Ladder – a nutritional sports supplement co-founded by Lebron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger – hopes that entering its first brick-and-mortar retail channel with Vitamin Shoppe will broaden its appeal from its base of professional athletes and unlock “active” consumers.
Ladder was founded in 2018 after James and his longtime trainer Mike Mancias began recalibrating the NBA star’s dietary regimen in the wake of significant cramping issues that hampered his performance during the 2014 NBA Finals. Former bodybuilding champion and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked to consult on the product and help found the Los Angeles-based company.
Although James and Schwarzenegger continue to be the face brand while consulting on product marketing and formulation, they do not maintain ownership after The Beachbody Company purchased Ladder in 2020. Beachbody markets the brand as a premium, NSF Certified for Sport powdered supplement made for and used by professional athletes.
The news of distribution in 690 Vitamin Shoppe stores repositions the brand to target a broader active-lifestyle consumer base. Vitamin Shoppe retailers will carry Ladder’s Pre-Workout, Whey Protein, Plant Protein and Hydration products in a variety of flavors. The 30-serving pouches range in retail from $39.95 for the Hydration to $64.95 for the Whey Protein.
The foray into the specialty retail distribution comes after a year of talks with Vitamin Shoppe and solidifies Ladder ownership’s aspirations to make the nutritional supplement readily accessible to general consumers.
“The North Star is to turn this and evolve this into what is a lifestyle brand,” Christina Cartwright, SVP Nutrition Products at Beachbody, told BevNET. “We are finally unveiling what is the look and feel and the high quality product to the broader market.”
The brand enters a crowded field of fitness-focused, functional products. Allied Market Research released a report in January that the market for global sports nutrition was “valued at $34.8 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $67.9 billion by 2030” with the protein powder segment leading that category.
Nutritional supplement and wellness retailers have emerged as an increasingly important transitional channel for RTD protein, energy and functional beverage brands as they target the broader mainstream market. Fitness-oriented, energy drinks like Celsius and Ghost have already paved that path, while Vitamin Shoppe specifically has backed brands like Ascent Recovery Water and LifeAID.
Up until now, Ladder has focused on its reach within professional sports claiming to supply supplements to about 52 professional sports teams across the country and in Canada. Unlike the large orange tubs of Gatorade on the sidelines of football and basketball games, Ladder does not just want to be seen just as a marketing partner to major sports franchises. Cartwright said the brand wants to highlight its role as the recommended sport supplement by the teams’ nutritionists and trainers but do it in an “authentic way.”
“We don’t want to just be the brand that you see next to the team bench. It feels very much like an advertising moment,” she said. “We are the product that they actually are consuming. We are continuing to grow that business and actually have over doubled that business in the last six months versus last year.”
Ladder sees the move into Vitamin Shoppe as one piece of a larger marketing push to make the product more accessible to everyday active consumers. By 2023, the brand is aiming to heighten its visibility with professional sports teams and leverage its partnerships into consumer-facing marketing campaigns.
Cartwright wants consumers to know the brand as the premium, preferred supplement for recovery, strength and hydration in the professional sports community. She says that it is imperative that Ladder partners with athletes who actually use the product regularly. Currently, the brand lists NFL Defensive End Myles Garrett, WNBA star Monique Billings, Paralympic Gold Medalist Jorge Sanchez and AEW wrestler Kaun, along with Lebron James, Schwarzenegger and others, as Ladder spokespeople.
Ladder’s evolution into a lifestyle brand is reflected in its innovation. In April, the brand announced the release of Superfood Greens, which could be seen as a response to the success of similar products from brands like Athletic Greens or Super Greens. Although Ladder will be sharing shelf-space with other whey protein powders and nutritional supplements, there is no true competitor to their product’s formula and efficacy, Cartwright argued.
“It’s not just a sprinkling of fairy dust. There’s everything you need, nothing more, nothing less.”