer that would get them to be loyal if the quality weren’t there,” she said. “You could spend all the money you want. You could do rewards, loyalty, incentives, recognition programs—at some point, that well runs dry if they don’t feel what they’re buying is worth it.”
A close relationship to its consumer base is also essential, Finkelstein added, noting when he participated in 29029 Everesting (a 36-hour endurance hike where participants climb 29,029 feet), he found that AG1 had partnered with the company.
“[29029 Everesting] is not a well-known thing, but the fact that someone at AG1 figured out that this particular event is the right particular demographic for AG1 new customers…that’s a difference maker,” he said. “That is something you know because you’re in the community.”
Cole said having one product in one channel has ultimately helped the company stay focused, and build and get to know that community (even though there’s been temptation to launch more products before it was ready).
“We think very much long term, proper restraint, service of the customer,” she said. “What will we decide today that we’ll be grateful we decided tomorrow? We’ve been so rewarded for that focus. It doesn’t mean the focus looks the same over time.”
