People
In this fifth episode of the 2026 World Retail Podcast series on Unlocking volume growth, Ian McGarrigle, Chair of World Retail Congress, is joined by Sharon Leite, Chief Executive Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe, and Lindy Firstenberg, Co-Lead of the Beauty, Health, and Wellness Practice at AlixPartners, for a wide-ranging conversation on growth in beauty, health, and wellness. Together, they explore how retailers can win in one of the fastest-growing, most competitive retail categories, from digital transformation and product innovation to customer trust, stores as force multipliers, AI and personalization, GLP-1 support, and what will define success in the category over the years ahead.
Listen to the episode on Spotify or Apple, or read the transcript below.
Ian McGarrigle:
Today’s interview is going to focus on one of the fastest-growing and most exciting categories in retail: beauty, health, and wellness.
Already worth more than $7 trillion globally, the sector is projected to keep growing at more than 7% per year, according to a consensus of expert analysis.
So, I’m delighted to be joined by one of the sector’s key retail leaders, Sharon Leite, Chief Executive Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe. Operating across the U.S., The Vitamin Shoppe is one of the earliest pioneers of health and wellness retail.
Sharon was CEO of the business from 2018 to 2023 and returned as CEO in May 2025. She also brings more than 25 years of retail experience, with leadership roles across an incredible portfolio of brands. So, she is the perfect person to help us understand how to manage and deliver growth in such a strong sector.
I'm joined for this special episode of the World Retail Podcast by Lindy Firstenberg, Co-Lead of the Beauty, Health, and Wellness Practice at AlixPartners.
I very much hope you enjoy this episode.
So, hello, Lindy. How are you? Thanks for joining the World Retail Podcast.
Lindy Firstenberg:
Ian, hello. It’s so wonderful to be with you. How are you?
Ian McGarrigle:
Good, thank you.
Lindy, to start us off, the health, beauty, and wellness sectors are one of the high spots of retail around the world in terms of growth, excitement, and competitiveness.
From your experience working in the sector, what do you see as its short history, and what is driving the growth we are seeing?
Lindy Firstenberg:
There is so much going on.
It is really because beauty, health, and wellness have converged into this incredible mega-sector. You see beauty retailers selling biotin gummies. You see health shops selling niacinamide serums. The line has completely dissolved.
Consumers have a new set of wants. They want efficacy. They want results. But this beauty, health, and wellness ecosystem is also an ongoing project and an active part of self-identity.
That has caused many established norms in beauty, health, and wellness to become a thing of the past. Instead, you have this incredible convergence: the brand and consumer connectivity of beauty, the clinical rigor of health, and the breadth of topics from wellness.
We love to call it personal care 3.0, because I am serious when I say truly no topic is off limits anymore.
In North America, this is a sector worth more than $200 billion, and it is growing at a 5% compound annual growth rate through 2030. When you think about adjacent categories like functional beverages, you expand that by another 45%.
It feels quite unstoppable. It is also one of the few sectors that is growing through unit growth, not just inflated prices. So it is quite different from what we are seeing in some other discretionary categories.
Ian McGarrigle:
You are absolutely right. It is one of the most exciting categories in almost every market around the world. So there is lots for us to talk about.
It is my great pleasure now to introduce Sharon. Sharon, hello and welcome to the World Retail Podcast.
Sharon Leite:
Thank you, Ian. It is great to be here with both you and Lindy. I am excited to have this conversation with you both.
Ian McGarrigle:
Great.
Sharon, you are CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe, which is a name that will be known to many people around the retail world. But I wonder if you could give us a bit more context about the business and share with listeners a little more about The Vitamin Shoppe.
Sharon Leite:
Sure.
The Vitamin Shoppe was started in 1977 in New York City by a pharmacist named Jeffrey Horowitz. Throughout the years, the whole reason for being for The Vitamin Shoppe was to create a place where consumers could come and engage with real people to get trusted advice on the types of health and wellness supplements they should take.
He was a pioneer long before where we are today.
Over time, we grew to almost 750 stores at one point. We started an e-commerce business and actually had a catalog business first.
This company has really been on this health and wellness journey with the consumer throughout that period of time.
When I joined in 2018, we were pretty far behind the curve on anything digital. I am talking specifically about how e-commerce and stores work together, what digital marketing really is and means, and how we make sure the products we serve up to consumers are where they are.
I have always been a strong proponent of really knowing your customer—knowing how to engage with them, where they want to be, and how you serve them where they are.
We went through a tremendous digital transformation. At that time, that meant things like buy online, pick up in store; curbside pickup; and all the things everyone takes for granted today.
Fortunately, we did that in 2018 and into 2019, because we all know what happened in 2020. In 2020, the business really thrived because we had done all of this foundational work around the digital experience, the brick-and-mortar experience, and bringing those two together.
We also had a strong focus on quality, innovation, and expertise, which are three of our brand pillars and things we hold very dear at The Vitamin Shoppe in terms of engaging with consumers.
Today, we sit at a little over 650 stores across the United States. We have licenses in Central America, and we have a very strong and growing digital business across multiple channels.
Ian McGarrigle:
Great. As a real pioneer of this sector, that is a fascinating journey for the business.
As you said, Sharon, you became CEO in 2018, left in 2023, and came back in 2025. I think as we are recording this, it has been almost exactly 12 months since you returned.
Could you talk us through what that 12 months has been like? When you came back to the business, it was a different business from the one you left, with new ownership. So I would love to know what this last year has been like and what you have prioritized.
Sharon Leite:
I am very excited to be part of Kingswood Capital Management, which purchased the business from Franchise Group, along with Performance Investment Partners.
What is really exciting is that I got to come back to something I really loved, and I am going to get to do the things I always hoped I would get to do.
That is really to position The Vitamin Shoppe as the true owner, especially in North America, of health and wellness by becoming the industry’s most trusted source for consumers navigating such an incredibly complicated category.
It is confusing. There is a lot of challenging information out there. Especially in this category, you really need to know somebody you can truly trust.
For 50 years, we have been that trusted partner. We are the national leading retailer in this space here in the United States.
Our winning combination is around innovation, breadth, expert in-store guidance, and personalized wellness support delivered at scale.
We are rushing toward all of the technology enhancements facing our industry today with a vengeance. I will get to that a little bit later.
We are making significant investments in digital capabilities. Of course, you cannot have a conversation today without AI, but data analytics is such an important part of personalizing the consumer journey.
We know that while speed and convenience are extremely important in our category, the content you serve up to consumers is especially important because this is a very personal product. They are ingesting this product.
So it is critical that we provide the most trusted guidance and advice in the industry.
The table stakes are faster fulfillment, in-stocks, and all of the blocking and tackling that retailers do. But it really is this very special consumer relationship that I think is so important for retailers today, especially in this space.
You have to know what matters to that consumer. You need to understand the journey they are on, because we are all on very individual journeys. That is the void we expect to fill.
Ian McGarrigle:
When you joined in 2018, your immediate focus was clearly around e-commerce in the business.
When you came back a year ago, did you see significant steps you needed to take because digital transformation and AI had suddenly become such key areas of focus?
Sharon Leite:
I think probably the biggest strategic shift during my time away was in the way I think about the business.
If you think about legacy retailers, they have stores, and they bolted on e-commerce businesses.
For brick-and-mortar retailers to be truly successful today, I think you have to flip the script.
You see so many direct-to-consumer brands accelerating because they do not have the weight of all that legacy infrastructure.
So if you can build a true digital ecosystem—and I mean data, customer information, the mechanics of fulfilling orders, and everything digital really encompasses—and get that right first, then work backward, the stores become, when done well, a force multiplier.
Digital direct-to-consumer brands in this space cannot do at scale what we do. It is very expensive.
So our ability to leverage the legacy, what has always been a big part of who we are, how we engage with consumers, and what we mean to the communities we serve—and to use our stores as force multipliers—has the potential to be our true game changer.
That is a bit of the digital journey and the investments we are making. It is also about reframing the conversation around the role that stores play in this very broad ecosystem.
Lindy Firstenberg:
I think that is fascinating, because so few retailers are really flipping that script.
You have spent the last year laser-focused on fixing the foundation. But what I am hearing from you is that what we might think of as fixing the foundation may be a little bit different in your eyes than it is for traditional retailers.
We also know that, for many retailers, loyalty programs have either been unprofitable or simply archaic.
You and I have had discussions about our consumer sentiment index, and we found that product availability is 40% more important than loyalty as a purchase driver for beauty, health, and wellness consumers. That is wild.
So when you think about how you have fixed the fundamentals over this last year, what has that meant to you at The Vitamin Shoppe? Because it feels like it is something different from other retailers.
Sharon Leite:
Part of it has really been getting to know the customer. And I mean really getting to know the customer.
We always did the surveys and the things retailers do to get consumer insights. But we took it another layer and really got into the data.
So many retailers come to these broad-brush designs of who the customer is. But we got down to the basket level to understand who they were.
There is the demographic component, but then there is: what do they actually buy? What do those cohorts look like?
What we found is that where our consumer was in a pre-COVID world compared with where our consumer is today is very different.
First, consumers are incredibly informed. But they are also shopping differently.
We used to have consumers who shopped what we call one side of the aisle, which is the sports nutrition side: protein, creatine, pre-workout, and that kind of consumer.
Then we had more of the softer health and wellness consumer: vitamins, heart health, longevity, and that kind of category.
Now you have the convergence of both.
A consumer who primarily came in for a sports nutrition product is now crossing over because of what has happened with the democratization of health. Consumers are really taking control of what their health is, what it means to them, and what partners they need on that journey.
The conversation has changed. You have to understand the consumer at a very different level and understand what matters in their basket.
That is why I go back to general retail blocking and tackling. That is the day job. That is table stakes now.
This other level—really knowing the consumer, understanding how it affects what you buy, how you serve content, what your site looks like, what you pair together, and how you build a stack—is going to be critical as we look forward.
And, of course, you need the tools to enable that.
Lindy Firstenberg:
I love how you are reframing that, because even today we still hear about archetypes: “There are five archetypes for a retailer.”
That is not true. It is especially not true in this category.
So I love how you have completely reframed that, because that is such an old way of looking at your consumer. It is not a way to connect with them.
Sharon Leite:
It really is not. And to be clear, we are on a journey here. We do not have it all figured out. But we are definitely on the journey.
In this category, more than any other, I think it is absolutely imperative to be successful today.
Ian McGarrigle:
Sharon, as you were saying, The Vitamin Shoppe is a pioneer in the U.S., and you are well established with 650 stores. That is fantastic. It is also a growth sector.
Yet with growth comes a proliferation of competition. You have competition coming at you from every direction, whether it is mass retailers, online players, or others.
How do you navigate that increasing competition in a growth market? It must still be very tough.
Sharon Leite:
It always starts with product. For any retailer, it starts with product. You are not in retail if you do not serve up incredible product for the consumer.
Obviously, you need to know the consumer and you need your delivery system. But it starts with the product first.
In 2020 in particular, we really leapfrogged around the innovation factor in our business, around product quality, the innovative products we carry, and being a destination for direct-to-consumer brands to be their first retail partner and bring those products to life.
For example, we are currently the retailer of choice for Transparent Labs. There is a lot of activity in our space around transparency, clean ingredients, and all of that. We were first to market with them.
We also recently launched Momentous, another highly efficacious, transparent brand. We are their first and only exclusive retail partner.
We were also the first specialty retail partner for AG1. They had an incredibly impressive growth trajectory in direct-to-consumer, and bringing that product to a specialty retailer was a very important milestone.
So there are third-party brands we love. We love being their retail partner and helping them figure out what it means to be in brick-and-mortar while still providing their products digitally.
It is about partnership, because we think that is a very important part of what we do and how we do it.
Then we also jump on trends. We were in the creatine game long before many others, and at one point we had dominant share. We still have dominant share in creatine today.
We are jumping on peptides. Peptides are really big, but it is peptides our way. We are not going to start injecting things; that is not our sweet spot. But there is a peptide consumer that fits into the vitamin, mineral, and supplement space. We can serve that consumer, own that space, and educate.
Peptides are a great example of a category where there is a lot of crazy information out there. If we can be a trusted source, we can own it and lead in peptides.
Longevity is another example. We were quick on the longevity trend in terms of what assortment of products we should carry to help customers on their longevity journey.
Today, we also have strong support for anyone on GLP-1s. We know that is a hot category, along with the proteinification of everything that is going on right now. We need to be able to serve and support that consumer.
So it starts with product. But I go back to our three brand pillars: quality, innovation, and expertise. We lean those into everything we do, and it starts with product first.
Ian McGarrigle:
And understanding your customer too, I guess, because that is a really important part: knowing what they want and when they want it.
Sharon Leite:
It starts with them first.
It is customer, product, and then everything else is a supporting task.
Lindy Firstenberg:
Being that destination of choice and that trusted source—I love how you framed that.
I know we talked about this a few weeks ago, but I have made many visits to your Upper East Side location, your innovation format that opened this past January.
I promise this is not a public ad, and I have not been paid to say this, but I had the most incredible experience in your store, really because of your store manager, Candace.
So shout out to Candace, wherever she is on the Upper East Side right now.
She sat through my health saga, and I gave her the full download. It was not just her product knowledge, which was truly top-notch. It was the way she listened and digested the information.
So how on earth do you find, train, and retain more Candaces? They are so precious, and they are such a differentiator for you.
Sharon Leite:
Candace is amazing.
People are the heart of what makes The Vitamin Shoppe so special, because it is that experience you have with the consumer.
Our field team does a tremendous job sourcing talent for our stores. I am very proud of the tenure we have in our organization.
In this category, there are volumes written about ingredients, products, what goes with what, what does not go with what, and all of that. So the knowledge base and the tools you provide for the team are very important.
It certainly starts with sourcing talent.
I think people who are involved in this category do not just do it because it is a job. They do it because they are helping people.
We have always tried to invest in a culture where this is a people-first culture. We are helping consumers on their journey, whatever that is.
It could be a fitness journey. It could be a specific health journey. It could be a sleep journey. Whatever it is, the only way you can do that is by listening.
You have to understand what is important.
Some of the stories I have heard from our store managers and from our people in stores about what customers have told them are extraordinary. The way customers trust our people with the information they share is remarkable.
It is our job to make sure we provide an experience and help the consumer in an authentic way.
Authenticity is really important, again, in a world of chatbots and AI, where experiences are sometimes not the most authentic.
For our business, being true to who you are and being authentic with the consumer in front of you, and helping them in whatever journey they are on, is a game changer.
No AI shopping assistant can do that like a real human can.
In our case, the human touch is our secret sauce at The Vitamin Shoppe. We want to continue to explore that and make it more central to who we are and what we are all about.
What we have learned in talking to consumers—and I have done a lot of research since coming back—is that this is becoming more and more important, not just to our existing consumers, but to new consumers as well.
Lindy Firstenberg:
How do you maintain that authenticity?
How do you make sure these Candaces cut through the noise when there is so much noise in this sector? How do you prioritize that as a business?
Sharon Leite:
I think it is part of the culture of the company, so you have to make it a priority.
I spend quite a bit of time in stores. I love being with our team.
We had an amazing brand summit not too long ago. It was an immersive experience for education. We value education.
We love when our health enthusiasts have such a vested interest in learning themselves. It makes a huge difference when they are curious about the category and want to learn.
That makes our job a lot easier too.
But we do provide a lot of tools. We have microlearning. We use AI for education. It is based on where they are in their education journey, so it is somewhat personalized to them to help them grow.
We also have the usual operational things, such as staffing with the right people. But at the end of the day, you have to find the right talent.
You have to find people who really care about what they are doing. You have to deliver a culture around them and surround them with the tools to help them be successful.
Ian McGarrigle:
Sharon, looking at that in a different way, there is a tension between the digital and physical retail worlds.
Gen Z and millennials, I think all the research shows, will predominantly discover wellness and health products online, through social media and so on. But research also shows they like the in-store experience.
How do you see that tension, or that customer journey, and how do you meet it and serve those customers?
Sharon Leite:
It goes back to knowing your customer and knowing what channels they are in, because every channel is a little different.
What you see on TikTok and Instagram might be different from what we would put on our What’s Good blog, for example, which is much more scientific and more regulatory in tone. That reflects the seriousness of the category versus the fun influencer side of the category.
There are two very different versions.
Quite candidly, I struggle with it sometimes. I want to make sure everything is authentic and rooted in science. But we may also be doing dollar drinks this weekend because we have this hot, great, cool flavor that our customers love.
So it is the convergence of the two. And in everything in life, I think it is all a little bit about balance.
As we look at technology and how we leverage technology moving forward, we need to understand who the customer is, the channels they are in, and how we make sure the store understands both, because that is important.
If our store teams listen to the consumer and really understand them, they can serve different needs.
One customer may come in for the latest bar or drink. Most of our store people know what bar or drink that customer is coming in for because they have such incredible relationships with our customers.
Another consumer may come in because they want to understand magnesium glycinate. What does it really do? They have heard the hype, and they want to know what it means.
Creatine is another one we spend a tremendous amount of time educating consumers on.
It goes back to who your consumer is. Have you listened to them? How do you serve up the right content, product, or information based on what they are looking for?
Ian McGarrigle:
It is fascinating.
Lindy Firstenberg:
I am going to have us take a step back and think about this mega-category for a second.
There are so many themes playing out. I want to touch on two of them because there is quite a bit of tension.
One is wellness being the new flex. This is where supplements, wearables, and full-body MRIs are battling with Louis Vuitton lipstick and Birkin bags as status symbols. It is truly a new phenomenon, and it is bamboozling all of us.
The second is the rise of the consumer PhD: self-educated, self-matriculated consumers who walk in knowing about GLP-1 interactions, NAD+ protocols, and peptide reactivity. It is really complicated, and there is such a duality.
How has The Vitamin Shoppe played into these themes or responded to them, and how are you becoming part of the consumer fabric and the consumer lifestyle?
Sharon Leite:
We are still figuring it out, and it is changing all the time. But I am going to keep it very simple.
You have to know your consumer. You have to listen. You have to understand.
For The Vitamin Shoppe, we have to be able to deliver based on whoever walks through our door. We need to make sure we have the tools to help them, because they cannot know it all. It is just impossible.
We are fortunate that we work with best-in-class brands. Speaking specifically to the products we sell, we have a wealth of information from them around clinical studies. Everything is tested. We stand behind everything we sell.
On our private brands, we have a tremendous amount of depth. We have a quality seal on every one of our private brands because they go through incredibly rigorous testing and validation of ingredients, product sources, bottling, manufacturing, and so on.
Part of what we need to do is take the science—the brains behind these products—and ingest all of that information so we can provide tools for our people to use to help the consumer in a meaningful way.
You got to see a little bit of it at our 86th Street store. We are testing the Shop Advisor, and we are taking it to new heights this year. I am pretty excited about it.
I cannot say much more about it, but it will be a different way to think about AI shopping assistants.
I am very concerned about the use of AI and just randomly scraping the internet. That may work for others, and I am not saying it is not the right thing for other companies. But for us, our “scrape,” if you will, for AI has to be from trusted sources.
We need to create an engine of validated sources that provides the tools and information to help our people truly help the consumer.
Once we have it right, because I have already talked about how important our culture is, we can focus on tone of voice, engagement with the consumer, and the importance of that relationship.
Our customers tell us all the time how important that relationship is.
What I want to be able to do is an inside-out version of an AI shopping assistant. We perfect it internally first, making sure that all of the content, the information, and the way the content is served up are truly us.
The consumer can then trust us because of the quality, testing, and care we put into making sure they are served with the best information possible.
Lindy Firstenberg:
That is brilliant, because what I am hearing you say is that you are going to own the education space for the consumer.
Sharon Leite:
Yes. And it is inside-out versus outside-in.
Lindy Firstenberg:
That is amazing.
I also know you have a health and wellness trend report coming out. Does this play into that, or are there any top-line insights you want to share with us?
Sharon Leite:
We talk a lot about peptides in this trend report, as well as in our 2024 and 2025 reports, because it is one of the most important trends with consumers right now.
We will also talk about everything going on with protein, and not necessarily protein in the traditional ways most consumers think about it. It is truly the proteinification, as people call it today, and what that means.
There will be a lot around that.
We will also talk about where creatine is going, the importance of this ingredient, the fact that it has become its own category, and what it means for consumers.
But you will see us talk about products more in terms of how consumers are engaging with them.
Our previous trend reports were more about what was up and coming. Now it is about what is up and coming and how it is impacting the consumer, because we are leveraging our own consumer data insights and selling information.
That gives us a true consumer view of what is happening in trends today.
Lindy Firstenberg:
I am dying to know how many times the word “consumer” has come up today, because it is truly the theme of this conversation. It really is about who the consumers are.
Sharon Leite:
As you can see, I am pretty passionate about it.
I have a strong bias toward both the internal and external consumer. I feel very strongly about taking care of our internal consumer, because if we do not take care of our internal consumer, we cannot take care of the external consumer.
This is such a personal category. It is always about the consumer.
Ian McGarrigle:
Sharon, I was picking up on what Lindy said about the consumer being the thread that has run through the conversation.
You talked about AI in terms of understanding products and content. But is AI helping you in the business to understand your customers?
Listening to what you are saying, the complexity seems to be getting more and more challenging in terms of understanding what customers want, when they want it, how they want it, and through which channels.
So is AI already helping, or showing the way forward?
Sharon Leite:
Absolutely.
It really goes back to the data and understanding the data.
We have always had tons of data. Now it is organized in a way—and we are continuing to work on this—that allows us to get information faster to our fingertips.
Instead of the data mining that usually happens when analysts are involved, we can serve it up faster so we can leverage it inside our personalization tools.
We can also use it for insights, so we can get better information about how a promotion is working, how a product is trending, and how to provide information to our third-party vendors.
Our third-party vendor partners are such an important part of what we do, especially given how we feel about innovation. We want to be a great partner.
Even leveraging that information to help them be more successful is an important part of our relationship. We want us all to be successful.
So yes, AI is everywhere. We were an early adopter, for sure.
Ian McGarrigle:
I was fascinated to see some research showing that men have discovered the health and wellness category in a big way, but they have specific needs and wants.
Trust in brands is one of the things that drives them.
How are you playing into that rising demand from men for this category?
Sharon Leite:
Our customer has changed quite a bit.
From where we were pre-COVID to where we are today, our customer has become more male and younger.
What we find is that women have been very comfortable shopping online, doing their research, and checking in with their mom groups or whatever sources they like to use.
Men are on an earlier part of that curve, and they very much like shopping in store.
In fact, some of our strongest cohorts of consumers are men. Different age groups shop for different things.
We have one cohort that shops with us and almost treats us like a convenience store, because our on-the-go selection has become so strong and innovative. We usually have the latest flavors, latest bars, and latest drinks in the on-the-go category.
They are literally using us like a convenience store. Sometimes we see the same customer four or five times a week.
That is great. But what has been really fun is to watch that consumer branch into other parts of their health and wellness journey.
We find that, particularly with the male consumer, they may start in one place, but then move and continue to grow on their health and wellness journey as they become more educated.
A lot of our male consumers like to learn from real people, with real information and real science, and then they go on their journey.
Women, generally speaking, are so used to consuming information online and in social channels. They often come in with a level of information that our male consumers may not have, because they are on different parts of their journey.
That has worked really well for us.
Again, it goes back to understanding the consumer and knowing who the consumer is. We see that reflected in our assortment. Our assortment has evolved and changed as the consumer has changed.
Lindy Firstenberg:
You heard me chuckle when you mentioned the convenience store, because that was my husband at your Upper East Side location.
He came in for all the different flavors of the bars and all the drinks. Over the course of many months, he now has a small vitamin and supplements routine.
You see him building along this journey with Candace and the team. It has been incredible to watch, because I thought he was the only one going in for a healthy beverage or a protein bar. But clearly, he is part of a cohort.
Sharon Leite:
Exactly right.
And Lindy, wait until you see what we are doing because of this customer and the importance of this customer.
We can win on speed to market there.
You are going to see the 86th Street store evolve. We are going to try a few things in the back of the store, in that really nice contained area, getting into different functional foods and more beverages, because that is where the consumer is headed.
Again, we are getting smarter about how we assort our stores.
Historically, it was a lot of one-size-fits-all. But this is a city store. It has a lot of foot traffic. So we need to make sure we serve that consumer, versus a consumer who can pull their car up to the front door, get in, and get out.
It is different, and you have to be able to navigate that and make sure your assortments reflect that consumer as well.
Lindy Firstenberg:
Ian, we are going to have to have a part two when these new formats and innovations come to store. That is incredible.
Sharon Leite:
There is a lot in the pipeline this year.
We are celebrating our 50th anniversary next year, so we are testing as much as we possibly can.
We are investing in our stores in ways they have not been invested in for a very long time.
We have talked about a lot of the digital things, but my job is to make sure the company is incredibly successful for its next 50 years of life.
It is about balancing the heritage with making sure we are positioned well for the future consumer of tomorrow.
Lindy Firstenberg:
That is incredible.
Before we touch on what you envision for the next 50 years, we cannot have a beauty, health, and wellness conversation without talking about GLP-1s. We just cannot. It would be sinful not to.
Approximately one in five American adults has tried GLP-1s, and one in eight is currently on them. We expect this to increase with new formulations and delivery systems.
I know The Vitamin Shoppe is taking some big bets around its response to GLP-1s. How are you strategically supporting GLP-1 users now, and how are you thinking about that?
Sharon Leite:
We see it more as a place for support and education.
When you look at the importance of protein and muscle retention, and the effects of GLP-1s, we see ourselves as the place that can support consumers on that journey.
Think about where consumers can go for support with GLP-1s in terms of their health. Outside of a practitioner, we are the only place out there today that can deliver full support for the consumer.
There is no question that big-box retailers and grocery stores have bits and pieces of how they can support that consumer. Absolutely.
But when you look at it from a health and wellness standpoint, and from a vitamin, mineral, and supplement standpoint, we have a complete assortment of products to support that customer on their journey.
That includes unbiased information that is right for them.
Again, we want to go back to what is at the core of everything we do: being that trusted source, so we can be their partner on this journey.
It is amazing how many consumers still lack information about what GLP-1s really mean in their life, especially given the way access has been democratized recently.
We have thousands of people at The Vitamin Shoppe across the United States, as well as information online, that is truly factual around what it could mean for you.
We want to be a very strong, authentic partner in that journey.
Lindy Firstenberg:
I think there is such a void there.
There are some typical responses that everyone knows about, but every person is an individual. They have their own unique responses, and they need support in knowing what to do about it and having awareness that it may be there.
So having that education and breadth of support is important.
To your point, yes, it exists in bits and pieces, but you do not see it collectively anywhere outside of a practitioner. That is a really interesting position, and one you can really defend.
Sharon Leite:
Yes. You are going to see us get a little more serious about it through the rest of this year and into next year too, because it is not going anywhere.
And again, no one can do it at scale like we can.
Ian McGarrigle:
Sharon, this has been absolutely fascinatin. I want to conclude by asking you about the fact that the business will be 50 years old next year.
I will not ask you to predict what the business will look like in another 50 years. But in terms of the journey you are on, what do you see as the tailwinds that will carry you forward, and what are the headwinds you are battling against in the short and medium term?
Sharon Leite:
The competition is all around us. Anybody in this category knows it is literally coming at you from all sides.
For us, we have millions of consumers who engage with us today, that we have information on, and that we nurture. Many of our consumers have been with us for decades.
Our ability to continue to nurture our consumer, understand the gaps and white space in the market, and fill that void so we can show them and earn their trust is very important.
Trust in this category is at the heart of it all.
I keep it pretty simple, Ian. There is no question that technology, AI, speed, and delivery methods are wonderful things to help consumers engage with businesses and brands, and to help them in their lives.
But at the heart of everything is a customer, a product, and a delivery system that matters to them.
As long as you stay close to your customer—and I am going to say it again, stay really close to your customer—understand the market, be a great student, align your business practices around that consumer, be a great student of the category, and deliver in the way they want it delivered, you have a great opportunity to win.
I am going to do everything I can to make sure we are fully set up for another 50 years of incredible success at The Vitamin Shoppe.
Ian McGarrigle:
Sharon, that is amazing. This has been fascinating. I think many retailers listening might come into this conversation thinking it must be fantastic to be in a sector that is growing so fast. But you have underlined how competitive it is. It is hard.
Everything you are doing to take the business forward and seize the opportunities is fascinating.
At the recent World Retail Congress, we had a very popular session on the art of shopkeeping. You have just reiterated that in a world of AI, of course things are changing and AI is driving things, but if you do not think about your customer and your product, you cannot move forward.
So thank you very much for sharing that.
And Lindy, thank you so much for being part of this really great conversation.
Thank you for taking the time to be part of the World Retail Podcast. And thank you, everyone, for listening to this episode.
