BellRing Brands, Inc. (BellRing) is a consumer products holding company operating in the global convenient nutrition category and is a provider of ready-to-drink (‘RTD’) protein shakes and powders.
The company has a single operating and reportable segment, with its principal products being protein-based consumer goods. The company’s primary brands are Premier Protein and Dymatize. Together the company’s brands cover the major product forms in the convenient nutrition category and appeal to a br...
BellRing Brands, Inc. (BellRing) is a consumer products holding company operating in the global convenient nutrition category and is a provider of ready-to-drink (‘RTD’) protein shakes and powders.
The company has a single operating and reportable segment, with its principal products being protein-based consumer goods. The company’s primary brands are Premier Protein and Dymatize. Together the company’s brands cover the major product forms in the convenient nutrition category and appeal to a broad range of consumer need states.
The company’s primary brands, Premier Protein and Dymatize, target a broad range of consumers and compete in all major product forms, including ready-to-drink (‘RTD’) protein shakes and powders. The company’s products are distributed across a diverse network of channels including club, food, drug and mass (‘FDM’), eCommerce, specialty and convenience. The U.S. is the company’s primary market and is the largest and most developed market in the world for the company’s category.
Brand Overview
The company’s percentage of net sales by brand for the company’s year ended September 30, 2024 were as follows: Premier Protein, 85.4%; Dymatize, 12.4%; and other, 2.2%.
Two product forms accounted for the substantial majority of the company’s fiscal 2024 net sales. In its year ended September 30, 2024 (fiscal 2024), RTD protein shakes were 81.1% of the company’s net sales, and powders were 16.4% of its net sales.
Premier Protein
The company’s largest brand, Premier Protein, is a leading mainstream, lifestyle brand. Premier Protein’s product portfolio consists primarily of RTD protein shakes and protein powders. Premier Protein’s flagship RTD protein shakes are available in diverse flavors and contain 30 grams of protein and 160 calories. They are gluten- and soy-free, low in sugar and fat and fortified with vitamins and minerals. The company’s RTD protein shakes are formulated to deliver great-tasting, leading protein levels while maintaining one of the leanest nutritional profiles in the category (as measured by sugar and calorie content). Premier Protein’s powder portfolio consists primarily of 100% whey protein products. The product profile appeals to consumers across age ranges in all four need states.
Dymatize
The company’s Dymatize brand is a market leader targeting fitness enthusiasts who value the brand for its science-based product development, athletic performance focus and great taste. The brand’s portfolio includes an assortment of sports nutrition products, including protein powders. The majority of Dymatize’s sales are generated through protein powders. The company’s protein powder portfolio consists of three primary products: ISO.100 made with hydrolyzed 100% Whey Protein Isolate, Elite 100% Whey and Super Mass Gainer. ISO.100, the brand’s flagship product, has a global reach with sales in more than seventy-five countries. In addition to ISO.100, Dymatize offers a suite of products to meet the needs of athletes.
Customers
The company’s customers are predominantly club stores, FDM retailers, online retailers, specialty retailers, convenience stores and distributors. The company sells its products domestically and in more than ninety countries globally. The company’s U.S. business represented 89.2% of the company’s net sales in its year ended September 30, 2024, and the company’s international business represented 10.8% of its net sales in the company’s year ended September 30, 2024.
The company’s largest customers, Walmart (which includes its affiliates, including Sam’s Club), Costco and Amazon, accounted for approximately 74.8% of the company’s net sales in its year ended September 30, 2024.
Sales, Marketing and Distribution
In the U.S., the company utilizes a direct sales force in multiple channels, including club, FDM, convenience, specialty and eCommerce. The company also sells through a broker network for customers in the convenience, grocery and mass channels, and through distributors for the specialty channel. In international markets, the company sells its products through a combination of direct sales to retailers and to third-party distributors. The company utilizes a direct sales force in key markets in Western Europe for multiple channels, including specialty, FDM and eCommerce. The company also sells through distributors in the specialty channel.
The company maintains a dedicated multi-faceted and consumer-driven marketing strategy for each of the company’s primary brands, tailoring initiatives to each brand’s target audience. Each of the company’s brands maintains a presence across all major social media platforms.
Premier Protein. Premier Protein’s marketing strategy is aimed at accelerating the brand’s positioning as a lifestyle brand for mainstream consumers. Premier Protein’s marketing initiatives are focused on increasing awareness to drive product trial and adoption, as well as expanding household penetration among this group of consumers. Premier Protein employs a broad media strategy, which includes digital media, search marketing, television, in-store marketing and demos and online dedicated programming. As part of its marketing strategy, Premier Protein leverages its fans’ enthusiasm for the brand to spread the word of the company’s products. The brand utilizes an influencer marketing program called ‘Premier Shakers’ that leverages micro-influencers, content creators and top-tier influencers to generate further awareness of Premier Protein.
Dymatize. Dymatize’s marketing strategy is focused on retailer-specific programs, online and specialty print media and social media. Social media is a high-touch medium that resonates with Dymatize’s core fitness-focused consumers. The brand also utilizes a social media influencer model, the ‘Squad,’ engaging with athletes. This team promotes product usage via personal social media channels to drive awareness for the brand among its target demographic.
The company’s products are distributed through a network of third-party common carriers. The company’s principal strategies for competing in its industry include strong and impactful marketing to build awareness of the company’s products, effective customer relationship management, category insights, superior product quality and food safety, product innovation, an efficient supply chain and competitive pricing.
Distribution
In North America, the company’s products typically are shipped directly from its contract manufacturing partners to a network of third-party warehouses. Products are distributed from third-party warehouses to customer distribution centers or retail stores or are exported by the company’s distribution partners to international customers. Occasionally, the company ships products directly from its third-party contract manufacturers to the company’s customers’ distribution centers.
The company maintains one third-party warehouse location in Germany, which receives products from its production facility located in Voerde, Germany or directly from the company’s third-party contract manufacturers. The company’s branded products are distributed from third-party warehouses to customer distribution centers or retail stores or are exported to international customers.
Seasonality
The company experiences seasonal fluctuations in its net sales and earnings before interest and taxes (‘EBIT’) because of consumer spending patterns and timing of the company’s key retailers’ promotional activity. Historically, the company’s first fiscal quarter (year ended September 2024) is seasonally low for net sales for all brands driven by a slowdown of consumption of the company’s products during the holiday season. Sales are typically higher throughout the remainder of the fiscal year as a result of stronger consumer demand in the second quarter of the company’s fiscal year, promotional activity at key retailers and organic growth of the business.
Trademarks and Intellectual Property
The company’s key trademarks include BellRing, BellRing Brands, Premier Protein, Premier Nutrition, Dymatize, ISO.100 and PowerBar, each of which the company owns, as well as trademarks that the company licenses from third parties, such as Pebbles and Dunkin. The company’s owned trademarks are, in most cases, protected through registration in the U.S. or Germany, as well as in many other countries where the related brands or products are sold. The company also owns, or has applications pending, for several patents in the U.S. and other countries.
Governmental Regulation and Environmental Matters
The company is subject to regulation by federal, state and local governmental entities and agencies in the U.S., as well as similar regulations in Canada, Mexico, Europe and other international locations, including food safety laws, labor and employment laws, laws governing advertising, privacy laws, consumer protection regulations, worker health and safety regulations, environmental laws and regulations and other laws and regulations.
As a producer and distributor of goods for human consumption, the company must comply with stringent production, storage, recordkeeping, distribution, labeling and marketing standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (the ‘FDA’), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the ‘USDA’), the Federal Trade Commission, and state and local agencies in the U.S. The company also must comply with standards established by similar regulatory agencies in Canada, Mexico, the E.U. and elsewhere. In addition, some of the company’s products are produced and marketed under contract as part of special certification programs, such as organic, kosher or non-GMO, and must comply with the strict standards of federal, state and third-party certifying organizations.
The company’s manufacturing facility in Germany is subject to certain safety regulations, including the German Occupational Safety and Health Regulation. These regulations require the company to comply with certain manufacturing safety standards to protect the company’s employees from accidents. Additionally, some of the food commodities on which the company’s business relies are subject to governmental agricultural programs (e.g., subsidies and import/export regulations), which have substantial effects on the prices and supplies of these commodities.
In addition, the company’s operations are subject to various federal, state and foreign laws and regulations regarding data privacy, data protection and data security, including the General Data Protection Regulation, the E.U.’s retained law version of the General Data Protection Regulation, the E.U.-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, each of which applies to certain aspects of the company’s business and regulate how businesses collect, use and protect personal information obtained from data subjects. As a company with international operations, the company is also subject to laws, rules and regulations in the U.S. and other countries related to anti-corruption, antitrust and competition and economic sanctions.
The company’s business is also subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations with respect to environmental matters, including air quality, wastewater and storm water management, waste handling and disposal and other regulations intended to protect public health and the environment. In the U.S., the laws and regulations include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (‘Proposition 65’), among others. Internationally, the company’s operations, including its manufacturing facility in Germany, are subject to local and national regulations similar to those applicable to the company in the U.S.
History
BellRing Brands, Inc. was founded in 2019. The company was incorporated in 2019.