Meet Eric Gripentrog, the dynamic CEO of Functional Brands Inc., who brings over 25 years of progressive development in leading branded consumer goods companies. With a stellar track record in General Management, International experience, Business Start-Up, Senior Sales positions, Strategy Development, Business Transformations, Direct-Store-Delivery, Foodservice, Vending, Retail, and Alternate Channels, Eric is a proven business executive driving growth and innovation.
Throughout his illustrious career, Eric has held diverse leadership roles in Europe, Latin America, and the United States. His exceptional ability to navigate the complexities of both local and company cultures has been a driving force behind his success. One particular achievement that stands out is his transformative leadership in Puerto Rico, where he turned around a struggling business in a non-English speaking market.
Despite the language barrier, Eric embarked on a cultural transformation journey, igniting pirate-themed initiative. Inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean, this audacious endeavor aimed to reclaim the business’s success. With mottos like “No Más Excusas, Solo Soluciones.” (No More Excuses, Only Solutions) and “Hacer Cosas Diferentes” (Do Different Things), Eric instilled a culture of accountability and innovation. Pirate Events, complete with employees dressed as pirates, fostered creativity, teamwork, and a renewed sense of purpose. The immersive experience was further amplified through pirate-themed office decorations.
The results were extraordinary. Over the span of several years, Eric’s leadership and the pirate-themed initiative led to a remarkable restoration of business growth, improved culture survey results, and enhanced financial metrics. His ability to transform a struggling organization, regardless of language barriers, serves as a testament to his exceptional leadership skills and unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of success.
As Eric now spearheads Functional Brands Inc., a company focused on delivering the cleanest, most efficacious products on the market, his wealth of experience and insight gained from his extensive career journey position him to drive continued growth and innovation.
Building Vision, Leadership, and Culture
After completing his university education, Eric embarked on a career managing multiple bars and restaurants. However, he soon realized the challenges of balancing a night-time work schedule with his wife’s daytime employment, prompting him to seek new opportunities. He pursued a position as a Foodservice Sales Representative at the Kellogg Company. This marked the beginning of his journey with Kellogg, which involved frequent moves across various locations in the United States, primarily within the sales department.
During his tenure at Kellogg, Eric had the opportunity to work at the company’s world headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan. His career with Kellogg also presented him with an expatriate opportunity in Europe, where he held two roles before eventually relocating to Puerto Rico to lead the Kellogg Caribbean Services Company, Inc. business unit. Throughout these experiences, Eric recognized the paramount importance of establishing a compelling vision supported by effective strategies and tactics, alongside a talented leadership team. This understanding not only shaped his personal growth but also contributed to the success of the businesses with his involvement.
Eric’s journey took another turn when he transitioned to Panera Bread, assuming a leadership role in their Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) division. This transition allowed him to broaden his experience by working with different operating business models, varied types of businesses, and organizations of different sizes. This diverse exposure underscored the critical significance of building and nurturing a strong company culture as a pivotal factor in achieving business success.
Eric considers himself blessed to have gained these past experiences, which continue to shape his growth as a business professional. In his current venture with Functional Brands, the focus is on providing the cleanest and most efficacious dietary supplements on the market. The lessons learned and the insights gained throughout his career serve as valuable assets as he strives to drive the success and evolution of Functional Brands.
Commercial Development Center and Cultural Appreciation
Working internationally has provided Eric with valuable opportunities to immerse himself in foreign businesses and gain a deep appreciation for different cultures. This experience has helped him view culture as an asset rather than a liability. A notable example of his international leadership was the creation of a proprietary commercial development center in Europe.
The commercial development center involved designing a comprehensive 2½ day curriculum for top marketing and sales talent within the organization. The center aimed to enhance skills and capabilities through multiple exercises and sessions. European Sales, Marketing, and Human Resource Heads were present during the center to assess the participants and provide valuable feedback. The sessions covered various aspects, including selling products to customers, building strategic marketing plans, and providing detailed feedback to employees.
The establishment of this commercial development center served several key purposes:
- Calibrate top talent across multiple countries and multiple languages with different managers
- Create a robust talent pipeline across Europe
- Deliver very detailed individual development plans for each participating attendee to further develop their skills
Through the commercial development center, Eric successfully strengthened the overall commercial “bench” within the organization, ensuring a robust and capable leadership pipeline for the future. By leveraging the diverse expertise and perspectives of participants from different countries and languages, the organization was able to enhance its commercial capabilities and foster growth across Europe.
Driving Revenue and Building Customer Relationships
Creating a visual strategic framework has proven to be highly effective for Eric in driving revenue and cultivating strong customer relationships. The purpose of this strategic framework is threefold:
- To establish 3-5 broad focus areas for the sales team: The framework outlines key areas of concentration that the sales team should prioritize. These focus areas serve as strategic pillars guiding their efforts.
- To identify 3-6 key priorities within each focus area: Within each focus area, the framework highlights specific priorities that are critical for driving revenue and simultaneously building relationships with customers. These priorities provide clear direction for the sales team’s actions and strategies.
- To assign specific owners and measurable KPIs to each priority: The strategic framework designates responsible owners for each priority, ensuring accountability and clear lines of ownership. Additionally, measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) are associated with each priority, enabling progress tracking and evaluation of success.
On a monthly basis, the company conducts open reviews of the KPIs with all owners. This practice fosters a culture of accountability, encouraging owners to take ownership of their priorities and facilitating transparency across the entire organization. By sharing progress openly, the company ensures that everyone is informed and aligned, promoting collaboration and driving collective effort towards achieving strategic goals.
Strategic Framework
Eric, drawing from his previous experiences, applies a similar approach and philosophy at Functional Brands to drive growth. He firmly believes in the significance of establishing a strategic framework guided by a compelling vision that sets the overall direction for the company. At Functional Brands, their vision revolves around “Helping People Live Healthy Lives,” and it is supported by six core pillars.
The first pillar focuses on improving performance through leveraging the strength of the company’s people. The second pillar involves refreshing the go-to-market strategy, while the third pillar emphasizes the delivery of effective marketing initiatives. Expanding the channel presence constitutes the fourth pillar, and strategically growing contract manufacturing is the fifth pillar. Lastly, the sixth pillar aims to enhance efficiencies and effectiveness throughout the organization.
Within each pillar, specific initiatives are developed to drive profitable growth. The company ensures regular communication by conducting monthly updates to all employees — sharing financial results and progress against each initiative. A scorecard system, using green, yellow, and red indicators, is employed to track progress. Each initiative is assigned an owner, and these elements are integrated into employees’ Performance Management accountabilities. Employee reviews are conducted 3-4 times a year to assess performance.
In addition to performance-driven initiatives, Functional Brands also places importance on fostering a positive and collaborative work environment. They have a dedicated “Fun Committee” that focuses on organizing events to build collaborative relationships across departments such as sales, marketing, supply chain, finance, Quality Assurance, HR, and IT. These events, including summer picnics, Thanksgiving dinners, and Holiday celebrations, contribute to enhancing internal relationships while providing enjoyable experiences for employees, thereby aiding in employee retention.
Looking towards the future, Functional Brands has filed their S1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and expects to complete their initial public offering (IPO) in the third or fourth quarter of 2023. The injection of capital resulting from the IPO will further enable the company’s ability to execute specific initiatives within each pillar. They are extremely excited about the increased investment that will facilitate organic growth and provide opportunities to conduct due diligence for acquiring other supplement brands that strategically align with their manufacturing and brand portfolio.
Functional Brands Inc.
Over the past five years, the CBD and Hemp Industry has experienced significant evolution. The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill triggered what seemed like a new “gold rush” in the industry, fueling rapid growth and innovation. However, this rapid expansion has also led to a lack of clear market leaders, with countless brands entering the market and many subsequently going out of business. Unfortunately, the industry has been tainted by individuals and companies solely focused on making a quick profit, thereby polluting the overall market.
Amidst this landscape, Functional Brands Inc. identifies a promising opportunity. Their FDA registered and cGMP-certified facility, with a long-standing track record of producing pure and clean supplements, positions them favorably. For decades, the company has been dedicated to delivering health and wellness products to consumers. Their expertise lies in custom formulations and the use of pure and bioavailable specialty ingredients.
What sets Functional Brands Inc. apart from the competition is their established heritage in producing clean products for the Autism community. Leveraging this experience, they possess a distinct advantage in the marketplace. With their FDA registration, cGMP compliance, and reputation for quality, Functional Brands Inc. is well-positioned to capitalize on the demand for trustworthy and reliable health and wellness products in the CBD and Hemp Industry.
Innovation and Consumer Impact
In the competitive and fierce Nutraceutical industry, Functional Brands Inc. recognizes the significant role that innovation and research and development (R&D) play. With numerous competitors and a wide range of products saturating the marketplace, the absence of innovation can result in a price-driven market, leading to reduced margins and diminished differentiation.
Setting themselves apart, Functional Brands Inc. prides itself on offering custom formulations that have garnered thousands of positive testimonials from their consumers. Personally engaging with consumers at conferences, Eric has been moved by the incredible stories shared with him. Statements such as “Your products have saved my marriage” and “Without your products, my child would have never succeeded in a public school” have left a profound impact. The company feels fortunate to receive such remarkable feedback, underscoring the effectiveness and value of their customized, doctor-formulated products.
With a firm commitment to “Helping People Live Healthy Lives,” Functional Brands Inc. understands the importance of continuous innovation. They are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve and developing new solutions that address the needs and aspirations of their consumers. By remaining proactive in their pursuit of innovation, Functional Brands Inc. aims to make a lasting positive impact on people’s lives.
Revitalizing Business Culture
Eric firmly believes in the importance of strengthening a business’s culture. At Functional Brands Inc., they have implemented a strategic framework and are actively working towards its execution. Alongside this, they maintain a practice of providing fully transparent monthly updates to both the management team and employees.
Recently, the company achieved success through a collaborative effort aimed at enhancing effectiveness and efficiencies. One notable accomplishment was the development and implementation of a new cost-to-serve model. Remarkably, despite its longstanding existence of over 70 years, the business had not previously utilized such a model. Recognizing the potential benefits, they took the initiative to create and execute this model, leading to several positive outcomes.
The cost-to-serve model proved instrumental in improving cash flow, customer service, and the formulation of new terms and conditions for their clientele. Moreover, it contributed to a significant boost in sales. By reducing internal complexity, the model also generated efficiencies that positively impacted the overall gross margin of the company. Through this successful endeavor, Functional Brands Inc. demonstrated their commitment to constant improvement and adaptability within the industry.
Keys to Success
The advice Eric gives to aspiring business executives is to start slow, understand the company culture, dive deep into the business in all areas and departments, understand strengths and weaknesses, create a collective company vision for engagement, hold people accountable, have fun, and deliver. Eric believes that servant leadership is essential for this field. He believes that someone can be successful by focusing on the success of other employees, knocking down barriers to assist in their success and development.
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