Mitch Gould, founder and CEO of Nutritional Products International (NPI), will bring his extensive retail sales experience to the ECRM Vitamin, Weight Management & Sports Nutrition Session, scheduled for Sept. 14-17 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Throughout his career, Gould has sold millions of dollars in consumer products to major retailers such as Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, GNC, and Vitamin Shoppe.
For Gould, ECRM provides an opportunity that once required numerous individual trips and appointments: meeting face-to-face with retail decision-makers from multiple channels in a single location. “I've spent my career traveling the country, sitting down with buyers and building relationships with major retailers,” Gould said. “ECRM brings many of those opportunities together under one roof. Instead of flying from city to city for individual meetings, you can have productive conversations with retailers over several days in one location.”
Gould emphasized that the value of ECRM extends beyond efficiency. “Retail has always been a relationship business,” he said. “There is something different about meeting people face-to-face, having dinner together, talking outside the formal meeting environment and getting to know the people behind the business. ECRM creates that kind of atmosphere.”
Gould's retail experience spans decades and includes working with manufacturers, consumer brands, and major retailers across the health, wellness, and nutrition industries. He later developed NPI's “Evolution of Distribution” platform to provide domestic and international brands with a streamlined approach to entering or expanding in the U.S. market. The platform brings sales, marketing, logistics, and retail distribution services together under one operation.
“ECRM fits naturally with the way we approach retail expansion at NPI,” Gould said. “It gives us an opportunity to sit across the table from retailers, understand what they are looking for and introduce them to brands and products that may fit their customers.” Gould will attend the September session on behalf of NPI and the brands the company represents.
The significance of Gould's participation lies in his track record of launching and scaling consumer products across sports nutrition, health and wellness, skincare, hardware, and beverages. He has worked with iconic brands like Igloo, Rubbermaid, Sunbeam, and Miracle-Gro, as well as high-profile celebrity brands including Steven Seagal, Hulk Hogan, Chuck Liddell, 8× Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, and martial arts pioneer Bob Wall. His efforts have helped shape the growth of the U.S. sports nutrition category, supporting the expansion of performance-focused products across major retail and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Walmart, GNC, CVS, and Walgreens.
As retail continues to evolve, Gould's presence at ECRM underscores the enduring importance of personal connections in a technology-driven marketplace. “Technology has made business faster, but relationships still matter,” Gould said. “When you can bring efficiency and personal relationships together, that's a powerful combination.”
