Use Bowflex, Bro? Here's How They're Disrupting The Supplements Industry
For a corporation that CEO Bruce Cazenave described “in the grand scheme of things” as “still what we consider a smaller company,” Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) has not lacked when it comes to a large and impressive product lineup.
In addition to its famed namesake, the company produces a full array of fitness equipment under its Bowflex, Schwinn and Universal brand names.
Last week, Nautilus, Inc. entered the world of nutrition with the introduction of its Bowflex Body dietary supplement line.
Related: Exclusive: Nautilus Executives Discuss Entry Into A Billion Market
Evolution Of Bowflex Body
Rob Murdock, vice president and general manager of Nautilus, told Benzinga the nutrition line came into being as the result of conversations with consumers over the years.
“We’ve offered eating plans, advised and provided access to dieticians,” Murdock said. “As the nutrition space has grown we took the opportunity to develop the line.”
Simple Nutrition Lineup
According to Murdock, the Bowflex Body lineup was simple. It consists of a vanilla fitness shake, three flavor and function boosts, and two drink formulas.
The chocolate boost acts as an enhanced fat burner. A mixed berry boost serves as an antioxidant and the peanut butter protein boost helps stimulate muscle growth, increase energy and enhance performance, according to Murdock.
In addition, Bowflex Body includes a powdered (add to water) pre-workout drink as well as another powdered daily energy drink formula.
‘Don’t Get Confused By Science’
When it comes to nutritional supplements, Murdock said, the average person doesn’t know where to start.
“Don’t get confused by science,” he said, “just know that it (Bowflex Body) is nutritionally dense, has few calories and is good for you.”
Modest Marketing Goals
Although the nutrition supplement market, depending on how it is measured, ranges from five times to 20 times the size of the fitness equipment market, The Nautilus Group, Inc. set modest initial market share goals, according to Murdock.
Without disclosing specifics, Murdock said Bowflex Body was expected to be a “small fraction of the overall revenue stream for 2015.”
A Busy Year
CEO Cazenave echoed Murdock’s market share comments, perhaps in part because the company has had a number of new products in the pipeline for 2014 and beyond.
In addition to the recently launched Bowflex Body line, the company announced in October the Nautilus Cardio 616 lineup including elliptical, treadmill as well as upright and recumbent bikes.
The 616 series features advanced technology designed to give home workout enthusiasts access to the Nautilus Trainer app and more than 20 customizable workout programs.
Projected for late 2015, the SelectTech 560 is the world’s first “smart” dumbbell designed to record and count reps and provide additional feedback to users.
The Challenge
As a company known for holding kickball tournaments during lunch break and sponsoring a couple of Tough Mudder teams (a competition that features participants climbing electric fences, among other things) Nautilus would seem to be ready to accept challenges.
According to Cazenave, one of the biggest challenges the Nautilus management team has faced was “figuring out what can be pushed to the front burner versus those things that can wait on the back burner.”
Such was the case with Bowflex Body.
Questions asked included, ‘How well does it fit with the brand?’ ‘Is it a platform that we can build upon?’ ‘How big is the market?’ ‘Do we have the ability to play in this effectively?’ ‘What could the returns be down the road?’
“In the case of nutrition,” Cazenave said, “it checked all the boxes. It just fits nicely with the Bowflex brand.”
At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco had no position in any mentioned securities.
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